GameSir G7 Pro review: Premium hardware for an affordable price
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The GameSir G7 Pro is the company's newest high-end offering that boasts of some impressive features such as the company's TMR sticks and Hall Effect analogue triggers. Its sub-$100 price makes it an attractive buy for PC and Xbox players, although the latter won't be able to use it wirelessly.Anil Ganti Published
Verdict: Excellent hardware, lacking software
Overall, the GameSir G7 Pro is an attractive buy for anyone looking for extra buttons on their controllers. Because of its connectivity limitations, it isn’t an Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 replacement, but it can serve well as a one-size-fits-all solution for those who shuttle between PC and console. On the hardware front, it checks all the boxes for a top-notch controller, but the software side is somewhat lacking. If the unstable app performance at 1,000 Hz wasn’t enough, GameSir has three different apps for various controllers, and one can easily get them mixed up, even if you’re familiar with the ecosystem.
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Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
Price and availability
The GameSir GT7 Pro is now available on Amazon and GameSir's website for $79.99 in two colour variants: White and Shadow Ember. The company also offers a 30-day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee.
Earlier this year, the GameSir G7 Pro was shown off as a direct Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 competitor. With an asking price of $80, it falls on the higher end of GameSir’s repertoire. Like many GameSir controllers, the G7 Pro comes with a magnetically attached face plate that comes off easily and face buttons that are interchangeable. Faceplates are sold separately on GameSir’s website. Customization options aside, the controller has some decent hardware that puts it on par with heavy hitters from Razer. Careful not to drop it, though, or else you could run the real risk of buttons being strewn around everywhere. I’ve spent a little over a month with and the price tag is definitely justified.
Design and Features
The main difference between an Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and GameSir G7 Pro lies in the key layout. GameSir’s design takes some liberties, and while some people, such as myself, might prefer, others accustomed to the traditional design might need to reprogram their muscle memory. The back paddles are gone altogether and replaced by two clicky buttons that I accidentally pressed more times than I’m willing to admit. Thankfully, GameSir lets you disable them altogether via sliders. The two back buttons been moved next to the triggers, right next to LT and RT. Razer fans will instantly resonate with them. The home button has a shiny Xbox logo and a 3.5 mm audio jack is located at the bottom with a mute button next to it.
The real improvements are under the hood, though. For starters, it gets Hall Effect thumb sticks, something Microsoft still does not offer. On top of that, Optical Micro Switch face buttons enhance the G7 Pro’s longevity. Micro Switch Triggers let you control deep your LT and RT button can be pressed with a total of two configurations. With the triggers engaged, the buttons almost feel like a mouse click. However, the real surprise lies in its clicky D-Pad. The first few times using always feels awkward because traditional D-Pads usually feel different. That said, I’m a fan of the design choice and wish it was more commonplace on mainstream offerings.
The USB-C port on the controller has an elaborate housing to keep its cable secure. Great for preventing accidental tugs. Bear in mind it has an oval shape and not all USB-C cables might fit into it, especially ones from Sony. The GameSir G7 Pro is fairly repairable. There’s a full teardown over at Bilibili that will help you through the process. Its front rubber grip is held magnetically and comes off with a little pressure (more than the faceplate). All the screws needed to access its innards are right there. And as an added bonus, you can get take the faceplate and rubber grips off to get a semi-transparent look. Watch out for falling face buttons, though.
Box contents
Unlike the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 that comes with a bunch of interchangeable accessories in the box, GameSir keeps the G7 Pro’s packaging compact. There’s the controller, a spacious charging dock that neatly tucks away the 2.4 GHz dongle under a plastic flap, a long, sturdy three-meter-long braided USB-A to USB-C cable, a 2.4 GHz dongle, interchangeable D-Pad buttons and some stickers. The USB cable stands out because OEMs usually cheap out on it and the one found here screams quality the moment you touch it.
Connectivity and Performance
One can connect the GameSir G7 Pro to their devices via USB, Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz dongle. On PC, the dongle makes the most sense because of its low latency. And the charging dock has a USB-A port for the dongle. Xbox Series S|X users, however, are limited to USB because of Microsoft’s policies around third-party accessories; even the ‘certified’ ones. On the plus side, Xbox is a plug-and-play endeavour. Simply wire it up, long press the Xbox button and you’re off to the races. Gamepadla's tests confirm the controller’s polling rate is set at 500 Hz and it needs to be manually set to 1,000 Hz if you want the extra responsiveness. At 500 Hz, it has a response time of ~2 ms over cable and dongle and ~1 ms at 1,000 Hz. Bluetooth, on the other hand, is a mixed bag with latency ranging between 3.38 ms to 4.03 ms.
One of the G7 Pro’s biggest downside is its software. While it is feature rich and lets you fine-tune your controller to your heart’s content, the GameSir Nexus app has a tendency to disconnect every time it is in the background. A company representative told me this ‘normal’ at 1,000 Hz polling rate and that the app should work as intended at 500 Hz, which it does. That aside, you can save up to four profiles on-device and switch between them in real-time by pressing the M key plus its corresponding face button. Like the DualSense, the G7 Pro also has haptic feedback on its LT and RT sticks. It isn’t adaptive like Sony’s offering but feels nice.
The above-mentioned ‘M’ key doubles up as a shortcut to enable or disable hair triggers without digging through the app. It’s a lot less cumbersome than the GameSir Super Nova, which used it for a multitude of functions that one can mix up very easily.
Conclusion
The GT7 Pro is a no-brainer for anyone gaming on a PC with a sub $100 budget, unless you're used to a DualSense layout and want to get the whole PlayStation experience with Adaptive Triggers and the likes. Xbox owners who are willing to use it wired can consider it, too, if a long white cable sticking out of your console is okay. Of course, the low price tag means no creature comforts like a carrying case and swappable thumb sticks.
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
