Saitek X52 VS X52 Pro

[MajQBall]

Hi all you X52 owners.  I am looking to buy a new joystick & throttle I am seriously thinking of the X52.   I have the cordless Freedom 2.4 and am looking to replace it with something with more buttons.  My problem is what is the difference between the X52 and the X52 Pro and is it worth the price for the Pro.
 Thanks.

[Captfish]

no, get the regular 

[2bighorn]

Pro has some improvements over base x-52, but as captfish said, it's not worth the price differential, at least not for AH.

[Rich46yo]

I dont have the Pro. I bought the stick, and then the rudders.

And I had my share of problems with them both. Mostly with the SST software and the drivers. The rudders got stuck a lot too.

But eventually I got everything worked out and I would "probably" recomend them. Most people dont have the problems I did.

They have a good forum and good support. I like having a lot of buttons to map as well and with the clutch thingie you can pretty much map 2 things for each button. I almost never have to touch the keyboard.

[lagger86]

I just got the regular x-52 and so far so good. I downloaded the sst software and tried to use it, but I just ended up removing it. My old stick was very responsive and very simple where as the X-52 seems less responsive but a little smoother in it's controls. I flew in the MA's for the first time with it last night and it was weird using the throttle and trying to remember where I mapped everything. I see no reason to buy the Pro for AH, there are more than enough buttons to play with and the regular is a bit cheaper.

[Hamltnblue]

I had the standard and switched to the pro.
The main difference between them.
1. Joystick tension.  The pro has about double the tension. The standard wasn't strong enough for me. Also the spring base is made of metal instead of the plastic on the standard.
2. Multi-color led's  You can program each button's color to one of 3 colors.  Sounds insignificant but if you do it correctly, the colors provide a quick reference, especially when the room is dimly lit.
3. Extra optical position sensors.  Supposed to help with accuracy.  I didn't notice much difference there.
4.  Centering. The Pro has never had to be centered since I've had it.  Rock solid there.
5.  Throttle buttons.  The button configuration on the base is a little more functional.

Overall the price difference is worth it to me.

[Damionte]

The X52 standard also has a lot of reliability issues. They break quickly and break often. The pro is built with better parts and has less issues breaking apart.

[lagger86]

The X52 standard also has a lot of reliability issues. They break quickly and break often. The pro is built with better parts and has less issues breaking apart.

I have noticed that the standard does feel a bit fragile....I'm not sure if I like it too much, I have a free replacement warranty and I think I'm gonna be needing it. My main problem is the tension, I may have to retract my previous statement and say go with the pro if you have the money, but having never used the pro I can't really say. I'll just stop typing now.

[morfiend]

Lagger:

  if you feel the spring tension is too light,put a shim either under the spring or between the spring and handle.

 I've tried a few different things,cardboard,plastic ect,but found the little foam spacer you get from a stack of recordable cd's to work best.Bonus it fits up into the handle.


 1 word of caution,remember to remove it in case of warranty return. BTW I've had the OG52 for 4 years only prob I've had was rudder pot.Pedals solved that....

[MajQBall]

Thank you all for your input.

[AirFlyer]

I've had the original X-52 for close to 2 years now and the old problem I have with it is that a button near the little screen sticks, and I'm pretty sure that's because someone spilled soda on it... Besides that it's a great stick, now I've never used the X-52 Pro so I can't compare them, but so far the X-52 has been a great stick for me with little issue.