I had the Thrustmaster Topgun Afterburner II and loved it until it started spiking too badly after about 7 months. The Thrustmaster is a very comfortable stick but buckles under a firm grip; I had to reinforce it with cable ties to hold it together.
After the Thrustmaster, I bought a Saitex x45 and questioned my choice the first month; the throttle grip seemed all wrong after the Thrustmaster and Saitek didn't supply the necessary software to program all the switches. Right away I loved the percision of the digital inputs and this is one well built, solid stick. I've had it for 5 months now and I love it.
The selection:
Be very carefull to try out every x45 in the store, there's a lot of difference between the spring tension built into these sticks from one batch to another and they're not adjustable. If you get one that's too tight or too loose you'll find it's unplayable. Instead, find another store and try another batch of sticks.
I bought the x45 at CompUSA with a 2 year, 1 time, no questions asked, replacement warranty, US $80 + $15 for warranty + tax ($9 for a 1 yr warranty.)
The bad news or good news depending on how you look at it:
If you use Window XP, you may need to go to the German Saitek support site to get the software to program the hats on the throttle.
It took the factory 3 months to send me a proper CD replacement disk but they will send it if you ask.
If you use Windows 98, you'll need to find the third party software that allows you to program the hats etc on the throttle. It's available but I installed XP just as I found the website. Use Google search to find it if the factory still hasn't included the software.
Good luck with whichever stick you choose
