Reviews of Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick (Silver/Black)

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The Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick is a good all-around stick. For those wanting to use, say, Flight Simulator for educational purposes, the Extreme 3D is a good choice.

In fact, this type of stick is much more realistic than models with "Force Feedback": the stick movement on a genuine modern helicopter in flight feels smooth and fluid, like power steering on your car. Force Feedback may be fun, but I don't think it's very realistic for many of the scenarios it's currently used in.

Specifically, here's what I rated it by:

* Quality of components and assembly: The action of the stick is smooth. No flimsy play in the controls. The hat switch and trigger pull have a positive feel with close tolerances.

* Comfortable handgrip: like the overall product, the design and machining of the grip is off high-quality, without any annoying seems or sharp ridges.

* Smooth throttle control: this is a small detail, but compared with some of the other models out there, it's notable.

* Stable base that allows you to either rest it firmly on a table or in your lap.

* Subtle movements are reflected in the game.

* Overall appearance it looks as good as it performs.

Things to NOTE:

* This is definitely a right-handed joystick.

* It plugs into a USB port

* I used it with Microsoft Flight Sim 2002 running on an XP Pro system: Installing the software that came with the joystick was effortless and when I opened Flight Sim, all of the buttons were already mapped to the appropriate functions.

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I bought this joystick for gaming on my Mac and was a bit disappointed when the box arrived and it said "PC only"... However, I plugged it in to my iBook and it worked just great on Battlefield 1942 even without installing any drivers (I'm using OSX). I also can use it on my Windows PC without any problem. It comes with a drivers CD for Windows.

It improved my game 100% when flying planes in Battlefield, I would definitely recommend this to anybody who plays games in which flying is involved. It's pretty sturdy and quite large, and very comfortable to hold, though it's definitely for right-handed gamers only.

It has a separate throttle control (a lever that you push forward or backward) that's quite sensitive, and the handle twists left and right to control the rudder (as well as moving 360 degrees like any other joystick). There are 13 buttons so there's plenty of choice when mapping your controls.

Personally I much prefer this joystick over one that comes with force feedback the vibration works against what you're trying to do and makes playing harder. You can't beat this joystick for the price.

After this I could never go back to playing Battlefield using only mouse and keyboard. It takes the gaming experience to the next level.

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I received this joystick as a Christmas gift for use on my computer. The initial set up and installation was quick and easy, and I immediately used it on "Pacific Fighters". The stick is comfortable to hold, or it can be placed on a table or desk. The rapid fire trigger is especially helpful in combat games, and the swivel feature is an added plus. There are several programmable buttons which can be customized by the user, and the throttle control is very smooth to operate.

I highly recommend this joystick. It performed exceptionally for me on "Pacific Fighters", and I'm looking forward to trying it out on "Axis and Allies" and "MVP Baseball 2004". With this joystick, you'll be able to play your favorite computer games with ease and comfort.

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EDIT (4/3/2013) The review below was written SEVEN years ago and is likely not applicable today! Back then, I was a college student for whom this joystick was an extravagant purchase for his slow Windows XP laptop. I was also admittedly immature at the time, as I now shudder when reading the last line of my review today.

Anyway, my point is that the review below was applicable back in 2006 and likely does not apply today. I can't confirm for myself that the issue has been resolved, since I stopped gaming years ago and I don't have this stick any longer. But as you can see in the comments, it looks like you have nothing to fear in buying this stick today and attempting to calibrate it.

I'm frankly surprised that Logitech still sells this joystick model. I guess it shows you how popular this model has become. Now if only they still continued to sell the MX series of mice.

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I've used this joystick for about a year now. Originally, the joystick worked perfectly with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. But after about 9 months of moderate use (4-6 hours/wk), the joystick began to lose its calibration, especially in the twist portion. Having owned 3 joysticks previously, I was expecting this to occur because of typical fatigue on the spring. What I did not expect was that Logitech does not provide any software to calibrate the joystick, which is necessary to compensate for the inaccuracies caused by the fatigued spring. I tried to search online for any calibration utility, but to no luck. I don't know; maybe Logitech does have calibration software associated with the stick and I just missed it. But at this point, the stick has becoming annoyingly unaccurate that I'm almost ready to purchase a new stick...and I'll make sure ahead of time that it can be calibrated.

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I've only used this joystick on a Mac, so I can't comment on the quality of the drivers and software for Windows. Here are my impressions from using it:

* Installation was cake. I plugged it in to the USB hub on my keyboard, and that's it. No drivers to install, no need to even bother with the included CD.

* Throttle control is very smooth and precise.

* Pitch, roll, and yaw (rudder) are also very smooth with great feel. This is not a sloppy flight stick in any way.

* All the buttons are well-positioned, assuming you are right-handed. The buttons on the base are extremely handy in a flight sim, for setting things like rudder trim, or for toggling various features on your aircraft.

I got this stick primarily for use with the X-Plane flight simulator, and it works extremely well. The base is very stable when used on a desk or lap, and the joystick as a whole has a solid, smooth feel. If you don't need or want force feedback, this is an outstanding joystick at a good price.