EasySMX X05 review – a fantastic wireless PC controller on a budget

The EasySMX X05 isn’t stuffed full of extra features, but it’s still impressively capable for its price. It delivers a standard set of Xbox-style controls, with two thumbsticks, a four-way D-Pad, ABXY buttons, a pair of bumpers, a pair of triggers, and a handful of face buttons. The latter consist of the top, central power button, the standard Xbox-style view and menu buttons, an O button, and an M button.

The O button is used to change the joystick response, while the M button is used to adjust lighting and vibration. Double-press the latter and you can enter an RGB-adjust mode to change the RGB lighting brightness and color, using the joysticks. Meanwhile, pressing M+Left Joystick Up enables you to change the vibration level.

As for the O button, holding O+Left Joystick Click lets you change between a circular joystick and “normal” joystick response, while O+Right Joystick Click sets the thumbstick dead zone to zero, or back to the default setting of having a slight dead zone.

This controller also includes a rumble feature that’s adjustable between 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% power, with 50% being the default. It also has RGB lighting in the form of rings around each thumbstick. You can adjust its effect – breathing, static, dazzling, gradient, or off – along with brightness and color, with red, purple, blue, cyan, green, yellow, and orange options available.

As for what you don’t get, this controller doesn’t include an audio jack for plugging in a headset, nor does it have a microphone of its own. It also lacks any extra buttons, such as ones you might find on the back, and it doesn’t have mouse button-like microswitch buttons or adjustable short-click triggers either. It’s just a standard Xbox controller in terms of overall controls. It also doesn’t have any ability to change its settings via software – it just works as it comes

Ironically, though, one thing this controller isn’t is Xbox compatible. Instead, it’s only primarily meant for PC use, but it can also be used with the Switch and other mobile devices by switching to Bluetooth mode.

In order to get connected to your PC, you can use the USB-C port on its back – also used for charging the rechargeable battery – or the 2.4GHz wireless dongle included in the box. This is the only extra in the box other than two slightly bizarre soccer ball-style rubber thumbstick caps and a short charging cable.

There’s perhaps only one place to start when it comes to the design of this controller, and that’s its luminous lime green color. It’s one of three choices, with the others being “oyster white” and black. The white option does come with gray buttons for a clean look, but the black version has pink buttons, so your choices are a bit odd. We rather like the lime green look but, given this is a budget controller that’s often slightly discounted on Amazon and other retailers, we’d honestly just go for whichever color is the cheapest at the time.

Otherwise, the X05 has mostly the same sort of shape as an Xbox controller but with slightly less generous curves throughout. Its grips aren’t quite as long or wide as those on more premium controllers. They’re not uncomfortably small and cramped, like the Logitech F310, for instance, but it takes a little more finger grip to hold onto it.

Another factor when it comes to the lack of grip is the fact that this controller has no rubberized or soft-touch coating on its grips or any other area of it. This makes it a little bit more slippery in your hand. The back of the grips are textured, and the plastic feels decent quality, but it’s a definite compromise and cost-saving compared to premium controllers.

Performance

The EasySMX X05’s controls feel great for its price. The ABXY and other face buttons have a crisp response that feels very similar to a standard Xbox controller, and while the D-pad doesn’t quite have the snap of more premium units, such as the microswitch buttons of the Nacon X Revolution, it’s far from mushy.

The EasySMX X05’s battery life depends massively on whether you keep the RGB ring lights on and whether you use the rumble feature (and the level of rumble). Without the lights and rumble cranked up, it only lasts around four hours, but with the lighting off and rumble turned down to 25% – enough for a light buzz – it lasts for around eight hours.

The EasySMX X05 price is officially $29.99, but they’re regularly sold for under $25, with the black version right now costing just $23.98. At that price, it’s just an astonishing bargain. You do get more if you spend extra money – especially if you want audio features or official console support – but for core PC gameplay, there’s nothing we feel is lacking at this price.

Xbox Wireless Controller

The EasySMX X05 is effortlessly easy to recommend. For its incredibly low price, it offers a great set of features with build quality, comfort, and performance that hardly misses a beat. It lacks premium extras, such as rubberized grips and swappable sticks, but these are rare on controllers under $100 let alone under $30.

You absolutely do get a better feel with even just a standard Xbox Wireless Controller, but that’s what you’d expect from a controller costing more than twice as much, and the official controller still doesn’t include a rechargeable battery.