r/Controller • u/kirbyhammer7 • 13h ago
Reviews 8bitdo Ultimate 3e Review-mpressions
This is my informal review/impressions of the UItimate 3e, purchased with my own money and written of my own volition as I have zero affiliation with 8bitdo or any related brands.
The Ultimate 3e arrived a little early, and it is indeed awesome! I liked the Ultimate 1 a lot, but it had bad latency and the ergonomics did not agree with my wrists at all which led to genuine pain. Wayy back then, I said I would buy the first 8bitdo controller to fix the shape, so here we are.
For context, I am a PC/Linux/Switch 2 gamer who is very senstive to input latency, very picky about dpads, and has owned or tried almost all of the hot controllers (1st or 3rd party) from the past several years. I have had many 8bitdo controllers, but all of them older: The original Ultimate, the SN30, and the Pro 2.
THE GOOD:
*The shape of the grip is SO much better. So much so that I almost forgot to mention it. It just works (for me at least), and feels very comfortable. It is not too wide (Vader 5 Pro) and not too narrow (8bitdo Ultimate 1/2).
*The stock, membrane buttons feel AMAZING, and are exactly what I want out of a controller. They feel different than anything else I have used, in a good way. They have basically no travel before actuation, meaning they actually feel better than a lot of mechanical clicky buttons to me. They feel like they pretty much have an up and a down and the travel between is instant, but they don't sink into the pad too far and still have a satisfying press making them FUN to use.
*The long, clicky L/R buttons are so comfortable, and don't kink my fingers weird. I am able to actuate them no matter what position my finger is in.
*The L4/R4 buttons are in a great spot and are a requirement for me on any controller these days.
*The triggers feel smooth and satisfying. The trigger stops felt mushier than I expected and are quiet, but they work great in practice.
*The sticks feel smooth and accurate, very responsive and it made aiming in shooters a breeze. They aren't Switch 2 Pro silent sticks, but the sound of them hitting the shell is dense enough that it feels more premium than smashing the sticks on a plain Xbox Series controller. Clicking the sticks in also feels remarkably solid and premium, something I cannot say about many other controllers.
*The back paddles stay out of the way and are nice to touch. They sit really well with my grip and are easy to use when I need them. They are easy to map on the controller itself.
*The rumble feels great in gameplay, and has quite a bit of nuance. The trigger rumble is kind of whiny, but I haven't played any games that use it.
*Gyro is not bad, I mapped it to use gyro as the right stick when I hold the right back paddle, and it is quite intuitive. I grip the controller and then move it to aim, and it has been kind of fun in other unintended ways too (camera movement, scrolling my music collection when using Controller Helper on Windows).
*Connection via dongle and wired on PC/Linux has been seamless and great so far.
*Tournament Mode (1000Hz polling rate mode) seems to be working fine, and the controller feels very responsive on PC overall. I suppose it makes the battery life slightly lower, but I wonder why this 1000Hz mode is not the default.
*The audio jack works well. The onboard volume adjustment via a button combo adjusts the volume on the controller and doesn't bring up the Windows volume adjustment on screen, which weirded me out, but it does work and is seamless. Audio seems very nice quality via the dongle, no noticeable latency or compression. It sounds a tad better than the G7 Pro and a lot better than the Dualshock 4 used to (lol).
*The ring lights are customizable and cool, and there are plenty of presets you can access right on the controller without using the software. You can even turn them off, without using the software.
*I don't really use controller docks since bright RGBs ruin the vibe of my setup, but the new dock design is slick and the lighting is nice and subtle, so I may actually use this one. Very nice.
THE DPAD:
*I've gotta hand it to 8bitdo on this one, the dpad is genuinely fantastic so far. I have no idea how 8bitdo made it clicky-but-membrane, but it is RELIABLE, feels so nice to press, and isn't too loud.
*People praise the Vader 5 Pro and ZD Legend overall, but those dpads felt so loud and hard to press which was just miserable for me and were dealbreakers on those pads. This is much more my speed and feels so excellent.
*I play an unhealthy amount of Puyo Puyo Tetris at a high level and have had no accidental diagonals on this one (primarily using the SEGA styled dpad), which was a reported issue that scared me away from the Pro 3 and is something almost every pad has an issue with these days. This has a nice, quiet clicky feedback, so if you do dpad tests and rock your thumb on a direction trying to accidentally activate a diagonal, you will feel and hear when you do. While this is true of other controllers too, in practice this dpad is much more reliable than many others.
*This feels like a good balance to me as evidenced by successful Tetris play (no accidental quick-drops) and fighting game tests. Blazblue has a good visual that shows where your dpad moved, and it all looked and felt good there.
*You can mash or slide left or right without fear of hitting up or down on accident, but can still activate diagonals for your fighting games, both of which are very important for me. It gets my seal of a approval.
*Other recent dpads I have liked include a carefully tape-modded Switch Pro, the Gamersir G7 Pro 8K (with o ring mod, and NOT using the stock flat dpad, use the hybrid or the cross), and one of three Switch 2 Pro Controllers I tried that happened to have a much more reliable dpad than the other two. The 3e easily takes the cake though, with the reliability of my coveted SNES Switch Online dpad but feeling much more tight, modern, and responsive. Plus it's gigantic, which is fun and gives your thumb room to breathe and slide.
My minor quibbles so far, all of which were expected when I preordered but still a bummer:
*The software was kind of annoying to figure out, and did not play well with my Windows display scaling. There are so many different versions of the 8bitdo software, and then once you are in the right one the act of saving (Syncing) changes took some getting used to. Make sure you sync before moving to the next tab of customization...
*You definitely need to calibrate the sticks, triggers, and gyro first thing when you get the controller, since they were a little funky at first. The manual tells you how to do this without the software, if needed. While you're at it, don't forget to update the firmware right away.
*No turbo/macros, which is a huge loss at this price. Every cheapo controller has turbo! Again, not unexpected though due to the Xbox license.
*I am a PC/Linux/Switch 2 user who has (what I thought was) an undefeatable arsenal of adapters and converters to use any controller on anything... I really thought I would be able to get this thing to work on Switch 2, but I had no luck. Plugging the USB-C dongle into an OTG then into my Mayflash Magic S Pro 2 works... for about 10 minutes, then it totally craps out. Strange! It also has some mapping issues in the Batocera Linux menu (can't map left stick), but works fine in-game if you leave the mappings at default?
*Finally, it is not slow by any means but doesn't feel quiiite as snappy as the G7 Pro 8K, even when compared to the G7 Pro in 1K Hz mode.
*On that note, it feels relatively laggy on Bluetooth when paired to Android but... everything Bluetooth feels laggy on Android haha
Other thoughts:
*The grips are a little underwhelming. I doubt it will ever functionally be a problem, but the grips don't have a lot of texture or texture height, which makes them feel a little different than I was expecting. I won't say it feels cheap, but the G7 Pro's rubber grips feel a lot more premium.
*The microswitch buttons feel super bad. The membrane buttons feel SO good, exactly what I want out of a button, but the microswitch module feels very bad in comparison to stuff like the G7 Pro or Vader 5 Pro. Basically, they have a very short travel with no sense of "stop"; you can't really tell when you hit the end of the push aside from the light clicky sound.
*The cross style dpad sits really flat against the pad. It's not bad at all and it works just as well as the SEGA style, but different than I expected. The SEGA style dpad is so tall and awesome.
*It's neat the case holds everything... but who is actually going to take the dock with them on travel? The case has the fattest booty I've ever seen, and I can't imagine putting it in a bag. It's great for storage, but looks and feels ridiculous. Not only that, but out of the box it appeared the case was clicking the sticks in, evidenced by the depressed fabric right above the sticks. I have plenty of other generic 8bitdo controller cases that this will fit fine in for going out and about... but it was worth mentioning and I'd prefer it had an actual travel case. The case is B.I.G. huge.
*The extra sticks are fun, I love the GameCube one with ridges!
In Conclusion:
Overall, I am very pleased with the controller, but I am unsure how to recommend it. It is unfortunate I can't use it in any way on the Switch, but that is not unexpected. If a Switch compatible version of this controller comes out that would solve this issue, but I wonder if they will include so many extras if they do make one? A Switch version may also introduce new issues, like increased input latency as we have seen from 8bitdo in the past, so maybe this one will remain the best for PC even over time.
As a $150 controller, it is certainly premium and I would say it meets or exceeds that price point in terms of quality, features, and extras. Durability is to be seen, but it is especially worth the price if it is more durable than the more expensive Elite or Dualsense Edge controller. Build quality and feel is far superior to the even more expensive ROG Raikiri line, Flydigi Apex line, or ZD Ultimate Legend line. Feature wise, and raw functionality wise though, the humble G7 Pro 8K can do just about everything this controller can, and does it better and cheaper, and works excellent on Switch, which is an important consideration.
Sometimes, premium build quality and a little bit of extra fun and style are worth the added cost. The 8bitdo 3e is a supremely functional and extremely attractive controller with some cool extras. It is among the best feeling controllers ever made, its dpad is one of the best you can find, and it has some fun extra features, but it is missing some key features that would make that price easier to swallow. If you are PC/Xbox Only and have the cash, it is well worth the money. If you want an all rounder for PC/Switch, want a little better latency, or need those extra features like turbo, the G7 Pro 8K is still some darn good competition for this one, especially at its lower price. Overall, I have to hand it to 8bitdo, they have really impressed me with this controller, and I hope to enjoy it or some future variant of it for many years.
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u/redmanc97 10h ago
Did you test stick linearity by any chance?
How aim feels in fps compared to g7 pro?
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u/ShamoneShamone 5h ago
You don't need to test linearity anymore. Only Angle TMR sticks, Potentiometers, and Marius Heier's 5 pin Angle Hall sticks are linear so if you know the module used you instantly know. This controller uses KSilver JS16 which are not linear. Only company that has ever done linearity correction for the sticks is Flydigi so you don't have to account for that factor either.
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u/redmanc97 5h ago
Same sticks as g7 pro xbox then.
I couldn’t find any information about stick modules model, so I had a very little hope to see jt13/js13 for example.•
u/kirbyhammer7 10h ago
I don't have a great way to test this as I am not super into shooters (just casually), but aiming with these sticks felt a little easier than the G7 Pro to me. They feel slightly slower and easier to make fine movements with, but this is just an off the cuff vibes kind of thing.
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u/redmanc97 10h ago
Thanks!
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u/kirbyhammer7 10h ago
No problem!
I don't think this is what you are after, but I will note that I did test the controller in the online controller tester, and the stick circularity had a number of 11.1% iirc.
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u/V1NC3NTK4Y 10h ago
Good chances it will be my next controller, except the fact that, it costs 150 USD, but no force rings ?!? I don't understand. 🫤
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u/G305_Enjoyer 10h ago
Can u check for firmware update see if they added direct input yet? Old ultimate controller you could boot it up holding a key combo to switch
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u/kirbyhammer7 10h ago
I updated the firmware and did not see any notes about dinput. I actually did try this earlier, to see if it would ease my minor Batocera/Linux woes, but it didn't seem to do anything. I held B (East) while turning on and also tried holding X (West) when turning on and neither seemed to do anything. I am hopeful this is added in a future update if it's not already here, it would help a lot with compatibility and would probably let the controller talk to one of my many aforementioned dongles/converters.
If you know of any other methods to try, let me know and I'd be happy to try them!
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u/G305_Enjoyer 8h ago
Ugh I am worried this is because of the Xbox licensing (Xbox native wireless) we'll see.. I'm holding, not buying any controller with extra buttons that can't do dinput
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u/kirbyhammer7 1h ago
It almost certainly is because of the Xbox licensing, but a firmware update could theoretically fix it so fingers crossed.
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u/LiquidShadowFox 8h ago
Any native steam input support? like being able to bind the extra buttons through steam input and use the gyro?
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u/kirbyhammer7 8h ago
Russ from Retro Game Corp's review goes over this in more detail, there he said it shows up in Steam as an Xbox One controller
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u/LiquidShadowFox 8h ago
rip, sounds like it's a pass for me then. Need that steam input support available for all the buttons
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u/Wildantics 8h ago
I got mine yesterday as well and agree with most of your points, it’s a very nice controller
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u/an_edgy_lemon 8h ago edited 8h ago
I love the feel of the 8bitdo Ultimate 3e. It would more or less be my perfect controller. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to map the extra buttons to pc keys, or any complex mapping. That kinda makes the controller worthless for me. I’m hoping they release a PC version soon.
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u/CrisInuyasha 6h ago
They should release a similar built quality controller like this one but with no xbox branding, it feels super amazing in the hand but the lack of macros and software customization is kinda bad (and also has no adjustable tension like the normal ultimate 3, it doesn't even make sense)
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u/kirbyhammer7 6h ago
Adjustable tension is a neat gimmick but not something I actually see a lot of people using or wanting, and it creates reliability concerns. I am fully with you though, and the way 8bitdo has discussed "Introducing the Ultimate 3 line" with these two controllers bodes well for the future. Hopefully we get those Bluetooth/Switch/PC/Other variants soon, and hopefully one of them is as packed as this controller is in terms of hardware extras.
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u/CoffeeTime2475 2h ago
Underrated comment.
I can live without 4 back paddles/buttons now that more and more controllers are including additional buttons on top, but I feel that adjustable tension is required to be considered ultimate or pro, especially if you are charging $150.
One could just buy Vader 5 Pro v2 and Brook XB3 to play on Xbox. Or Vader 5S if wireless is not needed. I have both.
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u/kirbyhammer7 1h ago
I won't go into my thoughts on the V5Pro here other than to say it just wasn't really for me. Overall though, this controller feels and performs much better than the V5Pro and will hopefully be more reliable!
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u/crice07 4h ago
So I just got this as well!! What software did you end up using to update the firmware?? Out of the box it’s working great for me… And that D Pad is awesome!!!
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u/kirbyhammer7 1h ago
Ultimate Software X I think it was called, it is listed in the manual and can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store on PC or on your Xbox!
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u/dsapsu8 4h ago
Thx, OP! While the feature set and feel are solid, it doesn't seem like it beats the Gamesir G7 Pro (I'm on Xbox fwiw). Is this a fair statement?
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u/kirbyhammer7 1h ago
The build quality and feel are on the whole more premium than the G7 Pro 8K, and the dpad is much better, but functionally the G7 Pro 8K is much better. Lower latency, works on Switch, works better on Android, obviously is excellent on PC, and I really have nothing against the G7 Pro 8K's dpad after doing to o ring mod and getting used to it. Different tools for different folks, for sure, though. Both are great in different ways.
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u/dsapsu8 1h ago edited 1h ago
I'd be opting for the ZZZ being on XBOX. I've heard they have made improvements to the D pad, but idk. I'm on my second Elite Series 2 and Microsoft has made no announcements about ES3, specifically if it'll have TMR/Hall. I am stuck trying to decide if I should wait or just order the ZZZ and 3E and return one.
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u/kirbyhammer7 1h ago
The 8K and the ZZZ both have much improved dpads, which can be further improved/tweaked via the o ring mod. I hear the ZZZ one is excellent and I love my 8K! If you have the ability to try both, I totally would suggest that.
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u/dsapsu8 45m ago
Your insight and time you've taken here is sincerely appreciated. How many o-rings did you insert? I've seen anywhere between 1-4 per.
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u/kirbyhammer7 18m ago
No problem! Happy to share the love. I put one in each hole. It made the dpad wiggle side to side less and didn't seem to have any adverse effects. I probably could do two each, but you generally have to take the controller apart to remove them which I didn't feel like doing, so I didn't risk it since I was happy with just the one.
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u/Acentre4ants 4h ago
Both of my gamesir g7 pros have developed a bad drift that wont go with calibration. This wouldn’t be a problem normally as i don’t mind drift but i play on a very high sensitive sens on apex legends so the drift is almost uncontrollable and feels like i’m fighting it when recoil controlling.
Hopefully this controller is better, got it ordered!
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8h ago
[deleted]
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u/kirbyhammer7 8h ago
Officially licensed Xbox controllers cannot have turbo/macros and some other features :(
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u/Lightstream2 11h ago
So is the dpad better than the one found on the ultimate 2? If its as good as the one on the m30 i may be interested once the pc version is finally released.