There used to be a time not so long ago when you'd buy uber budget controllers, knowing they'd break in a year or two. And yet, I've had the original GameSir Nova Lite for longer than that now, and it still works perfectly, deflecting stick drift with ease.
If you want something cheap and cheerful, its upgraded older sibling, the GameSir Nova Lite 2, has been knocked down to $24 this Prime Day. That's a bit of a steal for a solid wireless pad.
The Nova Lite 2 doesn't have competitive specs, but it's a perfectly servicable pad for all sorts of games, and the newly upgraded 1,000 Hz polling rate is about average for a reasonably capable gaming controller right now. 8,000 Hz won't be worth the battery drain for most PC gamers but, unless you're a pro, you likely won't feel the difference anyway.
Here, you're getting Hall effect joysticks, a two-way trigger lock to swap between linear and long press triggers, plus a few customixable buttons on the back.
There's no RGB, but it's not totally plain either. Both the black and white models are available in the sale for the same price, with orange highlight offering a pop of colour on both versions (I think my money would be on the black pad). It comes with a 2.4 Ghz connector, but it also has Bluetooth. You can swap between devices with a shortcut on the pad, meaning it can switch from mobile to PC in just a few moments. That's pretty neat, and something I liked about the first pad, too.
Speaking of the first pad, the original GameSir Nova Lite is even cheaper, at just $18 on Amazon. If I had to pick, I'd pick up the sequel for a few bucks more to get four times the polling rate, but the original model does offer a greater range of colours. Though it doesn't come with a charging stand, the Nova Lite 2 is still charging stand compatible, so you could pick one up further down the line to keep your pad topped up too.
If you simply need an extra pad and don't want to spend a whole bunch of cash on something like, say, the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K now that it's on sale, I couldn't recommend a GameSir controller enough. And despite its low cost, I can attest that it's not going to break too easily on you, either.
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1. Best overall:
GameSir G7 Pro
2. Best budget:
GameSir Nova Lite
3. Best high end:
Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K PC
4. Best for couch
Steam Controller (2026)
5. Best wired:
Scuf Valor Pro
