As a fan of budget gear, I’ve tested several controllers near the $40 price point. And now, I’ve managed to get my hands on a gorgeous budget contender – the EasySMX X05 Pro. It was a gift from my girlfriend, but I won’t let that affect my opinions about this controller XD.
In this comparison, I will pit two budget heavy hitters against each other and find out which is the right one for you, the Flydigi Direwolf 4 or the EasySMX X05 Pro.
– Charging Dock separately : $15
– Controller + Dock bundle = $50
– Genshin Impact Yoimiya Special Edition : $99 (comes with dock and few accessories)
– Xbox-style shape (wider, flared handles)
– Plastic grips with slight texture. Not ideal grip for large hands, but it’s not too bad.
– Feels comfortable to hold with my large hands, grip texture could’ve been better.
– All buttons are ergonomically placed
– White
– Yopimiya Special Edition (extra cost)
– Removable top
– Tension Adjustment mechanism
– Internal restriction ring, so it should be more durable
– Good stick centering in all situations
– Feels excellent and smoother due to internal restriction ring
– Micro-switch trigger stops (satisfying mouse click)
– No trigger vibration
– Deeper “thocky” sound
– Good actuation force and the button is stable.
– Central pivot is great and there is no wobble.
– More bouncy feel due to a little bit of pre-travel. Feels great.
– Accuracy is good and performance is good. Diagonals are excellent.
– Average feel. Nothing spectacular, but not particularly disappointing.
– Glossy material makes the buttons feel a little slippery which I don’t like.
– Comfortable positioning and actuation force. No complaints.
– Remappable
– Works on multiple platforms
– Feels detailed and pretty good.
– 1000hz in wired and 2.4ghz mode, 250hz in bluetooth mode
– good latency numbers. No qualms in experience. Bluetooth latency could have been better but it is good enough for Nintendo Switch.
Compatible with Windows, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch
– Excellent experience with extremely granular cusomization.
– Flydigi android app is okay. It gives you a good amount of customization but it’s not as granular as the PC app.
– about 17 hours with rumble enabled
N/A
AVAILABLE SEPARATELY :
– Wireless charging Dock
– 2 Styles of D-pads
– Interchangeable height sticks
– Elite accessory pack (Case + D-Pads + Sticks)
– no RGB
– $46.99 with charging dock
– Aurora Purple Limited Edition : $40 without dock, $50 with dock
– Shape between Xbox controller and Switch Pro controller
– Hard rubber for grip
– Feels quite comfortable to hold and use, despite the slightly heavier weight. Good grip.
– All buttons are ergonomically placed
– Black
– White
– Aurora Purple (limited edition, costs slightly more)
– Non removable top
– No tension adjustment
– Only POM anti friction ring, hence might feel scratchy over time
– Slightly high stick centering error during slight movements (Not a dealbreaker)
– Feels excellent
– Only half-way trigger stop, no micro-switch
– Trigger vibrations (in supported games) feels great
– Thumpy, soft “thunk” sound (it’s hard to describe ok)
– Good actuation force and feel, no button wobble
– 2 extra bumpers : remappable, mechanical, ergonomic, great feel
– Very stable with some pre-travel due to silicone layer
– No central pivot, but due to the silicone mechanism, I never had any misinputs
– Great accuracy, all directions are excellent
– Feels great, minimal wobble/play
– Excellent tactility without being loud
– Nice texture and good overall feel. Soft feel (not mushy)
– 2 remappable extra shoulder bumpers which feel excellent
– Feels nice, hefty, and detailed. Satisfactory but nothing spectacular
– Trigger vibration is good
– 1000hz in wired and 2.4ghz mode, 125hz in bluetooth mode
– Usable (but worse than competition) button latency; Analog Stick latency is quite high and noticeable during gameplay (especially in wireless modes)
Compatible with windows, android, ios, macos, linux.
– about 8 hours without RGB
– about 6 hours with RGB
– Charging dock (if you pay the extra $9, which IMO is a good value)
AVAILABLE SEPARATELY :
– Charging dock for $15 (Quite pricy for a dock tbh)
– Customisable RGB
CONCLUSION
The EasySMX X05 Pro actually feels very nice to use. But unfortunately, it leaves much to be desired in some important areas such as the latency, Gyroscope, Battery life, and app customization If this somehow isn’t a deal breaker for you, the X05 Pro feels and looks like none other. The soft yet tactile feel reminds me somewhat of the significantly more expensive Gulikit TT Max.
The Flydigi Direwolf 4 on the other hand is clear about where its priorities lie. It performs well, has some really interesting experimental features like the tension adjustment. This is a pretty easy recommendation over the X05 Pro in my opinion.
Hello! 🥰 I'm Fang.
I like gaming and related tech. I enjoy learning more, and sharing my experiences through my review videos and blog posts. Have fun! 💖
