Pros and cons of console controller to PC adapters vs dedicated USB controllers

[rjarcade]

Despite a fair amount of research, I have not seen any good discussions of the pros and cons of using one of the many console controllers plus a USB adapter versus buying a dedicated USB PC gamepad.  This would apply to general purpose console emulation and not a specific emulator/console platform.

Which have better ergonomics, drivers, ease of setup, etc?  What are you guys running and what factors drove your purchase decision?

[Bgnome]

the best reason i can think of in using a console controller with a pc adapter is the ability to use the actual console hardware with your setup.  examples include dreamcast, xbox, and playstation 2 consoles.

as for being better or worse than a normal pc usb controller, it is very difficult to make generalizations without talking about specific controllers and adapters.  there is a plethora of usb pc controllers available, with MANY resembling playstation/playstation 2 controllers.  xbox controllers are actually usb pc controllers.  i have heard of driver problems with certain psx>usb adapters but i have also heard of ones that can use the gerneric HID windows drivers.

so it really boils down to what you want to do and how far you want to go.  you can get a good "dual shock"-looking pc usb controller and use it to play all sorts of console emulators.  its a tried and true layout and lends itself well to console games.  if you want a "more" genuine experience, you could use the actual console controllers on your pc, or even get more genuine and play the games on the actual console.  now, you either need an adapter or hack the pad which can get you in all sorts of driver problems with a pc.

people who hack psx digital pads and buy usb adapters solely to avoid using a keyboard encoder in their mame setup make absolutely no sense to me..

[simplygriff]

Before I found this site and decided to build a cabinet my wife had given me a MAS systems (www.massystems.com)prostick with Gamecube and PS2 support for a wedding anny present.  

When I decided to build a cabinet I decided to use this controller and purchase a 2nd MAS stick as my CP.  This is by no means  a cheap solution (~$175 per stick)but it works for me and I get to use the cool controller my wife gave me.  I'm using a Super Dual Box ps2 to USB adapter I got form (www.electricquarter.com).  I wanted to retain the console controls for the cube and PS2 as well as be able to use these for MAME and my cabinet.  I have also built a removable USB trackball box with a 3" Happ Red Translucent TB and 3 buttons that fits between the 2 sticks.

So far this has worked very well.  I'm a little afraid of switching to the new MAMEwah FE because I tried to set up a ctrlr file in MAME without  installing all the drivers for the USB adapter and had some conflicts or I screwed something up .  I haven't tried to do that again since I have installed the drivers but I don't really forsee any problems just a little leary of having to set everything up again.

I'm interested to see if anyone else is using a setup with console controls for their cabs.
-G

[Dave_K.]

people who hack psx digital pads and buy usb adapters solely to avoid using a keyboard encoder in their mame setup make absolutely no sense to me..

The main reason is compatibility with consoles.  With 2 digial PSX (original PS sticks) and usb converter(s), you get 28 connections (same as standard i-pac) for less $.  Downside is you have to hack the pads...but upside as I mentioned at the begining is compatibility with playstation1/2 plus any other console via more cheap converters.

BTW: If you hack two PSOne dual shock pads, you get 32 digital inputs and 4 analog x/y inputs.

If you have no interest in consoles, I'd probably go with the i-pac than hack pc usb pads.