The Saitek P880 Dual Analog GamePad has smooth-control Dual Analog joysticks complemented by an 8-way D-Pad, 6 conveniently positioned buttons and 2 easy reach rapid-fire shoulder triggers for total control .
1 Not very durable
The directional control broke after a few months of use. The button configuration is cumbersome because there are only two triggers and six closely spaced buttons. There are only eight programable buttons for Madden 2005 instead of the necessary ten. The price is right if you want to buy a new controller every few months.
2 Good, but hoped for better
I wanted a gamepad to be JUST like a Playstation 2 gamepad, and this is fairly close.
Pros:
Good feeling / sturdy gamepade. Works well with Madden, Has gripy things on anolog buttons and on bottom of gamepad (where you hold it)
Cons:
Buttons and clicky, though the more I play it the less i notice... maybe I am "buring it in," and it isnt quite like a PS2 gamepad...
Differences with PS2: Instead of an L2 / R2 buttons on the front on gamepad, they added 2 extra buttons on the top, and since I am used to them not being there, I find myself meaning to press the top-middle button (which would be triangle) but I press the right-top button (which acts like L2)... VERY ANNOYING!
3 <>
i got this for christmas in 2002 and this thing is still working as if it were brand spankin new. Buy it, you wont be dissappointed.
4 Definitely the best gamepad I've had to date
I've been playing pc games for many years, as I'm sure most of you have, and I've run the gammut of game controllers. I happened to purchase the Saitek p880 on-line last year, and it has been the best pad I've ever used. Not only is the performance smooth, but the software doesn't take a genius to figure out... Also, being able to shift in games like Hitman where there are more than 10 buttons makes a big difference. Only one thing, though... if you are running Windows XP SP2, DO NOT INSTALL THE CD! Windows will recognize the pad and allow you to do basic configurations through the control panel, but if you need the advanced drivers and profiling, you should download them from saitek's website.
5 THE best game pad
This is a GREAT (possible the best) PC game-pad. After reading lots of reviews i got me this pad to play "Price of Persia:Warrior Within "- after i was told that a game-pad would be much better for game play then using the keyboard.
I only can agree with all the positive reviews since i dont see any negative thing about this pad and gaming is *incredible* now :)
For $20 this is one of the purchases where you think "Why on earth didn't i buy this years ago ?"
HIGHLY recommended.
Stay away from the other junk, especially the logitech one !
6 The best controller I ever bought.
I had been without a good PC game controller for quite a while. I have my Sidewinder Dual Strike laying around and I still use it to play car games like Knight Rider and Need For Speed, but since the hat switch (which I had set up as a D-pad) broke off, I haven't had much use for it in anything else. I finally got around to stopping by Comp USA and browsed their selection of pads. There were some more expensive models in the $30 and up range but I didn't really like the design of most of them.
Some of the PC controllers out there are going for the Playstation look and that's a great idea because just about everyone has had a PS controller in their hands and knows the layout of it. I don't understand why some of the pads I saw boasted "rumble-pak" vibration, name ONE pc game out there that utilizes this technology. Or perhaps its for the emu-gamers who run Bleem and want the whole Playstation experience or something.
So after 10 minutes I narrowed my choices down to two $19 controllers.
It was either going to be the Logitech Action Pad (which didn't have analog only a very stiff and square D-pad and 6 buttons) or it would be the Saitek P880 which had two Analog Sticks, 8 buttons (10 if you count the tops of the joysticks that press in, great for Sniper view in Halo) a "Shift" button to let each button have a second function and BRILLIANT software that not only lets you map buttons to Keyboard and Mouse but also allows you to set up Macro's as well as Turbo (if you know what you're doing.)
Its alot like my Sidewinder Dual Strike's software, except it's actually made to run in Windows XP. DS's software wouldn't load in XP, but it would in Win 98 so when I do use my DS I have to rely on the drivers XP auto-finds for it when I plug it in... so the awesome key-mapping software that I loved about it was no longer usable after my OS change. You may ask "Why do you need key-mapping when most PC games support gamepads directly anyway?"
Right.. those are new PC games though. I mostly play old-school emulated console and arcade stuff like ZSNES, Genecyst, MAME, Turbo Grfx16, Visual Boy Advance and some of those program's don't support a controller directly, so in this case key-mapping is a very useful feature because that means I can play with a gamepad I can hold in my hands instead of using the clunky keyboard.
And the ability to use the analog sticks for a mouse pointer is a really smart innovation (Dual Strike could double for mouse as well). Can you imagine playing Quake or Counterstrike entirely with a controller instead of the mouse and keyboard? You could just kick back in your chair and play, instead of having to be hunched over your computer desk for long periods of time.
The only gripes I have is that...
1: The L and R shoulder button's are a little too flush with the rest of the unit, they should stick out more and give a good springy resistence like the rest of the buttons on the P880.
2: Pushing the D-pad up, down, or right makes a tick noise because its edges are hitting against the plastic surrounding it. It doesn't do this when you press Left, there's just a nice rubbery springiness. ALL of the directions on the pad should feel this way. And why a hard plastic D-pad anyway? A softer plastic one would've been nicer and probably last longer.
Actually I had an idea... anyone remember Turbo Touch 360? It was like this little magic d-pad that sensed the heat of your thumb and kept you from getting blisters, now those were kewel. How come they don't make a PC gamepad with something like that?
This thing has a 2 YEAR WARRANTY. So in the unlikely event that the controller breaks before then, if you still have your proof of purchase (reciept) you can get a new one sent to you or pick it up at the store you bought it from.
All that awesome functionality, compatibility with Windows XP, and a 2 year warranty? For $19 you're getting BEYOND your money's worth. I love you Saitek!!! *stares at the pretty blue LED*
-BlazeFoxKitsune =^.^=
7 Great gamepad!
I bought this gamepad 'cause my old one went out, and I must say, it is great! It has plenty of buttons for the games I play, and even though it is a bit bulky, it still feels good in my hands. I would definitely recomend buying this gamepad!
8 A great gamepad with only a few drawbacks...
First of all, let me say that I have no regrets after buying and using this gamepad. For $20, it's a steal. The construction feels mostly solid, and the analog sticks are very handy. The "Smart" technology software that comes with this product is mostly useless, and all the games it tested recognize the buttons well. A few minor complaints: the shoulder buttons feel quite flimsy and don't always register button presses, and I wish there were more than 10 buttons. Other than that, this gamepad is a great value.
9 Depends on your use
I'd have to say that satisfaction with this gamepad depends on what games you play. I tried to play NBA Live with it, and found that the D-Pad is too large, and coupled with the design of the shoulder buttons, my left hand was very sore after only 10 minutes of gameplay.
If you don't plan to use the shoulder buttons too much, or at least don't need to press both a shoulder button and navigate using the D-Pad, as with many sports games, then this gamepad might work for you.
For me, the D-Pad's size shocked me even at first glance. It is at least 1 1/2 times as large as any standard gamepad D-Pad. Furthermore, I'd prefer to have two sets of shoulder buttons, as with any good PS2 knockoff, as opposed to Saitek adding a second pair of smaller buttons to the top right, above the standard four buttons. I also found that the two analog controls were a bit too far from the rest of the buttons, adding to the discomfort in my hands. Just to clarify, I have relatively large normal hands, and the soreness is not just from the controller being too big for me. Other than that, the controller is sturdily built; it just does not suit my needs.
10 A Great Controller with very problems
If you want to play 2-D games then look for Microsoft's Sidewinder Gamepad, it's ease of use is uncanny; however if you want to play 3-D games like Halo PC, then you will need a controller with 2 analog sticks like this one. The controller is a great value and it does what it does extraordinarily well. The buttons are cramped, the shift key is a jip, and the included software (except for the drivers) did nothing but mess-up my computer, so I uninstalled the extra crud and it works great!
11 Awesome Gamepad
If you think you get what you pay for, you are wrong (in this case). This gamepad is one of the best I have used and the price is unbeatable!
12 Great Controller!
I bought this controller because I just got MVP Baseball 2004. It needed one of 5 controllers so I picked this one. it is great. I also have the MS Sidewinder but you can't even compare the 2. It is the best controller I ever used!!!!
13 this gamepad rocks!
i had purchased a gravis controller to use for emulators on my laptop. it just didn't cut it. i read some reviews and did my research online and settled on this gamepad. it works perfectly, is comfortable to use and installed easily. i have no complaints. it works really well with my NES emulator. i am now able to enjoy playing ninendo games on my laptop. i would definitely recommend this product.
14 Works great for emulators!
I just purchased two Saitek p880 controllers and I am happy to say that they work great! Installation was quick and easy and best of all I had no problem configuring them to my emulators. In case you were wondering which emulators are compatible for this controller they are : PJ64 (N64), GENS (genesis), SNES9x (SNES), MAME32k (Arcade), Project Tempest v.95 (jaguar), Visual Boy Advance (GBA), and VirtuaNES (nintendo). One downside though, there is a warning on the USB cord attached to the controller explaining that the cord itself contains lead and could cause cancer and birth defects and even advises to wash hands after use. WEIRD!!!
15 Awesome Gamepad
I just bought this gamepad today, and it is one awesome gamepad for its price. I have used Logitech, Gravis, Microsoft, and possibly others on the PC, and I have to say that this is one of the best out there. It has a fairly comfortable grip and nice options depending upon which games are being played.
16 great for the old-time arcade games
Oh, this thing is great. Bought it for those MAME games on my PC and it is just perfect, you can configure it for any game you want and the dual joysticks are absolutely needed for the Robotron 2084 sessions. Seems well built and it's a steal for the price.
17 KC-Media Steal-from-us dot com is a ripoff!
I ordered the Saitek P880 and received a generic PS2 controller instead, now I have to go buy an adapter. However, I read that the Saitek only has two shoulder buttons so the extra 2 fire buttons replace the 2 shoulder buttons. I was looking for the closest thing to a PS2 controller and I'm too busy to return this piece of crap, so I'm just going to keep it.
18 The Best Ever
I have had this controller for a few months. It works great on everything. If you have a PS2 game for your PC you can program the gamepad so it is exactly like a PS2 controller. I have programmed for Tony Hawk ProSkater 3 and it works perfectly. I would recommend it to anyone.
19 Great controller
I got this controller as a present, and it really feels great to hold--sturdy with a soft grip. This is the first game pad I've had, so I can't really compare it to anything. For my average-sized hands the analog joystick seems perhaps too tall, because my hand and forearm really start hurting after playing something intensive like NHL 2002. Maybe it's just me...
20 Better than Gravis or Logitech
I tried the Gravis Gamepad Pro and the Logitech Wingman Rumblepad, and both had very poor D-Pads (meaning you would press up, and it would go up and to the left, for example). I was very frustrated and was beginning to think that's just the way they made them until I tried this one. Works perfectly! The housing is much more solid and comfortable as well.
21 Best PC Gamepad Out There
I have been looking for a gamepad like this. It feels like your playing a real console with this gamepad. I am a big PC gamer, and there are just some games that a gamepad works much better for, and a lot of people don't play PC games just because of the controllers on console systems. Well this controller brings a new world to PC gaming. I can now play titles that were great for consoles on my PC just like it's on a Playstation 2 or Gamecube. This controller feels wonderful, has PLENTY of buttons, very programmable (including making your own scripts on buttons), and 2 analog sticks. Me and a friend both got one and now we're playing Nintendo 64 games on his laptop and having a BLAST. This gamepad is THE BEST PC GAMEPAD EVER, and for only $20 why even think twice about it? Get it.. you won't be sorry.
22 Low Price but Great Quality
I stumbled across these game pads, while trying to find an inexpensive controller for a couple of systems I was building for my sister and brother. At first I didn't expect much, and figured this would get them started then they could upgrade to a more [costly] rumble pad later. I plugged it in and Windows XP picked it up and set it up. (DON'T LOAD THE DRIVERS DISK ON XP). So I popped in F1 2002 and it worked pretty well, then I went on and played Madden 2002, NASCAR Racing 3 and 4, and NHL 2002, and it was great. Turned to my system, which has a Logitech Rumble Pad and get this... was disappointed in the Logitech performance compared to the Saitek. Who would have figured, an [inexpensive] controller (price wise) would play better then a [costly] big boy. Well between you and me, I kept one of these for myself, and gave the Logitech to my sister's kids. Often you get what you pay for, but sometimes you get more then you expected!
Trust me with this game pad you are getting way more then you are paying for. Who says [more costly] = better?
