Hi ThereJust read your message and did a search on the Saitek X45 - I thought you should be aware that at http://www.joy-stick.net/reviews/joysticks/x45.htmI found this...Please note the following E-mail I received-My name is Ron Hunt and I'm the creator of the Unofficial Saitek Help Center now hosted on the SimHQ web site. After reading your review of the Saitek X45 I would like to bring to your attention an error in the review that might lead someone to buy this controller on your recommendation only later to find out that it does not perform as you mentioned. The problem is that neither the new Saitek Smart Technology programming software or the older Saitek Game Extension programming software is compatible with either Windows 2000 as your review says or Windows XP. The software will install and appear to work under these OS, however the user will not be able to download any user programmed SST/SGE game profile to the X45. Saitek is aware of this problem and is working on a Win2k/XP compatible version of SST/SGE, however they admit that it will be mid 2002 before it will become available. The X45 is usable under Windows 2000/XP with special "beta" drivers available from the Saitek web site, however this only allows the X45 to be recognized as a 4 axis/32 button controller. This allows the buttons to be programmed in games that allow the user to program a DirectX button assignment to a game function. Other than that there are no other programming possibilities with the X45 operating under Windows 2000/XP. Anyway I thought this information might be of interest to you regarding your X45 review.

Respectfully, I don't know what the heck you are talking about. I have been using my X-45 for about two years now on both XP Home and now XP Pro. I don't really know about using other peoples profiles and any problems with that, I make my own and they work flawlessly. As far as showing as a four axis/32 button controller, that is true. The real power of the X-45 is in the SST software which acts as a keyboard encoder to mimic keystrokes. Once your profile is created and saved, just two quick mouse clicks and it gets flashed to the onboard EEProm in the controller and you're flying!As I said earlier, works great here and wouldn't trade it for anything.P.S. Just went and checked that link you pointed out...it's almost three years old! Oops:-badteeth

Just to throw my hat in with the other satisfied Saitek owners.I have had my X36 for probably 3 years now and love it, about 2 years ago I added CHPro pedals which now gives me toe brakes and a slightly better 'feel' but to be honest you don't really need them as the rudder control on the X36 throttle is more than adequate. However becasue of theprice of the X36/X45 you can start with that and then add pedals later - if you wish.Before the X36 I had a MS Sidewinder with twist-stick rudder and hated it, also the throttle control was next to useless, IMHO.A warning, from what I have seen of the new Saitek X52 don't buy it! it looks as if they have gone from the rocker switch rudder control to a twist-stick control and you don't have the same control, again IMHO.My only real wish is that they would do a version with optical sensors rather than the mechanial potentiometers.Hope you enjoy whatever you buy.Dave

>I have gone back to using the joystick even>though I realize it is not exactly realistic but the chances>of me getting a PFC yoke is slim to none. The level of control>has really blown me away. This is simply my opinion.Have you tried tweeking the controls for the CH yoke and pedals? Using the software from their website, I was able to improve the control quite a bit!Before tweeking them, I felt as you do now.Regards,Murray

I "tried" the X45 at BestBuy a few weeks back, and as someone noted above the control forces seemed really stiff (at least compared to the Sidewinders I'm used to using). I'm wondering if the spring breaks in and loosens up over time, or if someone could elaborate on how the stiff feel translates to usability in FS? I'm also curious to know how well the X45 interfaces with CH pedals and which versions are compatible.-Lee Barberhttp://home.nc.rr.com/uniuniunium/dvasig.jpg

I lube my x-45 with white powdered teflon. Works great.Dan Hayden

Well, it would seem my glowing report on the X-45 might have been premature! Today, I have suffered two major crashes, my computer, not aircraft. The culprit in both cases was the Saitek drivers. It would appear that they don't play nice with a hyperthreading machine. Until Saitek can come up with suitable drivers, it looks like I'll be parked on the ramp!;(

Well, you guys have judt eneded up confusing me even more, so today I went out to the mall and bought myself the Logitech cordless joystick and love it so far.I had microsoft sidewinder for so long now that I had to get something else.This joystick has 10 programmable buttons, it's cordless so I got rid of some of the clutter on my desktop, and I really like the way rudder inputs are handled, a lot smoother than my old sidewinder and most importantly I paid only 29euros.I'm looking forward to buying some sort of multiple throttle control which I still find very usefull, so whenever they decide to come up with such a product I'll consider that purchase.For now I'm happy with what I bought.Thanks for your helpfull insights,David

Er, note about the Saitek drivers: yes, they are quirky. Re-install and do turn off the "magic mouse" since it causes problems on the USB side. Saitek makes good joysticks, but like ATI, their drivers are something to use with caution on some systems...