How are x-arcade sticks?

Reaperman

Reaperman

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I've been looking for a decent PC stick for some time, and before today hadn't considered the x-arcade solo stick as an option. Mostly because of the weird button layout and lame MAMEer target market. :thevt:

Then it went on sale. $50+$15 shipping (link), for what appears to be a very sturdy case filled with generic controls with no published specs. :rolleyes: Still--$65, it's got to be worth that, right?

I tend to lean American/European in terms of arcade control preference, and the x-arcade parts look the part, but how are they? Also how hard are they to upgrade? Are they soldered or are standard arcade connectors used?

Heck, for $65 it might be worth it for the case alone. The layout isn't that bad if the bottom two buttons get replaced by hole covers.

 
Reaperman

Reaperman

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cdamm said:
terrible. they are terrible.
Click to expand...

That's honestly been my gut reaction up until today too. How bad are they? The weird bat top on the stick is the most visibly cringe-worthy piece I can see. I suppose there's also the potential for the usb encoder to be utter crap too--now that'd be a deal-breaker.

Still parts of it look darn nice. The case seems to be mdf, I've looked at other videos and see that standard connectors are running to the switches, so easy to swap stuff out. User service doesn't void the warranty, which is nice too.
 
Neorebel

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I also have heard that the consensus is that they are poor. I think there have been threads on this site a while back about 'em. Why not just use a PS3 arcade stick with your PC like the Madcatz, Hori, or Quanba?
 
2D_mastur

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Are MAS sticks considered better than X-Arcade?
 
Reaperman

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2D_Master said:
Are MAS sticks considered better than X-Arcade?
Click to expand...
I think so. MAS uses branded parts one can at least find specs on. The stuff in an x-arcade is a total mystery. Not that I'm not a huge fan of MAS sticking with 'modern HAPP' parts, but whatever.

So, collecting past statements about x-arcade from this forum. I found one positive thread, but then:
DaytimeDreamer said:
I have an old dual X-Arcade stick and I really hate everything about it except the layout. The stick and buttons are really terrible and I want to replace them. This stick also lags like no tomorrow
Click to expand...
Pingu said:
Can't really recomend one of those things unless you switch sticks and buttons in it for something more suitable. People are recommending the Seimitsu ls32 stick and you can use a bat shaped top on them instead of a ball one if you want to I think.
Click to expand...
Neo Gold said:
X-arcade sticks are total rubbish....very,very cheap.....unresponsive sloppy stick & ratty cheap buttons...i bought & sold mine within 1 week!!....go the distance & buy a far superior Hori-II stick from play-asia.com ....it makes sense.
Click to expand...

oh it goes on and on too. Oh well, I had wanted the stick to be nice, but that's just not the case.
 
purple

purple

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the joysticks they sell on ebay they claim they're industrial grade
 
Xavier

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I have a dual player one I got on trade, its broken mostly I've tried it on about 10 computers and it only works a little bit on one with supreme lag.

It's supposed to have a keyboard interface and be plug and play/work instantly on most any computer, that's its appeal to me.

The construction feels good and the buttons and controllers feel pretty standard to me but I'm not a Asian parts snob. The construction and materials feel far superior to old mass controllers but it does say something about not using Windex to wash it(what's up with that? ).

It's supposed to have a lifetime warranty and I've been meaning to send it in and get it fixed or maybe see if I can swap/upgrade it out with a trackball unit.
 
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Mendel

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I´ve had an x-arcade dual stick... I didnt know any better at the time. It is better than not having any arcade stick... but once I got used to sanwa/seimitsu sticks and buttons later on, I could not even look back at the x-arcade shit.

The bat top is first thing, then the buttons are also a bit crap. First of all the buttons are convex instead of concave, which feels just weird. Also, both the stick and buttons feel a bit sluggish and cheap in comparison to proper stuff. I sold mine away to a friend for 50 eur and he seemed to be glad about it.

Its okay if you dont know any better.
 
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L

LegoSlug

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I used to have one when I didnt know any better. Laggy when used with adaptors for consoles. Worked fine via USB. I had one break on me and they honored the warranty, theyre customer service was good.

Its a cheap stick for a reason, but they stand behind the product. If I was on a budget and didnt have anything better, its a good stick and should be able to upgrade the parts as you go.
 
Psygnosis8

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I also had one of these. Tried to mod it with Happ Competition sticks which didn't work, and the wiring inside is so cheap and shitty a bunch of the quick connects snapped off.

Then I discovered Sanwa and Seimitsu...

Yeah, pass on these things. I had a tankstick with a trackball. The trackball was great. Everything else sucked.
 
S

SNKorSWM

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If you're buying a stick, it's probably best to go with something that can be easily modded. Since the stock modding craze, all the tools have been readily available.
 
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Jassin000

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I owned a 2-player X-Arcade stick at one point in 2003 with adapter to use on Xbox (MAMEoX)...

It wasn't that good, control seemed laggy and the body is cheap pressed fiberboard (don't get it even slightly wet or it will swell/melt apart into a pile of wood pulp).

I ended up trading it for a Geforce 560ti EVGA video card and using Madcatz TE sticks to play MAME on PC.
 
joe8

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Reaperman said:
I've been looking for a decent PC stick for some time, and before today hadn't considered the x-arcade solo stick as an option. Mostly because of the weird button layout and lame MAMEer target market. :thevt:

Then it went on sale. $50+$15 shipping (link), for what appears to be a very sturdy case filled with generic controls with no published specs. :rolleyes: Still--$65, it's got to be worth that, right?

I tend to lean American/European in terms of arcade control preference, and the x-arcade parts look the part, but how are they? Also how hard are they to upgrade? Are they soldered or are standard arcade connectors used?

Heck, for $65 it might be worth it for the case alone. The layout isn't that bad if the bottom two buttons get replaced by hole covers.

Click to expand...
I think they use Happ parts, that are more durable than Sanwa/Seimistu. But the feel of the stick/buttons is more important than durability.
 
BLEAGH

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They are not Happ parts and they are not more durable than Sanwa/Seimitsu. Xgaming makes their own parts. The encoder is ass and doesn't have common ground.
 
kahel

kahel

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I had the dual Stick and the dual tank stick . I gave my dual to a friend and sold my tank stick . They were bad , laggy and stopped working (had to change the PCB) . The PS3 had a weird bug that holding back would stop after 3 sec even if you were still holding , very bad for blocking.

The angle on them is weird , they are not comfortable . I never found a good way to place the joystick so you could play for a long time while staying comfortable. My 16 year old MAS stick worked better.
 
PunkicCyborg

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the sticks are buttons feel awful. The buttons are loud and wear out your fingers and the sticks are mushy, springy and feel like you are playing with a boingy door stopper thing
 
Jibbajaba

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I bought a single-player x-arcade stick off of Craigslist several years ago, and immediately turned around and resold it. Everything about it is junky. Like OP, I was thinking that at least the case was of good quality even if I wanted to replace the stick and buttons. Nope.

I know it sucks, but just pony up the money for a decent stick.
 
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ki_atsushi

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Had a dual x-arcade stick for a short time in the early 2000's but I fucking hated it. It used a keyboard encoder, which means it couldn't handle more than 2 inputs at a time, and buffers the rest.
 
joe8

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Reaperman said:
I've been looking for a decent PC stick for some time, and before today hadn't considered the x-arcade solo stick as an option. Mostly because of the weird button layout and lame MAMEer target market. :thevt:

Then it went on sale. $50+$15 shipping (link), for what appears to be a very sturdy case filled with generic controls with no published specs. :rolleyes: Still--$65, it's got to be worth that, right?

I tend to lean American/European in terms of arcade control preference, and the x-arcade parts look the part, but how are they? Also how hard are they to upgrade? Are they soldered or are standard arcade connectors used?

Heck, for $65 it might be worth it for the case alone. The layout isn't that bad if the bottom two buttons get replaced by hole covers.

Click to expand...
If you want something cheap, you can mod a Mayflash stick with Sanwa stick (JLF) or Seimitsu stick (LS-32) and Sanwa OBSF-30 buttons. But the sticks like Madcatz etc are better in terms of having more space to rest your hands, more weight so the stick doesn't move around, and other factors. Every advantage helps when you're trying to get good on shooters or fighters (i.e., good enough to get 1cc's, or beat someone in online fighters). But, of course, you will play your best game on an arcade cab, not a PC or game console.
 
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