Date: January 24th, 2007
Article by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Logitech
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PRODUCT INSTALLATION & USE
Installation
As with most controllers, this product is plug and play after you have installed the drivers. Throwing the mini-CD into the CD will lead to it auto-playing and popping up the following.
Although there is not button mapping software, you do have a choice between a couple games, some online game applications and the product drivers. For the price, I found the games to be a nice addition to get you up and using the product immediately.
All that is left is to plug your controller into the USB slot and allow Windows to install the drivers and you are ready to go. Would also be a good time to calibrate the controller in the gamepad properties in the Control panel.
Product Use
Seeing controllers aren't the best option for first person shooter when compared to the keyboard & mouse, I decided to fire up some Need for Speed and some flying and fighter simulators to get a good feel for this controller. Overall, this is a very comfortable controller to use for extended periods of time with little to no hand fatigue.
Now after a while, I did find that my hands started to perspire so I paused the game, fired up the controllers ventilation on the low setting, and continued on my merry way. After another fives minutes, things weren't drying out at all and the fan was making a noise that can be only be described as a low electronic grinding. To sum it up, the low setting is like an asmatic blowing through a straw. Sure there was some noise, but nothing was really being accomplished.
Upping the setting to high brought about an increase in airflow and also a noticeable increase in noise. So much for Logitech claim of "silent operation". Sure with headphones you would be fine, but using this without headphones will lead to you having to up the volume in your game to drown it out. But, it gets the job done, but by doing so brings out some distractions and quite a bit of vibration.
I still don't get why Logitech claims this as being "silent". It is quite the opposite.
