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Xbox 360: Any benefit of using a wired controller over wireless?

I have had a wireless controller die on me because it would not recognize any battery pack that I put in there. That would be a non issue with a wired controller. That being said, I would probably still prefer the wireless controller just for the freedom.
 
NekoFever said:
I asked Richard Leadbetter on Digital Foundry about any input lag over wireless the first time he did latency tests and he said that any difference was too small for them to be able to detect it. I'd dig out the tweet but it was probably over a year ago.

The only real benefit to wired that I can think of is not needing batteries, but with a Play & Charge Kit it's really a non-issue.


Very interesting, pretty much sums up how I "feel". Interested to see what Richard says on this :)
 
Blackvette94 said:
Has anyone on the net done any testing show if indeed the wired gives the same input lag as the wireless one? Just curious, from what I can tell I cant feel a difference other then the lack of the bulky battery pack on the wireless ones.

I haven't done any tests, but if you play something with insanely sensitive steering like Trackmania, you can instantly tell the wired is more responsive.
 
lighter
no batteries
doesnt go off after not beign used for a long time
works with pc

i still use the wifi controller more
 
Does the PS3 controller use USB for data when connected?

I could swear there's less input lag when plugged in, but that might be my imagination.
 
I read somewhere recently... not sure where, they actually measured it at 7 ms. If u already have il from ur tv, every bit helps imo. Plus I like the feel of it way better.
 
No batteries to worry about, easy PC compatibility, and I think audio might come out clearer when using the headset on a plugged in controller. Also lighter and you don't have that battery pack bulk. But I don't think it's more responsive or anything, not in a way that's easy to tell anyway.
 
The thing with wireless input lag is it's variable, the 360 pad will switch to lower polling in times of heavy interference, and it happens seamlessly so it's hard to measure.
 
lulwut?

The play and charge kit is an absolute necessity.

I bought three of the damned things in the space of 2 years. All dead and unusable far more quickly than, say, your average phone/laptop/DS battery.

The controllers themselves are nigh on identical and unless you have really long fingers or weak arms that battery won't be a problem. Personally I'd recommend wired simply because the pad is cheaper, works with a PC, and requires no additional batteries.
 
No random disconnected controllers. All 3 of my wireless 360 controllers had that problem even with a full battery charge.

So I use wired, especially for PC gaming.
 
Wired 360 pads have just the right weight to them, and besides the battery pack doesn't get in the way of my fingers while I'm holding it.

OFC you have to take care to not damage the wires by wrapping it up wrong, I've had my wired pad for 3 years now and it's still in great shape.
 
I don't know what I find more amusing: shpankey's tag or the fact that people are actually seriously responding to the original question.
 
+ No input lag
+ No need to charge
+ No bulky battery pack
- Wire can get tangled
- Can't go too far from the TV, obviously due to the wire itself
 
If you use the wired one, the system won't pause telling you to 'reconnect your controller' after 5mins of inactivity. If you're like me and record cpu vs cpu simmed footage, this is a godsend.
 
It's cheaper and doesn't need recharging. The cable is really long so length isn't an issue either.

That's why I picked up a wired one as a spare, and for my PC.
 
I prefer wired controllers because it reduces latency. However small the latency of the wireless controllers, it is even less with wired controllers which is necessary in competitive multiplayer games. I always used a wired Xbox 360 controller and have my Xbox One controller wired as well.
 
better vibration, works on PC easier (no need for wireless dongle), lighter, and no need to replace batteries or plug into P&C kit.

I prefer wired because I'm too lazy to charge batteries lol
 
You don't have to worry about your controller turning off randomly because the batteries ran out, nor do you have to worry about not being able to use it while the batteries are charging.
 
No advantage. I've literally seen zero advantage besides not having the occasional battery related issues. I say zero advantage because the battery thing goes without saying. Beyond that fact, there is no speed or latency advantage that I've ever seen.
 
Really like wireless. Use it for both PC and xbox360. No issues. MS brand PC dongle is plug and play, knock off $10-15 cheapie takes a device manager manual step.
 
I use a wireless controller; however, I would strongly advise not getting the play and charge kit. Just get some rechargeable lithium-ion AA batteries. You will be a much happier camper, and the technology in the rechargable AAs is surprisingly better than the junk in Microsoft's play and charge batteries.
 
I played with the wireless controller for about 3 years without ever using the wired version. Then I bought a wired version for my PC a couple years ago and now I use it whether I play on PC or not. I like the lighter weight and the empty space for my hands/fingers with there being no battery pack.

If things were perfect the 360 controller would feel like the wired version while being wireless. I like the extra comfort of a wired more than the convenience of a wireless.
 
I have a wired one for my PC, for two reasons: Don't have to worry about batteries, and don't have to worry about tripping on the wires (since it's not going very far).
 
I read somewhere recently... not sure where, they actually measured it at 7 ms. If u already have il from ur tv, every bit helps imo. Plus I like the feel of it way better.

well, i dunno where you read from, but someone at SRK measured it (because fighting game peeps are crazy about their input delays) and the difference between wired and wireless was <1ms on average.
 
-Lighter
-No random disconnects
-Don't need to worry about batteries

Wireless is neat, but if you game a ton and competitively, wired just makes more sense.
 
Input lag is significantly reduced.

That's one nice thing about the Xbox One controller: if you plug it into the console via USB, it basically becomes a wired controller. That contrasts with the 360 wireless controller, where plugging it in is for charging only and the data is still transmitted wirelessly.
 
I researched this at one point and found a number of around 10ms between wireless and wired. It was in regards to the RB2 wireless drums vs the wired RB1 drums.

10ms is a lot. It would throw off my Rock Band score on drums for sure.
 
-Lighter
-Works with the PC right away. Don't have to buy an adapter.
-No huge clunky battery pack on the back of the controller that could get in the way.
-Never having to change batteries.
-Controller won't randomly turn off when you press on it too hard the way wireless ones do.
 
So I just wanted know by peoples experience or what the general census is, does the wired 360 controller have better response ( as in less input lag) then the wireless? Or is it SO minute that its a non issue?

It works with a PC just by plugging it in.

Also my wired controller has a random side benefit of not having a garbage d pad though I think that's more a total fluke.
 
The wired one is much more comfortable to hold without that battery pack in the way, that's the biggest reason I prefer it. It's also less of a hassle on PC, since I never have to look for batteries and I can avoid using the finicky wireless dongle. I've also had issues with wireless controllers randomly shutting off, especially if anything touches the battery pack.
 
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