This

With the X360 controller, everything about it feels a bit cheap... it's noisy, rattly, the dpad sucks, etc.

I use a DualShock 3 which feels much more solid (and isn't anywhere near as noisy), and of course it's wireless. I still think there should & could be an alternative, perhaps cheaper and still with more features (e.g. extra buttons, and autofire?). I'm open to suggestions (that don't involve Steam).

agree with the 360 suggestions
ive been using an 360 controller for 6 years now you plug it in and it just works

I've used a generic Logitech gamepad for PC gaming the past several years and have had no issues with it. Maybe if you're planning on using it for fighting games it might not be the best choice though.

^This. I have both a F710 and F310 and they are awesome. Control layout like the Playstation controller (which I personally prefer over the Xbox layout), super reliable, works with both Xinput and DirectInput (new games and old games) and the profiler software is not that bad, though there are third party keymapping tools that do work better and are lighter weight.

EDIT - On a side note, I've always wondered why the F510 was discontinued. It was basically a wireless F310 or a F710 without rumble. I never got to use one, but I imagine it was as good as the F710, but with an astounding battery life.

Erm, i'm afraid u got it wrong or perhaps mixed up with another model. F510 is actually more like a wired F710 or a F310 with rumble. ;)

Abt the side note, i couldn't figure out y they discontinued it either. Maybe they want to push sales to either the F310 or F710? But the way i c it, ppl who would like to get the F510 preferred it as a wired controller with rumble so they probably wun go for the other 2 models. Then again, it's just wat i thought so i could be wrong. :)

You're right, not sure what I was thinking of. Point still stands though, it was an option that I can't understand why they eliminated.

That was my rationale for choosing it - I wanted rumble and no need to worry about battery life, and the F510 was one of the controllers that met those requirements. I picked it over the competition for its layout and dual Xinput/DirectInput compatibility, but the other two Logitech controllers were never in the running.

I'm using a wired XBox 360 controller. I tried to use a wireless PS3 controller, but found that it didn't work with my bluetooth adapter.

Oddly enough, the Ouya controllers I had did work with my bluetooth adapter, but I didn't quite like them for PC gaming.

I ended up with a standard XBox 360 wired controller, but for some reason it has this one really, REALLY annoying property. In Windows 10 if I 'sleep' the machine, it wakes back up and the controller is just fine. However, if I shut the machine down or reboot, then it doesn't light up and it isn't detected. I have to unplug it from the USB port and plug it back in.

Maybe there's some setting I'm missing, but it does get, well, kind of annoying.

However, the games I played with it work quite well, haven't run into any problems yet (other than the new game FireWatch only showing me mouse instructions instead of controller instructions when the controller is working just fine).

I can't follow what you guys are saying about the F710. It seems that you are implying it doesn't have force feedback, and the F510 does. The F710 has force feedback.

Edit: Nevermind, I just looked up the F310 and see that is the one with no for feedback. That's weird, I wonder why they did that, it seems completely illogical. That aside, I only need to swap out the rechargeable batteries on my F710 about once a month, so it's not much of an issue.

I don't think we said it didn't.
F710 - wireless with rumble
F510 - wired with rumble (discontinued)
F310 - wired no rumble

EDIT - ninja'd

EDIT 2 - ah, I see what happened. My earlier confusion in turn confused you. Sorry about that.

I love my logitech F510 rumblepad, it's heavy duty, has a great feel, and works great. I can't stand how those Xbox or PS controllers feel in my hands and sometimes they feel cheap plastic-y. Wired above wireless, always, for me.

Very helpful posts. I will buy one X360 and one Logitech F310. I like to try both of them. +1 for all posts. Thanks again. :)

U r welcome, glad i could help. :)

Try the Xbox One controller. They improved the dpad and thumbsticks.