Belkin Nostromo n52 vs Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit

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Pyrocles

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
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I've been using a Belkin Nostromo Speedpad n52 for awhile now, and LOVE the freakin' thing. Unfortunately, I'm building a new PC that will feature Windows Vista. I'm not sure if Belkin plans on releasing Vista drivers or Loadout Manager software for the Nostromo, so I'm considering changing to the Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit, which DOES have Vista drivers available on Saitek's Website.

The two products seem similar, except for the n52's D-pad compared to the "4-way" analog stick on the Saitek Pro Gamer. I love the n52's D-pad, which is 8-way, for moving around in FPS games. Would the Saitek's analog stick work in a similar way? Is it only capable of 4-way operation, or does it move freely like an analog stick on a XBOX gamepad?

If anyone has experience with gaming using the Saitek's analog stick, I'd appreciate a description of its movement characteristics.

Thanks!
 
I downloaded version 3g of the Belkin drivers and have my n52 working on Vista. There were some errors on install, but it does work.
 
I'm also using the 3g Belkin drivers on my n52 with Vista. I've not had any problems or errors.
 
Although I haven't owned a Nostromo N52 I have checked out the display models at various stores. I have owned and worn out the d-pad on two Nostromo N50 game pads (the N52's predecessor). The build quality, or lack there of (as far as I could tell with out disassembling it, which I have done on the N50s) seemed to be identical to the N50s. Replacing the N50s under warranty was not an option since I had modified the angle of the keypad. I replaced my worn out N50s with the Saitek PGCU which have been using it for a couple of years now. I beleive the PGCU to be a superior product for the following reasons:

1) Better Build Quality - It's outlasted my N50's
2) More robust programming software - Although the programming software is not as easy to use as Belkin's it has alot more features for programming macros etc.
3)ANALOG hat switch - Far better than an 8 way dpad, especially for FPS

The analog joystick is the best reason for getting this gamepad. Since it's analog you can program macros based upon how far you push the joystick on its 4 axis. For example you can split the Y axis into 3 regions (or as many as you want) allowing you to walk, run or sprint based on how far forward you push the joystick. This awesome since you don't have to waste another key to modify your forward movement to run or sprint. Think about the evolution of console game controllers they all have moved toward analog control for good reason.

Other nice features of the PCGU are the backlit keys and adjustable joystick/thumb buttons position. The only bad things about it are the unintuitive programming software and I've also had some mysterious driver issues causing me to reinstall them with some frequency (though this may be due to my system setup and or driver conflicts).

Have any of you guys tried Pinnacle's Game Profiler? Its compatible with almost all gamepads. I've been messing around with it for a week now (30 day free trial) and find it to be better than Belkin's or Saitek's programming software except for the fact it can't take full advantage of the PCGU's analog joystick (it only allows for 6 macros on it).
 
Ooh, so the Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit's hat switch is analog?! Cool. From reviews and descriptions that I've read, I couldn't tell if it was a limited 4-way switch or fully analog floating joystick.

I use my n52's 8-way d-pad to move forward, back, strafe left, and strafe right. I also like to "bi-chord" by moving forward and strafing left or right at the same time around corners. So I guess you could use the Saitek's thumbstick to do the same thing, since it's truly analog and doesn't just click up, down, left, and right.

It sucks that some newer FPS games, like Doom3, don't support joystick controls; this limits my n52. You can map the d-pad to the forward, back, strafe left, and strafe right keys, but you can't move in two directions at once by moving the d-pad up-left, up-right, down-left, or down-right. You might be able to use macros, though. I've tried using macros to do this before, but they didn't work properly.
 
Yeah Saitek calls it a hat switch but it is essentially a full analog joystick. Games that support analog joysticks read it as such, so there is no need to map it unless you want to do something other than what a joystick would do in a game.
 
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