This is a technical review of Razer's new entry into the console market with the Onza Controller.
The controller being evaluated is the Tournament Edition of the controller, and it is being compared against Microsoft's Wireless Xbox 360 controller
Review transcript (for those of you watching at work =X):
Introduction:
Hello, and welcome to Oranjoose's Razer Onza controller review. I know I know, I used to call it Onza too, but the Razer community manager dude at GDC corrected me with Ahnza. Whatever.
This video assumes that you already know the basic feature list that you can find on Razer's Onza product page.
Thumbsticks:
Ah, the thumbsticks... what many would consider to be the Onza's main selling point. The sticks are definitely taller than the Microsoft's flagship controller, which gives it a longer radial path or arc-length. Actually, I measured about 9.2 millimeters for the Onza vs Microsoft's 8, which is 15 percent longer. The greater the distance you give each degree of rotation, the more precision you get. However, a longer lever arm might make it feel too loose, right? Well, that's where the extra resistance saves the day, and then some. So, is a longer stick and extra resistance the unbeatable combo? Well, that's the idea, but could Razer pull it off? The answer is... almost, let's take a look.
I used a spring force gauge in order to discover the approximate force in grams it takes to move the thumbstick from its neutral position to roughly the stick wall at various increments in tension settings on the Onza. I'll get to what I mean by approximate in a little bit. I must take the time to give Razer props for going above and beyond with this dynamic resistance control idea.
At its lowest setting, it takes roughly 50 grams. At 10 notches up it takes 60 grams. At 15, 75 grams. 20 notches, 100 grams. Finally, at 25 notches, a mere 5 more clicks, it takes a whopping 175 grams. As you can see, the change in force increases with each click.
This behavior can be loosely represented by this graph. As you can see, we have a bit of an exponential curve, rather than a linear graph that you might expect. You know, this isn't really that big of a deal, however, if the x-axis instead of describing tension clicks, described stick travel, then we might have a problem, and that's exactly what I want to talk about next.
At the lowest setting, the stick moves smoothly at approximately one speed with a consistent 50 grams of force. This is very similar to what we see with the Microsoft controller, except the Microsoft controller requires a bit more force, and it's not quite as smooth.
That's all well and good, but look what happens when we bump up the resistance on the Onza. This is at 15 clicks. Notice how the closer you get to the stick wall, the more force it takes to keep going at the same speed. In fact, it becomes exceedingly difficult, comparatively, to get the stick all the way to the wall, especially moving it left on the left stick for some reason. Even at lower settings, it takes hundreds of grams to make that final push. It's kind of like pushing in a sponge or a mattress, where it's easy to push in a little bit, but it gets progressively more difficult the more compressed it gets. This simile is the same as stretching out a rubber band or spring. I became well aware of this phenomenon back when I used to do internal modification of Microsoft controllers to increase resistance in the sticks. The solution was to use a bigger sheet of silicone, or spring or what have you, and don't let the stick wall get anywhere near the stretch limit of the medium, which is represented at the end of this exponential graph, instead, you'd be utilizing the more linear part, again by being more conservative with the medium. If you didn't understand any of this graph and "stretch limit" stuff, don't worry, that's not really paramount to the review. The important thing to remember, though, is that unfortunately, with the Onza, we're stuck with the sponge effect, take it or leave it.
How bad is it in practice though? In Halo, I was able to determine that max speed can be achieved slightly before the stick wall, but the exact spot is uncertain, especially when you're in the middle of a game. What you have to end up doing is aiming carefully and freely, but jamming the stick hard to ensure that you're turning at max speed. Oh, and I haven't detected what you guys refer to as "slow turn," but I haven't conducted any conclusive tests on that subject.
Triggers:
I didn't really anticipate the triggers being very different from the Microsoft controllers but they certainly are. First off, they're oddly shaped, and the angle they are sloped doesn't feel very natural. Instead of being parallel with your fingers they are some 30-40 degrees off, making it so that the side of your finger is the first contact point.
Can't fit anymore, sorry =/.
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@OranJuno Finally an informative review. I can't believe you did this on your own time and didn't receive a dime from Razer. They owe you some free hardware at least. Can you tell me if you've used the Onza SE at all, if so, what were some differences in the analog sticks vs TE besides the obvious inability to change the resistance
IFranchisedI 6 months ago
@IFranchisedI
Thanks for the compliments =). I don't know if they feel the owe me anything considering this isn't an all-too flattering review. They might be more interested in someone they could bribe to do a flowery but dishonest review. I have not tried the SE, sorry, so I couldn't tell you the differences from personal account.
OranJuno 6 months ago
Will the duster can really fix my double tap bumper? I always thought it was a hardware problem. Microsoft products always seem to crap out on me. Does this mean I have to buy a torq screwdriver to open it up?
heedtheninja67 11 months ago
@heedtheninja67
That's a good question, and I wish I had a better answer for you.
In my experience, when a mouse develops this "multi-click" problem,
it temporarily alleviates it by blowing air directly under the button to clear
out any dust that may be causing multiple actuations.
However, you are right, the problem may not be as simple as that, and
might require replacement.
Thank you for allowing me to clarify.
OranJuno 11 months ago
WOW! Awesome video! I really like how you give solid numbers! Really makes your video stand out from the other reviews.
MQnoob 11 months ago 2
@MQnoob
Thanks! I appreciate the comment. I didn't want to just add another one-shot hands-and-controller "the buttons? yeah they feel like nice and stuff" review, and I'm glad you noticed.
OranJuno 11 months ago