I'm going to buy a new controller for my P3D v4.1. The budget, which I have is $300 max.

At first I want to say that currently I don'w want to buy rudder pedals so please don't propose it to me.
Mostly I fly in PMDG Boeing planes. I'm not sure whether it's better to choose the Saitek Yoke or some joystick with the throttle? I know that Boeings have yokes comparing to Airbus. But Saitek yoke with throttles in my opinion has to small amount of buttons. What do you think?

On the other hand I think about Saitek X56 joystick with throttle but I'm not sure whether it is to advanced? I saw some reviews and it has a lot of small sticks and other things, which I think I don't use in P3D. As far as I know the only analog stick, which I need is the hat switch to rotate the view. Any ideas, where I can use other sticks?

Maybe Saitek X52 will be enough? It's a little bit cheaper but I don't know...

What you're using and why? What are the benefits of having joystick comparing to yoke - or vice versa?

Please advise.

I really like my Saitek X-55 (now X-56) for its precision, ease of use and setup and its whole look and feel. It has many buttons and switches to program and offers a twisting stick, if you want to use it without pedals! 

I had the X52 a long time ago, but the X-55 (56) definitely feels and works a lot better (for me). You don’t need to program all its functions, but it’s better to have them, because with time, you’ll most probably be happy to be able to assign different things to these axis, switches and toggles. 

3 hours ago, tecto said:

currently I don'w want to buy rudder pedals so please don't propose it to me.

you'll be surprised what "better" & "cheaper" total options there are if you change your mind .........on pmdg types in particular.

On 1/25/2018 at 8:13 AM, Mik75 said:

I really like my Saitek X-55 (now X-56) for its precision, ease of use and setup and its whole look and feel. It has many buttons and switches to program and offers a twisting stick, if you want to use it without pedals! 

I had the X52 a long time ago, but the X-55 (56) definitely feels and works a lot better (for me). You don’t need to program all its functions, but it’s better to have them, because with time, you’ll most probably be happy to be able to assign different things to these axis, switches and toggles. 

Does X-55 (56) has knobs to - for instance - set the altitude or something like that? If not can this be done by any of sliders/axis sticks?

For your budget, I'd suggest the CH Eclipse yoke (which has paddle rudders) and the CH throttle quadrant.  IMHO both work way better than Saitek and have much more functionality because of the plethora of programmable switches.  Check them both out.  Ninety-nine percent good reviews.