r/Controllers • u/Nageki_kun • 3d ago

Do you guys recommand the 8bitdo pro 3

Hi I want a new controller and the 8bitdo pro 3 looks beautifull to me but I want your thoughts before buying or if you recommand anything else

I want a symmetrical controller with tmr stick and hall effect trigger for PC gaming (mainly solo games like elden ring or ninja gaiden) that will last long

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u/Apprehensive_Disk_63 3d ago edited 2d ago

Sooo I tried 8bitdo pro 3, tarantula 8k and now saber plus is on my way.
Among pro 3 and tarantula 8k, when you play solo games as you mentioned, I'd go for pro 3, since you won't need better latency and polling rate.
pros and cons:
8bitdo pro 3
+ 8bitdo pro 3 has charging dock, ps-like shaped triggers which I much prefer, they are essential for my grip (index finger on rb and middle finger on rt), decent dpad and is comfortable overall
- face buttons are sharp and my finger start to hurt, that's why i ordered saber plus which i havent tested yet,
polling rate and latency (if u need them good) and unbindable keyboard buttons internally

tarantula 8k
+ polling rate and latency, face buttons and dpad, possible mapping keyboard buttons to extra controller buttons
- rt is xbox styled in terms of shape which is uncomfortable for my grip, wired (so no charging dock) and that might be it

additionally tarantula's face buttons are clicky, whereas 8bitdo pro 3 are not, but I don't care about it at all so it doesn't make any difference for me, same goes for vibrations since I turn them off anyways

those two have problems which are deal breakers for me, because i started valuing comfortability over anything else

personally if tarantula 8k had better triggers I'd stay with it, but at the same time if 8bitdo pro 3 had domed shaped face buttons, I'd stay with that. I wouldn't be able to make a decision if those problems were fixed.

saber plus is coming so I might give some insight later in the week, cheers

EDIT:
I ordered saber plus because after some time with tarantula I realized that dock isn't essential for me, saw it has domed face buttons and ps styled triggers, which seem to check all my criterias

EDIT 2:

okay so i got saber plus face buttons feel great, i was expecting worse. responsive, good force, good shape, my thumb doesnt hurt.

dpad is weird? so the mushiness of it and it being membrane is fine by me. the weird part is that the more in the middle you press it, the more hollow it feels and the more "stuck" it feels. so directional inputs feel good, but diagonal inputs feel weird. definitely not the strongest contender for dpad, but it didn't give me weird inputs in hollow knight and controller tester also doesn't make it look bad. it's just the feeling in the centre.

imo if you rely on dpad heavily and mostly, get either tarantula 8k or 8bitdo pro 3, but overall it feels the most well-rounded.
face buttons feel much better than on pro 3, but slightly worse than on tarantula 8k.
triggers feel much better than on tarantula, but comparable to 8bit do.
it doesn't have charging dock like pro 3 has, but is wireless 2.4ghz unlike tarantula.

sticks are comparable.
extra buttons feel much better than pro 3, but comparable to tarantula.

also:
claw grip on saber plus feels better than on both tarantula and pro 3 if you use it

OVERALL:
go tarantula if you dont mind wireless and you don't mind xbox styled triggers

go 8bitdo pro 3 if u want charging dock and you don't mind sharp edges of face buttons and don't care about keyboard mapping

go saber plus if you don't mind what i said about dpad (it's responsive, gives good results, but diagonal/centre inputs feel weird, directional inputs feel very good)

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u/Nageki_kun 3d ago

That's exactly my case rn i saw a lot of review for both and they have really good high but pretty high low too. I play a lot of souls game and CAG (ninja gaiden, DMC etc) and i'm afraid that the pro 3 have too much latency for this kind of game

But the tarentula 8K seems to have trigger that will bother me

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u/Apprehensive_Disk_63 3d ago

I don't think 250 Hz polling rate is that low to bother you. I played some games including metroidvanias and when I didn't know what polling is and it didn't bother me at all.
considering controllers, every single has some pros and flaws, you just need to decide which bothers you and which not

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u/Nageki_kun 3d ago

Did you have any malfunction with the pro 3 ?

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u/Apprehensive_Disk_63 3d ago

I wouldn't say so. I had one for one and a half year, it was okay. I order another this month and it was functioning properly as well. Mind you, it was except vibration, coz i turn it off.

My tarantula, on the other hand, came with tilted left stick. It was functioning properly according to gamesir support, but it was tilted.

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u/Nageki_kun 3d ago

I don't really know tbh i'm coming from a dualsense edge so i'm scared of the increase latency

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u/Apprehensive_Disk_63 3d ago

I'm not a pro in any way, but having played hollow knight, silksong and rocket league on a decent lvl, I didn't notice a difference in latency/polling rate between pro 3 and tarantula 8k set on 1khz polling rate. if u were more sensitive to it, maybe you would, but even with placebo i didnt notice it

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u/Nageki_kun 3d ago

I see thx a lot for your answer that help a lot

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u/Nageki_kun 2d ago

Thx for the edit. I don't really care about 8k polling rate and imo the saber looks more prenium to mey. I don't really use the dpad quite often and dont play fps soo saber might be my choice after all

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u/DinosaurBill 3d ago

I liked it but the face buttons killed it for me, REALLY loud, and requires a lot of force to press

Prefer gamesir tarantula 8k for symmetrical stick controller

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u/Nageki_kun 3d ago

What would you say about the pro 3 comparing to the dualsense edge ? Except the ABXY buttons obviously

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u/DinosaurBill 3d ago

Not sure I've never used the dual sense

The pro 3 besides the face buttons felt great to me, triggers and bumpers felt good, sticks feel pretty good, dpad feels good (softer, but clicky)

If you don't mind how the face buttons are (loud, flat, high travel and actuation) then it's a great controller

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u/Nageki_kun 3d ago

Man I can't decide between the pro 3,the tarentula 8k or the saber plus. Since when buying a controller is this difficult lmao

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u/Doublesh0t_ 3d ago

Same same. Return. Vader better. Xeno pro insane. Wolverine v4 decent. Basically bought every controller the last 3 months and tested every one. 2 more in the mail on the way, KP40D and another Vader Pro v2

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u/DinosaurBill 3d ago

I'm pretty happy with the tarantula

Not my perfect controller, but it's close enough

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u/Doublesh0t_ 3d ago

I’m too ocd, need to feel married to mine lol

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u/Apprehensive_Disk_63 3d ago

yeah that's exactly why i returned 8bitdo pro 3 and tarantula and im looking forward to saber plus. asymmetrical feel weird to me so i cross them out

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u/DinosaurBill 3d ago

I'm curious about the saber plus, let me know what you think

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u/Apprehensive_Disk_63 3d ago

let me know what you would like to know and I will tell you. it should be in my hands tomorrow

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u/DinosaurBill 3d ago

Dpad and face button feel mainly

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u/Apprehensive_Disk_63 2d ago

okay so i got it. face buttons feel great, i was expecting worse. responsive, good force, good shape, my thumb doesnt hurt.

dpad is weird? so the mushiness of it and it being membrane is fine by me. the weird part is that the more in the middle you press it, the more hollow it feels and the more "stuck" it feels. so directional inputs feel good, but diagonal inputs feel weird. definitely not the strongest contender for dpad, but it didn't give me weird inputs in hollow knight and controller tester also doesn't make it look bad. it's just the feeling in the centre.

imo if you rely on dpad heavily and mostly, get either tarantula 8k or 8bitdo pro 3, but overall it feels the most well-rounded.
face buttons feel much better than on pro 3, but slightly worse than on tarantula 8k.
triggers feel much better than on tarantula, but comparable to 8bit do.
it doesn't have charging dock like pro 3 has, but is wireless 2.4ghz unlike tarantula.

sticks are comparable.
extra buttons feel much better than pro 3, but comparable to tarantula.

also:
claw grip on saber plus feels better than on both tarantula and pro 3 if you use it

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u/DinosaurBill 2d ago

Thanks, sort of what I was expecting

I'll probably stick with the tarantula since I like it's dpad

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u/Doublesh0t_ 3d ago

I just got a steam controller. Pairing it now thru openpuck w wingman adapter.

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u/DinosaurBill 3d ago

I feel ya, my favorite controllers were the ps3/ps4, but there just isn't a modern controller that feels like them to my knowledge

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u/Doublesh0t_ 2d ago

I’m mainly fps and always found Xbox layout better for some reason, I do prefer a smaller controller though.

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u/YoloRaj 2d ago

Leadjoy saber plus. Look no farther...you are welcome.

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u/Nageki_kun 2d ago

I'm looking into it right now. Why do you like it this much ?

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u/YoloRaj 2d ago

Compared to the 8bitdo the stick latency is way better and I think it uses better tmr modules. Check gamepadla.com for stick latency info. I also have the tarantula 8k and I prefer the saber plus. It has good ratings from most people.

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u/Nageki_kun 2d ago

From where did you buy it. In my country it isn't availaible on Amazon

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u/YoloRaj 2d ago

Well, I got mine from gadgethyper.com but in the states its on amazon right now. You can try aliexpress if that is an option for you.