ASTRO Gaming C40 TR Controller - PlayStation 4

Product Information

The buttons on the controller feel pretty great, too:just the right amount of give, without feeling too squishy – until you got to the triggers, at least.Now, we get that this controller is for people who play shooters competitively – a scene that needs reactive triggers – but they feel a little too easy to press. However, that could just be down to the fact that we're using this controller while playing an intensely stressful, precision-requiring game like Sekiro. The only workaround I found was to go into the PC’s system settings and manually force the machine to view the C40 as an Xbox 360 remote. This meant it would work for gaming, but the configuration software still wouldn’t recognise it, removing one of the key reasons you’d want it. The only downside is that the software doesn’t work with the PS4 and at times can be incredibly buggy. For reasons I still can’t explain, the software wouldn’t recognise the C40 on some of the PCs I tested it on. The software features a great UI that makes remapping a trivial matter and is the best experience I’ve had since the Steam Controller – though that comes with its own performance issues I won’t discuss here. Which is why I prefer the C40’s, Elite-like, screw system. Here you have to manually remove a plate from the front of the controller. This can be done with most correctly sized screwdrivers, though the controller includes an “upgrade” tool out of the box. From there, you have to remove and replace the parts you want to tweak and re-attach the plate. The system is more fiddly, but it leads to improved build quality and makes the controller feel significantly more sturdy and slightly more accurate than its magnetic competition.

It lets you remap and adjust critical things like sensitivity on pretty much every one of the controller’s inputs. As an added perk the controller can store two configurations locally, so you won’t have to start from scratch if you connect it to a second PC. You can create as many of these profiles as you want, and then sync two to your C40 at a time. Switching between the onboard profiles is simple: you just flip a switch at the top of the device. That means unless you’re often switching between three games with vastly different profiles mapped, once you've got a few customizations you prefer, you really won’t have to rely on the software—especially given the C40’s UL and UR remapping. Turning the C40 over shows several of the hallmarks of pricey enthusiast and custom controllers. Two additional triggers, UL and UR, sit against the grip where your middle fingers rest naturally. A small remapping button between them lets you manually assign them inputs, if you don't want to use the Astro software to customize everything. Two small rest switches above the triggers activate or disable mechanical stops that shorten the L2 and R2 trigger pull distances. On the top edge of the gamepad, two more red switches toggle between wired and wireless modes, and one of two control profiles you can set. A deeply recessed micro USB port between the upper switches lets you plug in the C40 with the included six-foot cable for charging, using the gamepad as a wired controller, or customizing it with Astro's software. Even if you don’t know an Allen wrench from an Alan Cumming, you can figure this thing out. Astro’s made it as foolproof as something like this can get. Astro C40 TR - SoftwareIt aims to take on top dog competition such as the Razer Raiju and Xbox Elite Controller by offering gamers unprecedented levels of hardware and software customisability.

Astro has always excelled at making premium hardware that looks decent, albeit a bit on the “gamer-y” side. The C40’s follows that trend. There’s something off-putting about Astro’s press photos that make the C40 TR look like a hollow plastic shell, with a striped faceplate and hyper-pronounced branding. The Windows 10 version ASTRO Command Center software, from the Microsoft Store, enables full configuration of the adjustable settings for these ASTRO devices: This gamepad has angular lines all over it, and the face of the controller looks like it's an extra in a Metal Gear Solid game. Because this is a PS4 controller, it has the square, circle, triangle and cross buttons on the face of the game pad. This absolutely makes sense, but you can't switch them out if you bought the controller for PC, so if you're accustomed to Xbox buttons, it may take some adjustment, especially if you don't have the muscle memory. The Astro C40 is designed to work with PC and PS4. As a result, its button layout is tailored to Sony’s console, not Microsoft’s out of the box. But that doesn’t stop it having a completely unique look and feel to competing controllers with the same layout, like the Razer Raiju Ultimate Edition.The C40 comes with a wireless dongle that plugs directly into your PS4’s USB slots. (That also means if you’re trying to ball out with four of these puppies, you’ll need a USB hub.) Astro claims this proprietary dongle helps the C40 sustain a fast, reliable connection, but anyone worried about wireless latency can use the controller in wired mode. On the rear you’ll find trigger stops, enabling either full-analog trigger pulls (for racing games, etc.) or shorter on/off activations (for shooters). Above that are two additional sliders: One swaps between wired and wireless modes, the other between two profile configurations.

I had to switch left and right analogs because it was not functioning properly, but overall it's a magnificent controller. I despise consoles and controller type games, but I am glad I didn't buy the steam controller and bought the Astro. Astro Gaming - C40 TR Controller is the ultimate controller, in my opinion. It has many options to customize your experience to suit your play style. Personally, I don't trust wireless connection, so I always connect it via USB.

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title=More%20Expert%20Tech%20Roundups&type=articles%2Cvideos&tags=tech-roundup&count=6&columnCount=6&theme=article One thing we can't get out of our minds is that Astro could havetrimmed this controller down in size shrinking that PS4 TouchPad. You could shave off half an inch, and not only would it be more comfortable to hold, but it might stop us from hitting the pad on accident when we're going for the options button. On the underside of the controller, you'll find paddles, like those typically found on the Xbox One Elite Controller, and other similar gamepads. On PC, you can bind these keys however you want, though we leave them alone. Our hands are already having trouble dealing with how large this controller is without introducing foreign buttons.