The world is lousy with premium gamepads, ranging from the Xbox Elite 2 through to the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra, but sometimes you just need a knock-around controller for abrupt couch co-op sessions that you won't need to skip meals to afford. That's what the GameSir Nova Lite is good for.
Dave names it the best budget controller for PC gaming in our buying guide, for good reason. It's cheap (obviously), but it also has one brilliant feature lacking in some premium controllers, which is hall effect sticks. This magnetic approach to thumbsticks means they won't succumb to that most dreaded of gamepad maladies: stick drift.
Usually you'll spend anywhere between AU$30 and AU$50 on the GameSir Nova Lite in Australia, but the GameSir Global Store on AliExpress is currently dishing them out for just AU$20 a pop. That's including shipping too.
AliExpress is a PC Gamer preferred partner (What does this mean?)
The GameSir Nova Lite supports both Bluetooth and wireless functionality (via a dongle) and will work with PC, smartphones and Nintendo Switch, if you have one of those lying around.
It's a great controller in this price range, especially with its connectivity options and hall-effect sticks. Do be aware of what it lacks, though: there are no paddle buttons (ie, rear buttons) and no aux jack (so you can't plug headphones into 'em). Battery life comes in at around 10 hours, which is decent for this price, but be aware in case you need more.
Also, WTF is AliExpress? It's an online marketplace with a huge array of sellers. It's ginormous, but doesn't quite have the profile (yet) of Amazon and eBay. Buying there is safe as there are a bunch of protections, and in most cases returns are free within 90 days. But: do pay attention to seller reviews and carefully look at deals that seem too good to be true.
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