Saitek JI3G Cyborg 3D Gold USB JoyStick

I've had my share of joysticks in the past, and have never really been satisfied with any of them. This is due, in part, to my being left handed and not wanting to 'stick with my right. The Cyborg is different. This is a joystick that is truly a joy to use. The most readily apparent feature of the Cyborg that sets it apart is the ability to adjust the various parts of the stick. Not only can you swap things around from right handed mode to left handed mode, but you can also adjust the depth and angle of the thumb triggers on the top of the stick. You wouldn't guess that this is a comfortable stick just by looking at it; it is very industrial looking. But I have not had any of my usual hand cramps or sore thumb joints using it. The buttons are arranged in such a way so as to make four of them easily accessible without adjusting your grip on the stick (trigger and three thumb buttons). You also have an 8 direction hat in easy reach. I find the buttons to have a nice amount of play (very little), though this is a personal preference, and they all have an audio and tactile response. One of the nicest features of the Cyborg is odd looking external spring at the base of the stick. This spring not only gives the joystick a nice amount of resistance to movement without making you really torque on it to get to the extreme angles, but it also keeps the stick perfectly centered when you aren't applying pressure. Every other joystick I have used relies on internal methods in the base of the unit for centering, and all of them inevitably fail, resulting in annoying drift. The only potential drawback to the Cyborg is that it isn't force feedback. That's great for me because I have found FF devices to be pretty silly, but some folks like them. For a sturdy, reliable, comfortable joystick, I have yet to find anything that comes close to the Cyborg.

Very very disappointed, to be able to use the joystick it has to have a cd software that comes with the product so your computer can recognize the the Joystick. The product did not have bit in the shipping and the seller did not attempt say I forgot to add this with the shipping , his answer to me was , well you can just send it back and I will give you a refund and that’s just what I did. Poor quality way to do business.

Slop and doesn't match up with any modern games well. Would recommend buying something newer so games will recognize it. If you're playing older games though, this would likely be a good choice for you.

I am very happy with this joystick. It installed without any problems. Although I don't really care for the software game extensions. Anyway I have used this joystick with Star Wars Rogue Squadron 3D, Star Wars Episode 1 Racers (the pod racing), and Star Wars Battle for Naboo. In each case my scores inproved over those I could obtain with a Sidewinder pro force feedback stick. I thiink the USB connection has alot to do with the better response speed. I found the Saitek 3D Gold comfortable and very precise after calibration. I just ordered a second one. Amazon has it (...)! This is a bargin I highly recommend this deal. My system is a P4 1.5 ghz 128mb ram 32 mb video card. It lets me play the games fast and furious. I am not that great at games but this joystick has helped me play much better. I have far more 1st place wins with the pod racers than I though possible for me as well as more gold medals in Rogue Squadron 3D. I also recommend these games.

Out of the box all seems well, but after a month or two some issues start to become more and more glaring. First, if this stick is digital, why does it need to be calibrated? Well, obviously, it's not digital; it uses potentiometers just like all the old sticks, but also includes its own analog to digital encoder in the base. This means that like all the old sticks, the pots will eventually get old and will need to be cleaned more and more frequently to keep it calibrate-able. More expensive sticks use optical encoders that don't need cleaning (at least not as often) and don't need to be calibrated. Second, what's up with the button placement on the base? Why aren't they all on the sides where they belong? Third, since this is clearly a potentiometer stick, shouldn't the max range of motion be a square instead of a circle? Why yes, it should: a circular stop means that with the stick pushed to the extreme 45 degree position is neither fully up/down, nor fully sideways. Windows game control calibration software then compensates by mapping those circular locations to a square pattern (just look at the calibration window and at the stick movement; doesn't it seem logical that they should be the same?). The consequence may be small but it's there-- less resolution at the angles then the perpedicular axis. This becomes very apparent when playing a racing game (like GRID). Since you cracked apart the control to take a look at it's innards, you might also notice that the pots are 10k where most quality analog sticks, like CH flightsticks, are 100k, which gives greater sensitivity; also notable is the metal weights in the bottom. The stick feels heavy because it has ballast not because of its construction.*Pros: For the cost it's a decent stick for arcade play. Ajustable ergonomics.*Cons: It's not built as heavy as one might think. It's not sensitive enough for hardcore simulation. The USB belies its analog underpinnings. Button location. Mushy axis extremes.*Bottomline: Compared to a CH it sucks, but that's hardly surprising. If you use a stick alot or are serious about your sims: spend more money.