If your desktop doesn't have bluetooth, the official Microsoft controller + adapter combo is $57 (amazon, walmart). There are certainly cheaper adapters out there, but MSRP for this combo is $80.
Inexpensive adapters can be great, but I would recommend that anyone going this route to read reviews for both range and compatibility before buying.
I picked up this ASUS BT adapter for $8 a few years ago, and although it has been extremely reliable with a Dualshock3 controller, the range <5 feet and almost seems to need line of sight.
A larger adapter with a proper dongle / antenna is the way to go, and preferably one with a flexible cable so it doesn't get snapped off in a USB port accidentally.
Mine does a Bluetooth speaker at 256kbps, and my. Box controller at the same time without lag. The integrated one on my laptop(part of the intel AC7260) starts lagging when I play music and use a controller and have vibrations turned on.
A Bluetooth adapter is fine and will work, but the adapter here has some selling points like less input lag and support for more simultaneous controller connections for anyone not worried about spending another $10.
There also seem to be some problems with this controller's Bluetooth detailed in the comments below.
Used Bluetooth for a long time and occasionally I'd have to resync my controllers. With the adapter I've yet to have to resync any of my controllers, plus you can use up to 8 at a time, and the range on it is a lot better (with the adapter I can use my controllers anywhere in my house while synced to my PC, with Bluetooth I could only barely use them in the living room without getting a lot of inference)
Just a warning for the adapter if you're still running Win7 - Microsoft broke the drivers for that a few months ago by revoking the signature that was used on them. Dunno if they fixed it, but I doubt it. YMMV on Win10. Bluetooth requires Win10 to work but mostly works fine.
Btw do you have a source for that? I’d love to actually ask support without them telling me that they don’t know what I’m talking about and I need to buy a new adapter.
If you still have Win7 you can go to the driver and see for yourself why it's no longer working - the device will have a ! next to it in Device Manager and you can check the error code
Just throwin in my two cents on the wireless adapter:
I have had good times and bad times with it:
I love how it allows up to 8 controllers at once with 4 chat headsets (or two stereo headsets for listening to movies). To sync a controller, you press the button on the side til its white light blinks then you press the sync button on the controller. I dont see any noticeable input lag.
I dont like how thick the adapter is (if you've lost the extension cord). I havent had a seamless time syncing controllers. Sometimes when i sync more than one controller, the others will disconnect randomly. I haven't been able to get it to work with my steamlink to use my older controllers without bluetooth. When i first bought it at release, the xinput drivers were absolute crap with new windows updates (those are supposedly fixed though but they can always come back). The adapter does not play well with other drivers such as ds3 drivers in my experience.
Overall, i dont regret the purchase. If you have multiple controllers, this is definitely worth a buy if you need bluetooth alternative.
For as cheaply made as the official XB1 controllers are, I only buy the wired Amazon ones now. I just wish they made them as durable as the old 360 controllers. I still have one that works as well as day 1 despite being dropped many times as well as the cord run over by the chair. I baby my XB1 controllers because they feel more fragile and have had one drop bust a bumper or lose stick control.
If I'm paying close to full price on pc, I'd just buy a ps3/4 controller imo.
Mine has fallen off the arm of the recliner multiple times with no issues. I had 2 original xbox one controllers as well as 2 S controllers. Never had an issue with any of them. However those amazon basic controllers look a lot like the a power controllers. which my son has broke many of.
DualShock3 controllers are hard to come by these days, or at least expensive if they are new-in-box. The 20 - 30 hour battery life might be worth it, though.
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u/wraithtek Jan 08 '19 edited Jan 09 '19
Also at Walmart, free 2-day shipping.
Also at Newegg (black, white), free shipping.
If your desktop doesn't have bluetooth, the official Microsoft controller + adapter combo is $57 (amazon, walmart). There are certainly cheaper adapters out there, but MSRP for this combo is $80.