I’ve just pulled the trigger on a dock and I’m thinking it may be time to upgrade my external controller. I have a Logitech F710 which has been pretty decent for PC gaming and has worked well on Linux. I’m seeing the Xbox XS as a top recommendation. Is it worth the upgrade?
If they use it on submarines full of billionaires it’s good enough for the Steam Deck!
I would highly recommend the 8BitDo Ultimate Controller. It is around $50 and comes with a charging dock. The buttons and build quality are great. It automatically connects when taken off the dock which I find very convenient. You can use it with a usb dongle for low latency, but the most recent firmware update also enabled bluetooth support! It supports xinput and directinput, so it should work on any game with controller support on Linux and Windows.
But of course if your controller still works for you, there’s no need to upgrade! I only purchased it because my dualshock 4s were reaching the end of their life.
That looks pretty gorgeous, thank you for the tip!
I’ve had the Deck for 10 months now. Mostly I tend to play in handheld mode, but I do play alot in “couch mode” too. I have the following controllers at my disposal, all these work with the Deck:
- Steam Controller
- 8Bitdo NES30 Pro
- Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
- Logitech F710
The Steam Controller is a bit meh, since it only has one analog stick and no D-pad at all. It’s good for games that require mouse control, but other than that I only use it for couch multiplayer games when all other controllers are taken.
8Bitdo is good for D-pad games, so mostly emulators and couch multiplayers.
Nintendo Switch Pro Controller This is the most comfortable gamepad that I currently own. I would use it more on the couch, but usually it is paired with the Switch and it is too much of a pain to change the pairing over to the Deck.
So my most used controller on the couch is the F710. If it is currently working for you, no need to change it. I would wait for Valve to release an updated version of the Steam Controller and get that when the time is right.
The Nintendo Pro controller needs a warning: triggers are not analog, they’re normal buttons. On the Switch you don’t notice its too much because no game uses them, but otherwise it’s an important bit of information. Even something simple like Grand Theft Auto is going to be worse for it as soon as driving comes into the picture.
