Hall Effect Controllers Marry Magnetism and Gaming [CNET]

There are, quite literally, hundreds of different gaming controllers you can pick from these days. From the most basic and affordable options to the price-doesn’t-matter best, there’s something for every budget, personality and play style. For most casual gamers, the controller that comes with the console, or even many of the less expensive ones, will be just fine for whenever you need to kill an hour or two (or zombies). But for more hardcore gamers, or even if you just want a smoother feel and more durable sticks on their controller, you’ll want to look for what’s known as a Hall Effect controller — essentially a gaming controller with Hall Effect joysticks and/or triggers.  

Even though Hall Effect technology has been around in gaming controllers for decades, we’re just now starting to a lot more controllers using the technology.

What are Hall Effect Controllers?

The Hall Effect is named after its discoverer, physicist Edwin Hall. Long story short, in 1879, he discovered a way to use magnets to precisely measure differences in electrical voltage across a conductor to gauge distance and direction. (Here’s a more in depth explainer.)

A company claiming to have a Hall Effect controller means it has built its joysticks using magnetic and not physical sensors. But it’s not just joysticks that can incorporate this technology. Some companies use Hall Effect technology in their triggers too, bringing a better gaming experience to more of the controller; the Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2 controller, for example, has Hall Effect triggers.  

The Hall Effect is so profound at improving the durability of joysticks that they’ve been used by heavy equipment for decades. 

Are Hall Effect controllers better?

For sticks and switches, Hall Effect components mean no physical contact is required to generate the current that is measured. This differs from the typical potentiometer mechanism, which swipes across a resistive film to create the measured voltage. That means friction, which wears down the contact areas, and worn areas increase the variability of the voltage.   

Switching from potentiometers offers some significant advantages for gamers. The first is more durable controllers. Potentiometer wear means the component will eventually require replacing. This is really only an issue with extremely heavy use, so only the more hardcore gamers who play for hours a day would probably run into this issue.

The greater advantage for gamers is that Hall Effect joysticks help eliminate an issue known as “stick drift.”  Since most of the friction occurs around the stick’s default position — the center — because you’re always moving away from it, stick behavior can get wonky. Stick drift has become the bane of many gamers’ existence over the past few years, particularly for Nintendo Switch players. In addition to wear, stick drift happens when dust or debris impairs the connection between the stick and its sensors, causing them to not register input correctly. So essentially, when you try to steer or point the camera somewhere, the joystick does something different. 

To help reduce the effect of stick drift, potentiometer joysticks have what’s known as a “dead zone,” which is an area directly around the joystick’s central starting position where it doesn’t detect any movement. The concept is that with a dead zone in place, stick drift will take longer to detect until it simply becomes too bad to keep using the controller. 

With Hall Effect controllers, there’s no need for a dead zone. While this may not make a big difference to the more casual gamers, particularly those who don’t need the sticks to respond to small movements aren’t the center or play FPS or fighting games, it can be a pretty significant advantage in addition to keeping the controller working better for longer. 

What are the best Hall Effect controllers?

Console makers don’t bundle controllers with Hall Effect joysticks, though the second generation Microsoft Xbox Elite Controller has Hall Effect triggers, but several manufacturers build some great Hall Effect controllers, and they’re much more affordable than you might think. My current favorite is the Gamesir G7 SE controller for Xbox and PC, and it’s about $45 on Amazon.

Another solid option if you’re looking for a Bluetooth controller is the 8Bitdo Ultimate Bluetooth controller. It’s mostly recommended for the Nintendo Switch, but it’s perfectly compatible with Windows PCs and gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck and at $70, it’s not too unreasonable. 

For the PlayStation folks (I see you, you are not alone), there aren’t that many options available, but by far the best one is the Nacon Revolution 5 Pro. It’s certainly not cheap at $200, but the sticks and buttons are customizable and it just looks pretty awesome too. Thankfully it works for PC as well.