First the good stuff--there are a total of 12 programmable buttons, a programmable rotating trim wheel just below the weapon switches, a rudder control operated by twisting the stick, and a dual throttle lever that can be locked for single engine use. There is an eight-position hat switch in the middle of the four weapon switches at the top of the stick, and two LED's that illuminate the weapon switches, hat switch and trim wheel from above.
On top of all the controls, the Cyborg X is highly adjustable. The top head including the trigger and weapon switches can tilt fore and aft, the length of the stick can be adjusted with the push of a button, and the stick itself can be adjusted fore and aft. A tabbed hex key used for most of the adjustments stows in one of the three joystick supports.
As for smoothness and ease of use, I really like the way Saitek centers this joystick. A spring seats a shallow cone-shaped disk inside another cone when the stick is at center. When the joystick is moved off of center, this makes for very smooth action in all axes, unlike the joysticks used in radio control transmitters. There is about five degrees of slop evident in the stick when it is centered though, due to play between the screw adapter the stick attaches to and the joystick base arm. (The joystick comes disconnected from the base as packaged.) It wouldn't hurt if the manufacturing tolerances were a little tighter here.
All this adjustability comes at a slight price. When you press any of the four weapons switches, the top of the joystick flexes, making them feel somewhat imprecise. The weapons switches also don't close as crisply as the trigger switch does. The last fault I found with it is that, when pushing the joystick far forward, the base can tip forward too. This is because while there is a base leg to the rear of the stick, there are none forward. The two front base legs are mounted laterally.
These are minor quibbles. The Saitek Cyborg X is the best joystick I've ever bought.
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Shipping:Shipping was great. I actually got it in exactly 48 hours via UPS.
Packaging:
When you first get the device, it will be easy to set up ( I won't spoil the assembly for you if you haven't seen it before ). I was really impressed with the packaging for starters.
Software:
I installed the drivers ; quick and easy. I didn't install anything additional but that's up to you. I'm using a iMac (2008) with windows vista ( not sure anymore what level ).
Hardware:
I use this stick with Flight Simulator X. At first the stick was uncomfortable for my hand.
I had to adjust it , which it then became a perfect fit. If you're worried about force feedback, don't. My logitech stick's FF motor died after maybe a year of use. The spring which hold it center and provides a force is good enough.
What I was most excited about but a tad bit disappointed by was the throttle ( more so with FS X than the stick it self ) . It's a dual throttle which can also become single throttle isn't able to control individual engines. They both control all engines whether or not you use one or both. There is also a button that will join the two throttles.
You also have lot of options when it comes to buttons. I actually have less use for my keyboard now that I can put those commands on the stick. There are 10 number keys, a "shift" key , a trigger and dual throttles. The book says you can assign them to commands such as the trim and different engines but you'll have to play around with that in the game you're using it with.
The base can be folded and be put behind your monitor if you have a flat screen LCD monitor to save space. The over all texture and stainless steal of the device is very smooth.
There is a light under the hat switch which can become distracting at times when you push the stick forward during flight. The light for some reason is very intense on that angle so don't look directly into it.
Another thing is when you're pushing the stick forward, the base lifts up. I personally do not mind when flying because the only time I'm really pushing the stick forward is when I'm landing. Even then, I don't even push that hard for the stick to really lift. I only notice that when I'm flying freehand. It might bother some but it's fine with me.
Final:
I would suggest this to anyone who is interested in an adjustable stick, great over all feel and style. Of course there are more advanced sticks around but this certainly is worth the buy for what it offers.
Good:
Easy to instal drivers
Great feel ( texture )
Adjustable
Great Style
Lots of buttons
Space saver
Bad:
Intense blue light
Lifts when pushing stick forward
Best Deals for Mad Catz F.L.Y.5 Stick for PC
i own allot of Cyborg products..but this is my first stick..bought it to play HAWX for PCthe GOOD:
-love the finish on the stick its top notch smooth and soft
-blue LED lit thumb trigger
-fully adjustable to the max
-more buttons then you could of dreamed of
-locking/unlockable dual throttle
-comes with its own built in tool for adjustment
-expandable base
-really does assemble in seconds
-great response in Hawx
-overall looks are very impressive
-controllable dead zones..
the OK:
-stick assembly is a little loose, more play than i would like
-all plastic
-nose down the stick and it comes off the table do to ill support-Velcro required
The Bad:
its programmable just not with the software...programmable via the game your playing..a Cyborg X SST profile dose not exist for this stick to create custom profiles for it
-is a tad on the sensitive side as once of the censors on mine died in a week..causing the stick to fail to center..i have received another one...
it hasn't died yet..
-while the driver support is good in its own right, it sometimes has an issue with its fellow cyborg products..like the cyborg mouse or keyboard...can, will and has knocked out the driver configs for them..on my end, but problem solved by moving stick to a diff USB bus..its most stable on the primary MB USB bus..it also properly power's off when its on the MB usb busexpanded shared bus's at least for my MB cause it to remain powered on..when the machine is off..which is why i think the first one died..
-packaging for stick looks good..but main base unit is just jammed against cardboard-thus jamming the plug connector-that plugs into the main body of the sick..luckily 2 sticks down and no damage
-support for this item is surprising weak, im not sure if its cause its new or its on the verge of being discontinued....
Honest reviews on Mad Catz F.L.Y.5 Stick for PC
I got this for Christmas a few years ago because I had really gotten into Flight Simming. This thing is THE PERFECT JOYSTICK if you want to get an all-in one, affordable control system.Features:
TONS of Buttons. On FSX I use them for Throttling, Flap adjustment, landing gear, tailhook, brakes, differential brakes, speedbrakes, lights, and view switching. The twisting function works well as a rudder and if you're like me, you don't even need it that much except for ground steering (I seldom use the rudder when flying).
Easy programmingand if it gets sensitive/sticky you can adjuts it.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Mad Catz F.L.Y.5 Stick for PC
Started by having an hard time to get it to work on Windows 7 64, the throttle is stiff, and it ended up breaking after 2 weeks of normal usage ( from 30-to 1 hr daily usage, Falcon 4 ). What happened is that all of a sudden the rudder control was going off randomly. Returned for a refund and the shipping costed me a whopping 17$ ( although the estimate cost was 6$). Definitely won't order hardware from Amazon again unless they start giving free shipping of returns.
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