GameSir G7 Pro review — A serious competitor to expensive boutique controllers

In light of my exposure to recent GameSir products, I was excited to get my hands on more of their hardware. GameSir convinced me last time that they know how to deliver a quality product without breaking the bank. With that in my pocket, I set out to see what their G7 Pro controller was bringing to the table. Let’s just say I have a new daily driver.

Upon first opening the box, we’re greeted with the G7 Pro, face-up in all its glory. GameSir took care to pack the controller so the thumbsticks were protected via foam rings, so nothing was damaged before it reached our hands. Below the controller sits a USB-C-powered charging dock for the G7 to rest on when it’s not being used. Removing that from the box reveals a small foam pad holding two more D-Pads, each designed slightly differently so you can use the style that best suits your affectations. Removing the cardboard tray the controller was housed in reveals a USB-A wireless dongle, a braided USB-A-to-C cable for the dock or wired controller use, the pack-in literature, and a couple of GameSir stickers.

Pulling the controller out and holding it in my hands, a couple of things struck me right away. First, it has a good, hefty weight to it. Pulling the triggers and testing the face buttons, it’s clear the components here meet a certain quality standard that few companies do. Unlike cheaper controllers that throw a breadboard into a plastic housing and call it a day, GameSir made sure their components reflect their values in every way.

First, let’s discuss the face buttons. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, right? Think again. Much to my surprise, the G7 Pro’s face buttons had a familiar click that took my brain a moment to place. Computer mouse buttons. The sound is identical to the satisfying soft *click* of a high-end gaming mouse. That holds for the A, B, X, and Y buttons, of course, but it goes further than that. The D-Pad also has that familiar click with each direction pressed. The same click can also be felt and heard when you toggle the triggers to be in their short-throw state. Instead of pulling a full press to fire a gun in Call of Duty, for example, you can essentially just *click* each shot in a short, satisfying motion. If that weren’t enough, the G7 Pro also features small programmable L4 and R4 micro-bumper buttons couched behind each bumper, positioned just so your pointer fingers can reach them for easy access.

Since the addition of programmable L4 and R4 buttons wasn’t enough, GameSir has added programmable L5 and R5 buttons to the back of the controller. While they don’t sport the same soft mouse click as the other buttons, their tactile feedback is no less satisfying. I also want to offer kudos to the GameSir designers who, in their wisdom, placed toggles for the L5 and R5 that lock them into position, making them flush with the rest of the controller. This ensures you can use them when you need, but won’t accidentally flashbang yourself or something unintentionally either.

For your thumbs, let’s discuss the G7 Pro’s Mag-Res TMR Sticks. According to GameSir, their joystick design allows for the “linear precision of potentiometer sticks with the unmatched durability of Hall Effect technology.” Long story short, the thumbsticks feel good, allow for precise aiming, and are built to last. I’m a fan of the G7 Pro’s thumbsticks with a minor caveat: the thumb grips are concave, which I’ve never been a big fan of. I want my thumb to sit comfortably in the thumb grip, not on it. That said, they’re coated with a grippy, rubberized texture I quickly got used to.

The G7 Pro comes with three different D-Pad designs for you to choose from. There’s a rounded circle with tiny pips at each cardinal direction, the cross-shaped D-Pad for that familiar retro precision, and a hybrid that essentially combines the other two to allow for both coverage and precision. None of them feels bad, particularly with the mechanical switch feedback, but I personally preferred the best of both worlds.

With everything this controller does right, there are some caveats I want to address for PC players. First, if you’re playing on PC, you absolutely need to install the GameSir Nexus companion app if possible. I consider what it brings to the table to be essential for full utilization of the G7 Pro’s functionality. Before I had the software, I was trying to play wirelessly with the packed-in wireless dongle. I noticed some occasional sluggishness while aiming during matches of Call of Duty. After getting access to the Nexus software, I realized the controller was set to poll at 500Hz. I was able to toggle that up to 1000Hz, and that completely eliminated all the sluggish aiming behavior I’d encountered. Second, the G7 Pro has a nifty gyroscope built into it that PC players can utilize. The gotcha is that you have to map its access and behavior in the Nexus software, so it’s completely unusable otherwise.

Over the years, I’ve tried several different controllers to best suit my experience as a PC gamer. At $79.99, the GameSir G7 Pro feels like the best of all worlds without breaking the bank. If I had my druthers, the thumbsticks would be interchangeable, but for half the price of Microsoft’s Elite Series 2 and comparable hardware, I’m elated with what GameSir has delivered. If you can’t get the Nexus software for some reason, you will definitely have a less-than-ideal experience playing wirelessly on PC, but the wired experience is still great, too. The G7 Pro has, without a doubt, become my go-to hardware for all my PC gaming experiences for the foreseeable future. It’ll be available on Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Best Buy, and the official GameSir website.

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