Whats the best overall joystick out there? I dont really have anything specific that I'm looking for... just for the best one available.

HelloI own the SAITEK X45, it is a two part joystick and throttle. I am very pleased with it. Of course there is the Thrustmaster Cougar which I think is the top but for four time the price of the Saitek.Kristof

I bought the Cougar 10 months ago after my X36 died, and haven't booked back. The Cougar does have it's short comings. The stock pots aren't worth discussing. The gimbals are diecast from soft aluminum, and develop center play with use.Having said that, the Cougar's firmware and software are in a class of their own. Light years ahead of anything else out there. I added a replacement set of gimbals and softer centering system (the EvenStrain), as well as added Hall Effects sensors. I'm good to go with an extremely precise flight controller that won't need much maintenance for many hundreds of hours, and has some of the best programability out there.And no, it's not cheap!!! See this:http://forums.frugalsworld.com/vbb/showthr...&threadid=35029There's great support amongst the Cougar community of owners. The downside of the Cougar is the difficulty of finding one.

Todd,I've been very happy with a Saitek Cyborg 3D USB Gold. It has a the twist function for rudder control, and an ambidextrous throttle lever. (The whole stick is ambidextrous, actually.) Good for flightsimming, but I use it mainly for driving instead of a wheel & pedal set, which I can't use due to disability.However, if flightsimming is the primary reason for your purchase, I might recommend the Saitek X45, mentioned previously in this thread. I don't own one, but I've read a lot of good about it, and it's quite inexpensive, available for under $80. The Flight Unlimited 3 Forum moderator (and my co-moderator in Racing Fools) Tom Wunder has a set, and I think he's quite pleased with it. Note that this is a two-piece set, with separate stick and throttle and a rather large footprint, and it's not ambidextrous.For further information on all the Saitek stuff, here's a link:

http://www.saitekusa.com/

If you'd like Tom's own opinion, post a message in Racing Fools for him. We need some conversation in there anyway. ;-)[table][tr][td valign=top]http://www.avsim.com/other/usaribbon.gif[/td][td valign=center]Bob "FlyBert" StilesAVSIM Moderator[/b][/td][/tr][/table]"Don't stall on me, I have to soar!"~Richard Harvey, 1/21/2003

I do have the Saitek X45 and it is great for flightsimming. I is rotten for anything else. I also have a MS SideWinder Precison 2 for all my driving sims. I X45 just doesn't feel right for those.

Saitek X45. Very high quality piece for the money.($79.95)I cannot say if it's good for anything else as I use a Microsoft FFB Wheel and pedals for my driving games and my mouse and keyboard for FPShooters.Bobby

>Todd, >>I've been very happy with a Saitek Cyborg 3D USB Gold. It >has a the twist function for rudder control, and an >ambidextrous throttle lever. (The whole stick is >ambidextrous, actually.)I agree 100%. I am not happy with sticks (no matter how well built) that give me only right-hand capability which is NOT the way you would fly in a commercial aircraft. Cyborg 3D USB is the only one that meets this requirement.Michael J.

I have a Thrustmaster Afterburner which is a separate stick and throttle set-up. I like it because the throttle, while best used left-handed is not too uncomfortable to be used right handed which is good for airbus flying for instance. For flying aircraft that have a classic yoke control in real-life I use my CH Yoke USB which has three levers for throttle, prop, and mix and a whle slew of buttons and a hat. I like it a lot. I use the Thrustmaster's throttle with my CH yoke when I fly any plane that has pedestal mounted throttles in real-life and the buttons on the throttle I can configure to operate the prop and mix controls or in the case of a jetliner I use the buttons for flap and speed brake operation. My next hardware dream is an Elite or PFC quadrent.

Hi,I've been using the same Wingman Force joystick for years now. I've tried the SAITEK's, Sidewinders, and Thrustmaster, but I somehow keep going back to my trusty Wingman. Everyone has their own opinions of what feels the best, but for me it offers a few good things:- Substance: this stick's base has some weight to it so you're not flailing about when using it and it downs tip over - nice feature!- Feel: I leave the force feedback settings disabled in FS2K2; this offers a more traditional, stiffer response. I find that when enabled, the effects are a nice touch but the resopnse is much softer. - Price: Logitech discontinued manufacturing the stick but you probably can find it on ebay, pricgrabber, or googlegear for cheap $$$ (compared to other sticks in its class).I do wish that it came with a seperate throttle, like the Thrustmaster Afterburner series, but hey, these just weren't the craze when it was released. The only additional buttons that I use is the coolie hat POV switch, so these features may or may not influence your decision (it does have plenty of additional buttons to program though). If you prefer to use the force feddback feature, sensitivities can be adjusted.Your best bet is to go to a computer store like CompUSA, Best Buy, or some other place where they display all of their j-sticks and just test 'em out. Hope this helps!AMD XP 2400+ CPUThermaltake Volcano 9 HSF1 Gb DDR333 Crucial RAMASUS A7V8X MoboPNY Verto GeForce4 Ti 4400(2) 40Gb 7200 RPM Maxtor HDD48X TEAC CDRW/16X Pioneer DVD-RomSB Audigy Sound CardWingman Force Feedback jstickAntec Case w/4 Cooling FansNEC MultiSync XV17+ monitor20-inch Fresnel Lense

Thanks alot for all your replies... I went to circuit city a few weeks ago and they had the Saitek X45, and I loved it, but I wanted to check with you guys and see what you thought about different sticks. Personally, I want to go for the X45 but once again, I just wanted to be sure. Thanks again.