PC Controllers recomendations?

DualShock 4 Wireless Controller for PlayStation 4

Xbox since many games already have those built in for PC. I still have a wired 360 one. Too bad they don't make wired anymore, I hate batteries.

In my experience, all joystick controllers develop "drift" with use. I've had cheap ones last for years, and expensive ones last only months. It seems it's just luck of the draw.

Personally, I'd go with an official Microsoft controller because they work out of the box, with no fuss.

Dualshock 4 seems to be the most cost-effective option at the moment, that I can personally vouch for. The Series X controller apparently went on sale for $40 this Black Friday and appears to also be very well considered, so that's an option. At $69.99 retail and $55 sales, the Switch Pro'll run you up to twice as much, but is also reasonably well considered.

The xbox one controller hasn't been cut enough yet on retail price to make it really comparable to an on-sale series x in terms of bang-for-your-buck, but generally it's another good cheaper first-brand alternative to the DS4, and seems to have the lowest price (of $25) of all the major controllers during sales (making it a compelling nab at those times) .

Basically, I'd just recommend you to avoid 360 controllers and DS5s- the first ones have inherent design/quality issues (like a terrible d-pad) and in my experience are prone to developing issues quickly compared to other controllers (even third party ones), and the lower cost definitely isn't worth the difference now that the following generation of controllers have gotten fairly cheap, bringing them into the same price range during sales.

For the DS5s, they're up at the $69.99 Switch Pro price range (ie, up to twice the cost of a DS4), but not getting the same price cuts yet, which makes them an inefficent option if you won't also be using them for a PS5 in the meantime.

Xbox one controller, ps5 dual sense, 8bitdo controllers, hori fighting commander

These have the best quality out of all cotrollers.

I have a Steelseries Stratus Duo. Apparently, they can die quickly, mine is over a year old by now and runs well. It suits all my needs: it has a PlayStation button layout (whoever came up with that asymmetrical abomination called the Xbox controller should suffer for all eternity) but Xbox prompts, so I can press a lettered button instead of trying to decipher weird hieroglyphs. It also lacks any kind of rumble, so I can play the game and not a hand massaging simulator.

i buy 4 PDP Rock Candy Wired Controller for Xbox 360 for 15.00 on sale for my son and he set for 5yrs and hes horribly abusive to his controllers

I have a standard Logitech XBox 360 style controller and that works very well for most everything.

I also have a USB N64 controller for those times I want to emulate N64 games. I don't recommend that for general use.

I use the Afterglow controllers (I have four for couch gaming), which are wired XB1-compatible controllers. I like the button feel on them and I've had zero drift problems with them. They have no rubber coating to wear off, either, except on the analog sticks and so far I've had no wear issues there (have had them about 1.5 years). The ability to change the color of the controllers is very nice if you're having a multiplayer game night, because you can all go grab another beer and know which controller is yours when you get back. :)

There is only ONE Pc controller: Xbox. Never had a drifting issue in my life (many xbox pads), try the new Xbox series X model.

It was defective controller most likely although I had this issue when I bought it too. Sitting with DS4 now. Had Steam C-r. I'm satisfied.

I'm partial to ps4 controllers myself and plan to get a ps5 controller at some point. Anyway you might be able to fix, or at least reduce your drift issue by increasing the inner deadzone. To do this go to Steam -> Settings > Controller -> General controller settings -> click your controller at the bottom -> Calibrate. You should see a small circle dot moving around a little inside a black circle, there are sliders to increase the size of that black circle, making it slightly bigger than wherever your analog stick is drifting to should help with the issue. (though you WILL have to push your stick further before a game responds, this is generally only an issue if you want to walk slowly or such in a game.) If it's non steam games just look into how to adjust the deadzone in your program of choice.

I was like i will use controller from Xbox X series... it doesnt work hahaha... its paired, its connected.. simply everything, windows can see it but doesnt work in any game :D but my veeeeery old cable controller works good. I dont understand. Old is Thrustmaster GPX Controller and works great. (its just basic cheap controller)
Dont understand why X controller doesnt work on PC anyway. (have two of course, none work)

That's odd. I've had drifting with all of my Xbox 360 controllers, but no drifting at all with any of my Xbox One S controllers.

I would still recommend the Xbox One S controllers - I think they're the best for PC gaming. More ergonomic with a better layout than the PS4 controllers, easy to use with rechargeable batteries, and better game compatibility (I've encountered a game on Steam that wouldn't work with a PS4 controller).

I have the wireless 360, stayed with me for at least 4 or 5 years already, the only issue I seem to have now is the battery pack being loose so it power off at times when I'm playing (very annoying), but that is solved with taping the thing onto the damn thing. So ye. (even then, the battery pack will still disconnect if you shake the controller :( )

I'm using wired x360. I have a DS4 as well but it's garbage in terms of ergonomics. I thought about upgrading to xone/xsx but not sure if I should.

DS4 has drift issue as well by the way, and considering that DS5 is using the same sticks.. well...
But there's more. Apparently xone and xsx controllers are using the very same sticks as well. Also Switch Pro. Maybe even x360 does, but not sure.

Are you able to take apart the controller? I've had a few over the years, and managed to extend their lives greatly by being able to open them up a clean them out. And if I can get to the axis of the stick, I'll give it a little drop of penetrating oil and pretty much every time the controller then works again. Only time this doesn't work for me is if the stick is too worn out. But if the controller hasn't been used that much the issue is usually related to dirt or stickiness in the axes.
I am currently using an 8bitdo dongle with my switch pro controller. Can't speak for longevity as I haven't had it that long, but it's an official nintendo controller and the build quality is fantastic.

xbox controller, the "one" if possible. Haven't tried the series X but I've read the control bar is even better

got a stack of xbox360 controllers here,. if one fails i just use another :P

pc controller = keyboard + mouse

I don't think you can avoid stick-drift just by switching brands because I have had this issue with my first gen Dualshock 4 as well. The best "solution" to this problem is to find someone who is capable of replacing the faulty stick (I did it myself but desoldering the stick was a bit tricky for me). IMO these controllers have just gotten way too expensive to simply discard them for a new one, especially since the rest of your controller is usually in good or even perfect condition.

This is what I use (I've been using it for years, only took it apart at one point to clean because one of the sticks started getting a little stuck, after putting it all back together though turns out I just needed to loosen one of the screws). https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-940-000110-Gamepad-F310/dp/B003VAHYQY/ref=psdc_402047011_t1_B0041RR0TW

This is also supposedly cheap and well regarded. https://www.amazon.com/Controller-EasySMX-Joystick-Dual-Vibration-Trigger/dp/B06XBX1R55/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=EasySMX+ESM-9100&qid=1586465489&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011%2Cp_72%3A2661618011&rnid=2661617011&rps=1&sr=8-2

I think it really just comes down to your shape preference. I don't need vibration or gyro or anything fancy, even if I had them they're the kinds of features I would probably disable anyway. If need be, I believe each has more advanced models with a few other things added in, like vibration or wireless.

I have Logitech F710, it's fine for both xinput and directinput games. I rarely use gamepad though.

In my personal experience, I've been using Xbox controllers since Xbox One's launch. I used my first controller for 4 years (no problems, just the rubber on the analog stick fell completely) until I got the Xbox One S on the end of 2016. My controller is still perfect until today, whenever I have friends over or a party, we use it. I have another 4 controllers and all of them work perfectly with no damage whatsoever. So I have been using that white controller for 4 years now as well and still the only "problem" is the rubber falling off (I actually might prefer it that way).

My dad however, got his Xbox on 2014. He has gone through 3 controllers because of different issues. One of them had the left bumper button break completely (he could have sent it to Microsoft to get fixed, but didn't. This one was around for like 2 years). The second one had the analog stick do the same thing as yours, it was drifting to the right side (he kept using it for another few months with the issue, making total around 3 years of use). Now he is on his 3rd controller, going fine and well.

As you can see, the durability of the controller might be a little more connected of how you "treat" your controller while playing and how you use it. I never cleaned my controller with towels/tissues/whatevs, never stored it protected inside a box or drawer or anything. And I played way more "aggresive" games than my dad and longer as well, that's for sure.