GameSir G7 SE Wired Controller for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One & Windows 10/11, Plug and Play Gaming Gamepad with Hall Effect Joysticks/Hall Trigger, 3.5mm Audio JackCarbonfree Certified

After owning this controller for a year (4-5 hours of daily use (I was aspiring to be a pro player, didn't work/lowkey still not giving up), this is it. This is the roller to rule them all.It has a similar feeling to the stock Xbox roller, but better. Couple back buttons, lower tension in the sticks (better for fine aiming since you have to fight less against the roller don't expect a world of difference though, just a slight improvement), hall-effect joysticks, it's own app in the Xbox MS store (for custom keybinds, hair trigger features, and deadzone adjustments for both sticks and triggers), plus a pretty long cable to stop wasting dozens of dollars on batteries every month.Cons:-You need a Wireless headset. The headphone jack is kinda broken (cuts on and off constantly) and doesn't support the add-ons from the stock roller that involve the port down there.-You use a 70" TV (40" and 50" are probably ok) and have to sit so far cable won't get there.- Depending on the roller (I've bought a 2nd one after this one. It's just that good.), you might get a squeaky sound from the back buttons, not that it becomes unbearable... if you use a headset. That being said it... fixed itself? After about 5 months of owning the 2nd roller, the sound stopped. Don't ask me how or why.Conclusion:Pretty minimal cons and comes with insane durability, I went from buying between 2 or 3 stock xbox controllers per year to just 1 per year AND because I was nervous that the 1st one might break (cause it still worked after I bought the 2nd one a full year later).Again this comes from someone with heavy use and extremely sweaty hands (constant grime from the sweat getting into the roller and it hasn't gone wrong yet).

I got this because I wanted programmable back buttons but have come to much prefer it over the stock XBox core controller in general, to the point that I find it difficult to revert back to using the stock controller when needing to go wireless. The downside is of course that it is wired, and while the USB cable is braided for long term durability, generous in length and never accidentally disconnects I use a much softer and lighter braided cable that came with my Attack Shark X3 gaming mouse as the Gamesir cable feels heavy and can weigh down the otherwise feathery feeling controller.The D-pad is soft, tactile and superior to the XBox core controller, particularly good for old school emulation and fighting games. The sticks haven't drifted in the slightest despite 100s of hours of angry online FIFA sessions. The programmable back buttons are a good size and well placed. The GameSir app is fantastic for the amount of customization it features for polling rate, buttons and force feedback individually for triggers and grips, and the range of stick motion. Being able to switch between custom profiles on the fly with the profile button is great as well.I did experience a malfunction in my unit with the LB, which given that I had the same issue with the core controller twice I'm guessing has to do with my style of play. Fortunately GameSir promptly sent me a new replacement unit without any hassle. My only criticism overall is the heft of the USB cable and wish it were more similar in build to the new Apple USB C cables that are braided and tough but significantly lighter and less stiff than standard braided cables.

I can't say enough about how great this controller has been to me, even regardless of its price point. The analog sticks and triggers have very smooth linear activation, the hall effect components are worthy of the hype in my opinion.There is no friction in the movement of the analog controls, and the "spring" resistance feels just right for me. The ABXY and d-pad buttons are dome switches, which is just what the Microsoft Xbox controller feels like. The other buttons including the rear buttons are micro switches. If you're not sure what that is, they're somewhat like a mouse click but take a bit more force to activate than a mouse (too little resistance in the switch would be bad, and these feel good.) The tops of the sticks are not concave like the Xbox controller, which has a different feel, but not one that bothers me or impacts performance personally. The analog triggers have a more aggressive anti-slip texture to them than the Xbox controller. The size and overall feel of the controller otherwise feels just like the Xbox controller to me. The weight of the controller feels perfectly acceptable, its definitely lighter than the wireless Xbox controller with batteries in it, but also not as light as an empty one. I have no complaints, it doesn't feel cheap.The cable that comes with this is really high quality. It's covered in braided material but not overly rigid. The molded heads on both ends are very thick and strong, and the USB-C end that fits into the controller is very secure - I don't really have any concerns about it wiggling around or breaking the connector by dropping it on the cord or something.The controller has lots of features that standard Xbox controllers don't. I found that game support for the bottom buttons is not really as good as I thought it would be - some games just don't register the input. Everything else works as expected. There's an added "M" key that works like a function key, unlocking some on-the-fly adjustments. If you install the GameSir Nexus app in windows you can set up to three profiles that are saved directly to the controller (not the PC). You can use the M key and the ABXY's to switch between the controller's defaults, and your three stored profiles. If you're using the headset jack on the controller, there's a handy mic mute button next to the 3.5mm jack, and you can use the M-key in combination with the d-pad to control the overall volume of your headset, and the voice to game volume ratio (to an extent).The profiles let you change things like button mappings, deadzones, and vibration. So far, it would seem you can only re-map buttons that are internal to the controller - there's no way to assign keyboard shortcuts to the buttons for instance. The one thing I found this useful for is to re-map the stick button clicks to the rear buttons, which I find useful because trying to trigger the stick switch while aiming/steering/looking/whatever usually causes me a non-zero amount of grief.Using the Nexus app for windows you can also test your inputs, view the analog stick values and real-time movement, calibrate the analog controls, and update the firmware.They recently published a firmware update (v6.28) that allows you to increase the polling rate from the default 250 to 500 and 1000hz (effectively 4ms, 2ms, and 1ms control response), like you can with the Razer accessories I have. Unfortunately the 500 and 1000hz polling settings still come with a "work in progress" warning and cause some issues. You cannot, for instance, use the headset jack with the higher polling rates. Also when I turn the polling rate up, it starts to generate some odd input "spasms". My right stick randomly whips a 180, and sometimes my left and right triggers activate for no apparent reason. Everything goes back to normal with the default polling rate though. Eventually they'll fix this, I'm sure. It's not a deal breaker for me in any event, as I really can't tell the difference between 4ms and 1ms.The front top plate is magnetically affixed and stays securely in place. Other than the obvious cosmetic implications, cleaning is the only practical reason I can think to have a removable top plate. There seems to be anti-friction rings around the analog sticks, maybe if those wore out one day it could be a meaningful replacement, but I predict that replacement face plates would be long out of stock before I would need to replace those.