Rating: 
Summary: X45 The good...The Bad....The ugly!
Review: I have been a gamer for longer than I care to admit. I picked up a Saitek X45 when my MS Sidewinder FFB2 had problems with it's main fire button not working and it's secondary fire button sometimes falling off. Other than that...I always loved it. Now I have the X45. At first I was thrilled. Just playing with the buttons and dreaming of the possibilities put an ear to ear grin on my face. However, that soon changed. You see, I'm a BF1942 DC player. My specialty as you might have guessed due to my choice in sticks is a pilot. In fact, I dare-say I'm in the top 10% of pilots for that particular game. (Yes, yes...big whoop!) Needless to say, the ability to fly competently is rather important to me. Here is where my joy became "joyless". BF1942 does not support the X45's throttle or some of it's other axis functions. This is mainly EA Games fault. The "consumers" on the forums at Saitek.com have been working for months trying to fix this problem or work around it. (No, the trend of late for the corporation's to make the customer's be the tech support and think-tank for the rest of it's customers is very much alive and well at Saitek!) The results are rather sad to be honest. But, like I said, this is not completely Saitek's fault. The problem with the X45 is the ridiculous and cheap way they came up with of centering the stick. It is centered by a large spring compressing a rounded disk piece of plastic(think disk sled) against a round ring, again made of plastic on which it is cradled. To say the least, it is gritty! Of course if you are into precision....then having to make a small, critical correction during your game might not be possible when the sudden release of surface tension makes you over-correct. Not to mention the audible groan/creaking sound it makes which makes you wonder if anyone within ear-shot thought you might have a slight flatulence problem. Another thing that is ridiculous would be the flip-top cap some yahoo put on the Launch/Fire button. Who the heck has time to flip that stupid thing up in a time of need? Fortunately, it is easy to remove. I keep it around for when I need a good laugh! If you are a MechWarrior....You will love this stick! (Minus the grit) The only thing I miss from my MS Sidewinder FFB2 is the FFB. (Force Feed-Back) And again.....the smoothness of the stick. Then again when you are suppose to be in a lumbering 60+ton giant of steel, perhaps a few imperfections here and there might actually make things more realistic! (Grin) If I decide to keep this stick, besides doing a little bit of metal smithing and replacing the plastic crap on the stick, I'm going to mount it on a wood platform....which they thoughtfully provided mounting holes underneath both units. (Good thinking, Saitek) Otherwise, more aggressive player's such as myself might have a tendency to tilt the joy over in a sudden move of intent. The X45 does have a few saving graces. #3 is it's program-ability. #2 is it's separate throttle and all the wonderful buttons, POV hats and rotary knobs. #1 would have to be it's price! For ~$70, you CAN'T find a better system in it's class! My only option besides the X45 is the Thrustmaster Cougar. However, even though it is three to four times the price of the X45, I have heard many gripes and complaints about all the tweaking and crap you have to mess with as well as cheap components in the stick. Were I not getting so long-in-the-tooth and have so many other things to worry about, I'd make my own. Then I'd sit back rip what hair I don't have out when the next day, some company finally gets a clue and come out with a near perfect stick at a near perfect price!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Value
Review: I have had good luck with this throttle/stick combo. I am using it with Windows XP without any problems. Using the basic driver software provided by Saitek for XP, all buttons and axes are recognized and work properly. I can't get the advanced programing software from Saitek to load properly (allowing more specific button programing for use with older games and sims) but this may be due to a conflict with my sound card (SB Audigy), and it isn't necessary with newer sims, which allow you to fully configure the controller through the game program, anyway. I haven't had a problem with buttons sticking. I agree that the "Safe" cover over the "launch" button is a bit hokey, but it looks like it would be fairly easy to cut off if it really offended one. The throttle action is very smooth and both the throttle and the stick fit my hands comfortably. The stick has a rocker lever that substitutes for rudder pedals. This isn't quite as nice as a good set of rudder pedals, but I find it is good enough that I usually don't bother to hook up my CH pro pedals anymore. The spring at the base of the stick that centers it and provides resistance to its movement off- center makes the stick movement just a little "jerky" and provides a little bit too much self centering force for my taste, and this is not adjustable. That and the lack of Force-Feedback capability I would say are the only real drawbacks to this controller, but I would certainly buy this again and would recomend this device to anyone looking for a good (and economical) alternative to a non-Force-Feedback throttle, pedal and fighter-stick Hotas combo. By the way, I was amazed what a difference having a good throttle makes, especially in combat flight sims, compared to using the little throttle axis lever provided on most all-in-one sticks (such as the Microsoft Force Feedback controller).
Rating: 
Summary: I love it.
Review: I have no problem with this controller. I do, however, wish that it could easily be fastened down. But I love the amount of buttons and axises this baby has. Great for flight sims. Makes you feel like a real pilot.
Rating:
Summary: No problems here for sure!
Review: I have to say, I've owned several joysticks for flight simulators, and I'm usually very picky. This joystick has a few more gadgets and kizmos that make it really cool to fly, but once you figure them out, you'll be glad you didn't buy anything else. It's worth the few extra dollars. You feel like a real piolot short of a real yoke stick. If you've used real simulator foot peddles and a yoke, then this probably won't be amazing to you. But if you've used anything less than that, then you're in for one hell of a flight! This throttle and joystick are really amazing! Don't buy anything else! I kept saying, buts its just too expensive. Then I said, what the heck, so I charged it. It was worth every penny!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Idea, poor execution
Review: I purchased the X-45 to replace an aging Fox 2 Pro and at first all seemed to be OK. However in a short period of time the swashplate that rides on the centering spring (visible in pictures on the main joystick shaft) began to bind due to the excessive amount of spring tension. Simply put, the spring it uses is way too strong for the joystick. This problem is rectified on the next up unit the X-52 which is an excellent system. The mainshaft is aluminum and the spring pressure almost not noticeable.
I emailed the Saitek people about the problem, and they told me that "sometimes moisture can get on the shaft and cause it to bind, but that using a teflon lubricant can sometimes cure this"
I tried every type of lubricant I could think of and cleaned the shaft between tries with contact cleaner and it just could not be cured. The pressure from the spring is just too much, and sadly it doesn't need to be that strong. I tried to cut a turn of the coil off the spring... but HA-HA... spring steel is much too strong for me... it would take a jewelers pair of bolt cutters to reach in there. The problem is not because the spring is too strong to overcome... rather it binds up the plate to the point where you have to apply so much pressure that when it finally lets it move, you overshoot the amount of pressure needed so it becomes as if you were repairing a watch with a sledge hammer.
I thought that I would be able to adapt from using the twist method for rudder control on the Fox 2 Pro to the rocker switch on the X-45 but once again I was dissapointed. The amount of travel on the rocker is insufficient for making small corrections. Again... the X-52 corrects this problem by allowing the twist feature for rudder control.
Furthermore the friction control on the throttle is almost non-existent. Eventually the throttle will loosen up as the demo units in the stores will show you, but they are way too stiff when new/un-used even to the point of rocking up off their base when trying to make an adjustment. There are "keyhole" mounting holes on the bottom of the units so that they can be mounted to a lap board, desk top, or arms of a chair, anything that will allow the screw heads to be raised from the surface and the unit locked on. (screws NOT provided of course)
When you first place your hand on the joystick, you will find it to be a tight fit. My first thought was that it was made for kids hands, but then I discovered the one button I could not locate and it was on the front top of the joystick and required your hand to go around and on top of the guard. An unusual fit to say the least, but something you can come to terms with easily enough. All being said, the quality of the work is fine, but the functional use of the unit is poor.
Rating: 
Summary: USB Compatible?
Review: I received my Saitek X45 Joystick & throttle but only the joystick has a USB connection. The throttle has a different connector that will not fit any slot on my computer. I am not sure what type of connector it is because there is absolutely NO statement of any type about this either on the box or in the manual included. In fact I don't think there is any mention of installing the hardware at all (except for saying to install it prior to loading the software).
I never used the IL-2 Sturmovic WWII combat simulator software working because it slowed my whole system down. just trying to click on what I wanted to do (mission, etc.) was almost impossible. I had to slightly move my mouse and guess where it would stop (about 3 seconds later) and then click. Finally I just gave up.
I am just returning the whole thing.
Rating:
Summary: Great Value
Review: I think this controller is an excellent value when compared to the competing Thrustmaster products. I used to own a Thrustmaster F-16 FLCS, and the TQS throttle and Rudder pedals. Programming and calibrating those was always a hassle. The X45 is much easier to program. The build quality of this unit is superior to the older Thrustmaster sticks. I can't compare it to a Cougar, having never used one. But, this stick is far superior to older Thrustmasters (without modifications) for sure. For the money I don't think you can beat it. The only complaint i have is that the throttle control is very stiff. The base isn't quite heavy enough, and it can be a little frustrating. The stiffness probably will work it's way out with some use. Also, you could probably jerry rig some kind of clamp to fix the base to the table. Frankly, I had the same issues with the TQS out of the box, and it worked itself out over time. Overall, at this price it is an excellent value.
Rating:
Summary: Can be enjoyable once setup
Review: I've used the Original Thrustmaster set, Mark II and ACM card, including pedals for years, but, as I upgraded my computer I was unable to keep using them. My Brother first showed me these about two years ago and after a bit of first setup shaky-ness I am very happy with the performance. For the money you cant get much better. Yea, sure pay almost $300.00 for the Thrustmaster Couger set like I did before, but, not till I really have to. OH, as a minor note I don't like the joystick look and the placement of the #2 button is real bad in a dogfight, also, what's the idea of the pinky switch? I have quit programming this button. The throttle on the other hand is, if your really into flight feel's like the F-16's when your wearing flight gloves.
Rating:
Summary: Whoops, It was something I did that caused the problem
Review: If anyone has already read my review before I completely re-wrote it, I wish to make a retraction. Shortly after I posted my review expressing my dissatisfaction with this product, other things started malfunctioning on my system. I still don't know what I had done, but it made my computer very angry and I was left with no choice but to re-format and re-install everything. It was not the fault of the X45 nor DirectX8.1, because when I got done re-installing everything, the X45 worked just fine with DX8.1 in place. It does everything its supposed to do, the stick is maybe just a little too big and kinda clumsy to use at times, other than that, it works fine. There is actually great tech support from Saitek, you just have to where to look, and they have updated drivers coming very soon, they tell me. Sorry Saitek, I didn't mean to slime ya.
Rating:
Summary: I found this controller to be great
Review: Lorenander, I don't know if this helps you, but the throttle doesn't go to the serial port on the computer. The throttle goes to the front base of the joystick and a USB cable goes from the base of the joystick to the computer.I installed this controller, downloaded the disk and calibrated. Started playing Falcon 4.0 in 5 minutes. It has great smooth movements. Although I thought that the missle button cover was a little cheesy, it can easily be removed.
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