why do you prefer wired? just wondering

I prefer wired controllers but only if they use usb-c. I've had too many micro USB ports wear out on me on the controller side. I think the ps5 controller works well, though my preferred is GameSir. GameSir is a Chinese company but the build quality is excellent, and they use Hall effect sticks. Shipping takes a bit but for the price I don't think you can go wrong.

Micro USB sucks. That said, USB C ports _do_ wear out if you bump them a lot, which is a lot more likely in a controller than something like a phone. My laptop USB-C charging port is wearing out because my kids are rough with it while charging. I'd _much_ rather have a cheaper barrel jack than I can solder at home than something complex like USB-C for something that could very likely need a repair in a few years.

Oh yeah, kids add a whole extra layer of fun. I'm not one to solder my own gear, especially circuitry that small, so I prefer the longevity of USB - c, comparatively anyway. Great points!

I think the top tier controllers unfortunately have a rechargable battery in them, some can be hooked up wired and act as so but eventually some day in the future the battery will die from the constant charging and might bloat. If anyone still makes a top tier wired controller it prob wouldnt work with the switch so theyd be losing out on sales for a major console and price the controller higher to make up for it. Essentially wired controllers have become a nieche product. If you find anything wired as good as guilikits controllers though let me know as well since thatd be pretty sick.

Same, but I like the _option_ to fix it at some point. USB-C is really complex electrically due to it being able to flip, which means you have two rows you have to solder instead of the typical one (so basically you _have_ to have a heat gun and know how to use it). But it's _way_ better than micro USB, so chances are you won't need to fix it.

I'm often close enough to my PC while playing games that wireless seems a little unneeded, but more than that, I just want fewer batteries to manage.

Honestly, a Dualsense wired up. The special haptics and triggers only work when plugged in, so I plug mine in all the time. Some games, like Pacific Drive, Metro, and Returnal are COMPLETELY transformed by the triggers and haptics. Even the lil speaker makes a difference. My partner and I both use Dualsense controllers but we will never have a PS5 hahaha

If you do the Duaksense Edge you get the nice locking USB connection too, which would reduce wear on the USB port compared to other controllers. It’s easily my most used controller.

Yeah, I have the 8bitdo 2C (wireless). Highly recommend it. I'd imagine the wired version is just as good.

I'm often close enough to my PC while playing games that wireless seems a little unneeded, but more than that, I just want fewer batteries to manage.

I'm often close enough to my PC while playing games that wireless seems a little unneeded, but more than that, I just want fewer batteries to manage.

For steam games? Steaminput’s translation layer seems to work pretty well

This is just my opinion, and there are always legitimate use cases for wired vs wireless. Losing connection at the worst time is the main reason. I play online, so it's a complete and absolute, non-negotiable dealbraker to me. Every other benefit wireless gives and every other negative wired gives is trumped by this singular requirement. I won't go into every situation, but almost every minor issue in wireless results in disconnects. This ends up with me using wired anyways, which leads to the problem in my previous post: worn out USB ports. Wired by comparison has far less disconnects. On a side note: I also wanted to add (but didn't feel it was worth editing at the time), razor is stupid expensive for just that one little feature. I've had this controller for years, and back then it was the only one I could find like it. To me, it has been worth - but if I was to buy another I'd definitely look for something similar that is cheaper with possibly more features. It wasn't meant to be a razor promoting post.

I'm often close enough to my PC while playing games that wireless seems a little unneeded, but more than that, I just want fewer batteries to manage.

I'm often close enough to my PC while playing games that wireless seems a little unneeded, but more than that, I just want fewer batteries to manage.

Most wireless controllers today have an integrated battery and can be used in either wired or wireless mode. So it's really just that the battery adds a bit of weight, and someday the thing will fail and maybe cause electrical failure of the gamepad. If that doesn't bother you, could get a dual one and just use it in wireless mode. That being said, I agree with the general principle that one should use wired unless there's a compelling reason otherwise. Avoids security problems, interference issues, and a mess of compatibility issues. I had a Logitech F710 that used a proprietary wireless 2.4 GHz protocol. It didn't support wired mode. At some point, something in my environment started blasting enough 2.4 GHz radio emissions that every now and then, the connection would briefly drop, which was absolutely infuriating, since it could cause one to lose in fast-paced action games. If you very specifically want a gamepad that is only wired...hmm. There are a bunch of low-end, generic wired-only controllers. I can't specifically recommend one of those; I've used a few, but all the ones I've used have had some things that annoy me, and probably a lot of the brands are throwaway ones that have gone under. If you want high-end...most of those are dual wired/wireless. IIRC, Thrustmaster has a high-end gamepad with swappable elements, and IIRC it's wired-only, remember seeing that and thinking "wow, weird, most high-end gamepads are dual". I haven't used it myself. *goes to look* Yeah, the Thrustmaster S eSwap Pro, and it's wired-only. https://eshop.thrustmaster.com/en_us/eswap-s-pro-controller.html Thrustmaster has a long history of making pricey-but-nice high-end game peripherals --- I think the first joystick I ever saw for sale was a nice metal thing from them at a computer expo in the early 1990s --- so I'd generally be willing to try them, if you can live with the price. I don't know if they have Hall effect analog sticks, which some people --- including myself --- like, as they're immune to drift. *kagis* It sounds like the gamepad ships with standard potentiometer-based analog sticks, but that if one is willing to throw even more money at the gamepad, they do sell optional Hall effect sticks that can be swapped in. https://www.thrustmaster.com/en-us/products/eswap-sh5-hall-stick-module/ However, the price is also pretty much in line with their history of being expensive. The basic gamepad is $140, and then *each* Hall effect analog stick module is another $40, which is very expensive for a gamepad; you can get inexpensive wired-only gamepads for something like $15, though they might not have amenities like rumble motors. I've never actually owned a Thrustmaster product myself. I mostly went with CH stuff (another long-running American game input device manufacturer; they tend to make less-expensive, less-nice stuff). But I've definitely heard no shortage of positive stuff about Thrustmaster products over the decades. Might be worth considering if you don't care about the price, specifically want wired, and are looking for high-end stuff.

Alright I’ll preach from high places about the dualsense but *250+USD for a controller* money isn’t really a problem but nahhhhh this insane hahaha

It’s $199 I think, but yeah I understand entirely. I used an Astro C40 before so this was actually the cheaper option of the two.