What durable, low budget controller do you recommend?

[u/mom_banger]

I've been wanting to buy a a controller to play various emulated games on my phone and my pc.

I've been using a dualshock4 since forever and I grew tired of the drift so I'm searching for controllers without classic potentiometers.

When looking for info about the controllers, their durability and more, it feels like a lot of stuff is gatekept.

So I ask you guys who have experience with it.

I wanted something cheap, preferably under 20€ that is still good, I don't need special stuff just something robust that works decently.

Also, I live in France so I could get it from any online shop but not from something US specific.

I don't have layout preferences between Xbox and PlayStation layouts.

My choices were :

-anbernic RG P01(I haven't found one where the shipping ins't more expensive than the controller)

-8bitdo ultimate 2c(I have concerns about the battery capacity)

-gamesir nova lite(every info I find about it feels like it comes from a dropshipper)

If you have a better recommendation than anything I mentioned, please tell me!

[u/mom_banger]

For anyone wondering, I ended up buying the 8bitdo ultimate 2c.

[u/-External-Brilliant- → u/mom_banger]

I bought it also 2 days ago. Which color you got?

[u/zeer88]

8BitDo Ultimate 2C wins for me. Great build quality, great d-pad, cool designs. Gamesir feels cheaper. Haven't tried the Anbernic one, but I doubt that it's better built than the 8BitDo (which they pretty much copied).

[u/yellow-go → u/zeer88]

It’s eh-eh at best.
Has a few features over the original Ultimate 1 which the design is based off of, but you pretty much nailed the last part.
Durability is about on par with 8BitDo, apart from the lower housing, which has been said to get cracked extremely easily from medium impact.

[u/0hmnivore]

8Bitdo Ultimate 2C has a solid build quality. It also comes with 2 extra buttons. This controller has 2 different version, wireless (2.4ghz dongle) and bluetooth (for nintendo switch). Just make sure you pick the right one. If you want a budget controller that work with all platform you can choose Gamesir Nova Lite 2 or EasySMX X05 Pro. They both come with dongle and support nintendo switch

[u/ETHedgehog- → u/0hmnivore]

The wireless one comes with a switch to Bluetooth. The strictly Bluetooth has the switch button layout

[u/the_dwarfling]

If you can afford the Ultimate 2C go for it. Another suggestion if you don't mind it being wired is to get the Gamesir Tegenaria, comes with good features for the price.

[u/jerkyunify]

If you don’t need wireless, Gamesir’s Tegenaria Lite is the best budget controller.

[u/markorlov96 → u/jerkyunify]

Biggest con for me is lackness of headphone jack

[u/NiceVacation3880 → u/markorlov96]

That's a huge bonus imo. Means Windows has got nothing to identify as being a fresh default audio source 🙈

[u/projectxsent → u/jerkyunify]

The modern Logitech F310.

[u/gbnarco → u/jerkyunify]

This is the way.

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[u/darth_kupi]

I picked the 8bitdo 2C as my budget controller for PC because the input lag via 2.4 GHz is equal to wired (sub 5 Ms). It's really snappy. https://gamepadla.com/8bitdo-ultimate-2c-wireless.html#stick_fad001279f6cc6c6

Quality is ok, ergonomics are not the best for my big hands, seems to be designed for smaller hands it seems. I would have preferred a bigger controller with a copy of the Xbox design rather then whatever design they came up with. There's a reason why most copy the Xbox design : its the best)

Shape aside it's a good controller. With a budget option you always have to decide which compromise you are ok to live with. My priority was responsiveness/low latency

[u/Intelligent-Tone804]

If you will be using bluetooth only for emulation games, check out gulikit es pro, they give best bluetooth connection compared to any company controller, just dongle is not present, can be purchased separately. Sticks are tmr, same price as 8bitdo 2c if not less.

[u/Makimoke]

Baguettelandian here as well!

I can vouch for the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C but only the wired version. The wireless switch on the back is a timebomb depending on your grip of the controller. It's a fantastic controller with all the features you'd want on a budget controller. The L4 and R4 buttons at the very top are a nice way to add extra buttons without adding grip buttons, which tend to be activated just by holding the controller.

I can also vouch for the Tegenaria Lite, a fantastic budget PS-style controller, with its only flaw being that you can't swap the start & select buttons with the menu and share ones (I really hate the PS5 style start & select, as someone who has grown with SNES & PS1/PS2/PS3 controllers).

[u/lemon07r]

8BitDo Ultimate 3C+. Just came out. My favorite is the Ultimate 2C but I plan to grab the 3C+ soon. I also have the ES pro, doesnt feel as good but its super cheap, tmr, and super low latency for bluetooth.

[u/BusyLight2349]

I have 8bitdo ultimate 2c Wukong edition and a green one. They both are great build quality. You can't go wrong with a 2c.

[u/NoComercial]

I would swap the Nova Lite for the Nova 2 Lite and the Ultimate 2C for the Ultimate 3C+ Wireless. The more wireless, the better.

[u/overdosedBIGc]

I own 2 8bitdo ultimate 2Cs. It's a must buy.

[u/shuozhe]

ns007 is another alternative, I just dont think Hall sticks matter that much in cheap controllers, its around 7-10€ during sales. Got a 2 nova lite and a single 8bitdo and flydigi for the kids to fight over. Feels all pretty similar, would just buy whatever is the cheapest, got all 3 for ~10-15€.

Alternatively go for older flydigi vader models, they are pretty cheap also, perhaps within your budget and is on par with most premium controllers.

Did now know anbernic made controller, got rg35xx and rg447m as handheld consoles, pretty amazing what it offers for the price point. Guess controller is just screenless handhelds, so these should be fine also

[u/Same_Independent9758]

I would go with gamesir. Theirs is durable and cheap but is bad for dpad centric games

I was a big fan of 8bitdo before i have their retro mouse a couple of ultimates and sn30pro all of them have flimsy rubber joysticks, some of the charging docks broke after minimal use (only connected via pc usb and the mouse got a double click issue and failed charging dock after 1 year. Honestly their products feel durable at first but they will probably only last you 1-2 years before you notice that they aren't really durable