Be careful with getting a HOTAS setup for space sims. I've never owned an X52, but if windows treats the throttle and stick as separate devices, as it does with my Warthog HOTAS + pedals, then you'll only be able to use one of those devices with older space sims, like Wing Commander or Freespace. Likewise, although I cannot attest to the build quality of the X52, the Warthog HOTAS is completely inappropriate for a space sim. In an actual flight sim, whether civil or combat, overcontrolling invariably leads to high-G turns, rapid airspeed loss, excessive angles of attack, stalls, spins etc. whereas in a space sim, you use the full control range of the stick all the time. Likewise, you tend not to spend too much time squeezing the trigger in a real flight sim -- you have very little ammunition and you need to make it count -- where as space sims, with recharging lasers and enemies that take multiple direct hits, require that you be squeezing the trigger constantly. I bring these issues up, because as a result of them, the Warthog HOTAS has true to life stick deflection resistance, and requires a true to life amount of force to depress a button or trigger. In other words, if you're constantly fully deflecting the stick one way and then another, and constantly squeezing that two-stage trigger, you're hand and wrist are going to get tired very fast. Likewise, using the Hog Hotas in a space-sim would likely put unnecessary wear on what is a rather expensive setup. The X52 may be much more toy-like in its build quality, and thus appropriate for a space sim, but it may not. Your best bet for a stick for WC and Freespace would be either the Saitek AV8R, which recently stopped being manufactured but is still readily available, or the Logitech Extreme 3D.
Post edited February 23, 2013 by SlenderSilence
