Saitek P3000 Wireless PC Game Pad & Docking Station

by Saitek

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008WFJ5
• Item model number: P3000
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

P3000 WIRELESS PAD Liberate yourself with the remote and rechargeable Saitek P3000 Wireless Pad, our top-of-the range gamepad offering complete freedom in gameplay by removing the restrictions of the traditional cable. The P3000 comes with a stylish docking station and two rechargeable batteries that deliver 24/7 gaming action and an LCD screen that displays your power level and gamepad features.

Features

• 30 feet of unblockable wireless range
• Pad works pointing in any direction
• Signal won’t be blocked by people getting in your way
• Includes 2 Rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride power packs
• 24/7 wireless gaming
• No need to buy expensive replacement batteries!
• Stylish docking station acts as a storage stand and charging unit, conveniently powered by the same USB port
• Double your controls with ‘on-board’ Shift Key and Smart Technology programming software to take gameplay to another level!
• Integral LCD screen indicates battery life and keypad features at a glance
• The PC Pad with wireless technology for total gaming freedom
• Ergonomic controls with soft touch handles increase grip and comfort
• Advanced programming provided with Saitek Smart Technology (SST) software
• 2 quick fire shoulder triggers, 8-way D-pad, 6 responsive buttons
• Two analog joysticks with built-in buttons
• Shift Key provides up to 20 programmable functions
• LCD battery life indicator
• 2 rechargeable power packs for 24/7 gaming and stylish docking station and integral charger

Product Description

The P3000 Wireless Pad and Docking Station gives you more freedom of movement, without costing you more money in batteries! Includes 2 rechargeable NiMh battery packs and Smart Technology for programming buttons

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars dont buy this, September 6, 2004

By 

Guy Brand "Guy Brand" (Los Angeles, California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Saitek P3000 Wireless PC Game Pad & Docking Station (Personal Computers)

The Good
The controller has ample buttons which make it so you wont need your keyboard or mouse. The controller itself is constructed well, and has a great feel to it.

Problems:
1. Wireless - although it says 30 feet, i have found that it needs to be within 3 feet of me for the best results. If its more than 5 feet away, forget it. I had to buy a USB extension cable just to use it, which canceled out the need for it to be wireless. Nothing on it says what gigahertz it is, so i am guessing its not even 2.4GHZ.

2. Although the base is only 2 feet away, in the middle of a game it just starts trailing off in one direction. This is solved by using the keyboard, escaping out, and reloading the joystick software. Its very frustrating when your playing a game like Far Cry and it hasn't saved.

Issues
1. Batteries - this is probably luck of the draw, but i was shipped with one defective battery which should have been caught in quality control.

2. Not all games automatically work with joysticks, so you will need to program it. The Saitek 3000 controller comes with really good programing software to do it. But be prepared to spend up to an hour of programing before using a game, and continually fine tuning it as you play. I dont mind, i just wish they had more scripts on their website for download. I think they have about 12 games only.

Update:
I tried buying the Saitek P2500 which was the same gamepad but not wireless. My game profiles i made on the P3000 didnt carry over. Worse, the P2500 stopped working within the first 6 hours, and I had to exchange it, and that one had problems with the SHIFT button. Finally i returned that also.

Conclusion:
I just bought the Logitech Wingman Wireless Rumblepad, its by far a better gamepad. Its 2.4GHZ, so it has distance. The software to program custom scripts is miles ahead of the Saitek SST software. When you load the profile, it automatically loads the game which it corresponds with.

Please, if your looking for a game pad, get the Logitech. Save your self the 3 weeks on pain I had to go through.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shoulda read the reviews, February 20, 2007

By 

Micheal Mathews (Berea, Kentucky, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saitek P3000 Wireless PC Game Pad & Docking Station (Personal Computers)

I got two of these as a gift and right out of the box I had problems with them.

I've owned 2 P880's (the corded versions of this controller) for over 2 years now and they are great, the included software for Saitek controllers is brilliant as well. The controllers are well designed and fit comfortably in my hands, they're like the perfect balance of Playstation and XBox size. The only downside is that they only have 1 shoulder button instead of 2, but you get used to that.

So why not go wireless?
Well the only reason I wouldn't recommend these is that the batteries are very poorly designed. Saitek has even recocgnized this on their site and will ship you a free pair of batteries. I got mine a couple weeks ago.
However that still wont solve the problem and like most reviewrs I've tried and tried to get these pads to work with little to no avail.
The individual battery packs actually contain 2 batteries inside; one for the wireless connection and one for the controller display.
The problem is that if one baterry is full when the other is not the charger will not continue to charge the drained battery. so while you may get a display on the controller, you wont get a connection to the PC or vis versa.

There is no easy solution to this problem either. The user must find a way to drain the batteries without damaging the battery pack and hope that they stay in sync after that (which is very unlikely).

If you really like Saitek (like me) I'd wait for a newer model of wireless controllers. Till then stick with the cords or go with a different brand.

As of this date Saitek has seemingly started to release newer versions of their game pads so hopefully there's a more functional version out there soon if its not out already.

Be warned that the 2.4GHz version of this pad is prone to the same problems.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This one's a dud., March 26, 2006

By 

Norm Cash "for fun" (Ferndale, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saitek P3000 Wireless PC Game Pad & Docking Station (Personal Computers)

I love the Saitek 880 wired gamepad. So I figured the wireless would be that much better. Unfortunately, my next purchase will be another wired pad to ensure no problems. There's nothing worse than the few times I really need two gamepads that the wireless one poops out. I bought this and the batteries died. I sent Saitek an e-mail and they sent me two new ones. Great, they worked! Then they died soon after. Hopefully their new wireless, which runs on one AA battery will not have any issues. However, this one's a dud.