u/G305_Enjoyer

i made this insane comment to someone elses post, thought it should get more visibility to help anyone else.

ok this is not a complete guide, i only just got my controller in over the weekend after hours of autistic searching..

1. windows does not natively support dualsense (ds5) or dualshock 3/4 (ds4) meaning games that do not natively support ds5 there is 0 input, nothing happens. if a game supports ds4 natively, ds5 still will not work.
2. you need some middleman on these non supported titles, like steaminput. but im going to recommend PADFORGE..
3. know that games have to additionally natively support dualsense EDGE! not just ds5. there are games that work with ds5 but not ds5e! padforge solves all these problems.
4. if you buy an edge, you will still need a middleman like padforge to emulate a regular ds5. so you feel kind of silly holding your $200 controller sometimes.
5. steaminput.. with padforge, there is really no reason to use steaminput. to keep it as simple as possible i recommend using special K's valveplug to completely disable steaminput. because without it, at startup, steam locks onto your controller before hidhide and padforge can. alternatively, you need to close steam and setup padforge, then reopen steam and you can properly use steaminput ontop of padforge. probably with added latency.
6. now that you are committed to using padforge, you can keep your ds5 or ds5e permanently hidden using the integrated hidhide app. this keeps your controller from showing up twice. have prebuilt profiles for ds5, ds4, xbox one.
7. go into padforge and enable whatever controller you want to use for whatever game! note that padforge actually converts impulse trigger and other rumble effects from xbox one/series supported titles into adaptive trigger, wow!
8. get ds5dongle. https://www.pishop.us/product/raspberry-pi-pico-2-w/ was cheapest for me. id recommend buying more than 1 pico 2w while you are there since shipping is more expensive that the pico. that way you can experiment with multiple firmwares or have multiple controllers or simply give to a friend. https://www.printables.com/model/1722146-pico-2-case-for-dualsense-dongle
9. i recommend the ds5dongle linux bridge. i think it is the smartest and you dont need all the extra stuff studio or bridge forks add since you are using padforge anyways. it is so far the only fork that allows 4 controllers connected to 1 dongle actively at once.
10. ds5dongle is sensitive to usb plugs, i had it plugged into a usb 2.0 port on my motherboard, and had to move it to a usb3 plug. not sure if that was an issue with usb2/3 or if my mobos internal usb hub structure had usb2 as a nested controller. developer officially says to avoid hubs.
11. make sure your dualsense is default communications device in windows and volume turned all the way up and not muted for games to see it.
12. padforge latency is practically 0, it is 1000hz internal/software polling, and with ds5dongle, you are getting a physical 600-1000hz polling rate to the controller. padforge does add some cpu overhead. i imagine these 2 polling rates stack, so 1ms+1.5~2ms, under 3ms total for sure. games that natively support dualsense you will get the full 800ish hz wireless rate.
13. buying a controller.. ds5 edge still interesting as the paddles show as unique inputs to windows, this is different than a modded ds5 with extremerate paddles. additionally, ds5e has a higher USB polling rate (1000hz vs 250hz). both controllers have similar bluetooth performance, maybe edge is 50-100mhz faster (700-800hz for both). edge has the replaceable thumbstick modules which will be easier later. mapping these paddles is tricky since you have to combine multiple inputs, for example in padforge, the paddles are bound to keyboard keys j and k and fn keys n m.. just as a sample. so you are sending more than one device emulation, keyboard + ds5. This could cause a problem with your game switching back and forth between PC and controller input. Also know that ds5 has a much smaller battery pack and there are no upgrade options at the moment.
14. buying controller continued.. with #13 in mind, you may prefer a regular ds5 to save money and many games do not natively support ds5e anyways. if you choose this, go on ebay and look for pre-modded ds5's with TMR sticks already soldered on. i just picked up a bdm-040 with favor union v3's for 65 shipped. i think this is a better value than a new controller whos sticks will wear out very quickly. downside, battery life possibly and maybe the shell is worn or possibly some other functional issue.
15. controller continued.. if you want to buy a used controller, i think bdm 30 and 40 are best, 40 being the best of all models from bdm 10 to bdm 60. bdm 30 re-designed the triggers with a different spring design that frequently broke in bdm 10 and 20, but retains the metal trigger pins that were removed in bdm 50. bdm 20 has the same spring as bdm 10, jsut a little thicker. bdm 40 is same as 30 but adds some rubber bump stops to help prevent breaking from pulling too hard. 60 removes the centering rings and combines them into the faceplate, which effects stick performance as faceplate shifts easily when pushing hard on sticks..
16. continued continued.. there is absoultely no reason to buy a bdm50. but there is a reason to get bdm60, it has an updated mainboard which will get much better battery life and possibly better bluetooth performance. at the cost of maybe more fragile triggers. basically you want a bdm 20, 40, or 60. as these are the iterations on each major change (10, 30, 50). some people swear 20 is the best as it has the best rubber mounts/isolation tabs or something. hard to say a lot of this info is heresy. I would personally just look for bdm40 or 60 or an edge. there are some NIB or openbox edge controllers for around 150. but plan to buy upgraded tmr modules later. a bdm60 should support shell swapping to something with the centering rings like older models.
17. joysticks! ds5e modules, there are 2 types. sony oem unlocked and aliexpress.. out of the box your edge sticks cannot be calibrated. to unlock them, you need to solder a tiny wire.. the aliexpress units bypass this and include a usb stick to update firmware on the modules should sony later try to brick the aftermarket modules. another reason to maybe not get the edge. for sticks you want either ksilver js13 pro+ or jt13 pro+ with adjustable tension, however they do not have removable thumbsticks. i think on an edge controller thi sis the way to go since you can just swap out the modules if they eventually wear out. on a non edge, i would maybe get either js13 pro+, ginful rs13, or favor union v3. then, you can later if needed - buy an upgraded battery pack and new joystick thumb caps.
18. upgrades.. for thumb caps check out zd gaming or leadjoy magic caps. i think zd are best and most interesting variety. these are easily replaceable if you are comfortable opening the shell. for battery, only 1 model is safe!! gobat snps5 hardshell from amazon. check out metal plastics electronics on youtube for the most autistic dualsense content.
19. extremerate.. if you are thinking about the clicky buttons, know that unless you get one of their paddle kits, you cannot get clicky R2 and keep adaptive trigger. the paddle kits come with a slider. i am not sure how those work, on dualsense edge, the factory sliders disable adaptive trigger via firmware. i doubt extremerate is doing this, so could be weird experience with them? not 100% i could be wrong on that. if you get their regular clicky kit it just disables adaptive trigger entirely. for the face buttons, know that they wear out quickly. they supposedly released a new rubber pad (sold separately) that solves this problem, but i am skeptical and have not seen anyone online who previously complained change their opinion. so for those reason i am avoiding clickys for now even though i originally wanted them. there is no r1 r2 click kit for ds5 edge. supposedly they are engineering one. only face clicks. edit: you can accomplish all clicky buttons and keep adaptive trigger w/o paddle kit https://youtu.be/SouIN_DZJFM?si=mlGZWm6tf7NKlUJI&t=2014
20. impulse trigger. with all that said, this staarted for me because i wanted a controller that could do it all. i learned they dont exist, but this is as close as you can get - relying on software (padforge). with padforge there is no reason to install ds4windows btw. they do the same thing but padforge does it better. just know that impulse trigger on ds5 is kind of weird. i think i like it, but im not sure. im glad to have it rather than not have it, but i think in some scenarios id rather just have an xbox controller. forza racing was my big test for this. after many laps i think i grew to actually enjoy the impulse to adaptive translation better than native impulse, but i was defintely faster lap times with xbox controller. this is due to how the trigger fights you on dualsense, physically. ds5 also does not actually have rumble motors in the trigger. it simulates rumble by moving the trigger back and forth quickly and directing its advanced haptic motors from the body of the controller. but it will never truly emulate impulse trigger.
21. xbox vs dualsense. you could go the other way, padforge can translate some trigger vibration from adaptive triggers to impulse trigger. but you are still missing out on voicecoil haptics, gyro, trackpad, microphone, speaker.. i think the dualsense is the technically superior controller. if you wanted an xbox controller, make sure you are getting one that is LICENSED or it does not have impulse trigger. i would suggest an aftermarket, probably the 8bitdo ultimate 3e that just came out or maybe gamesir g7 pro. i rturned my gamesir g7 pro because the trigger vibration was super weak compared to 1st party. i had the preivous gen ulimate 3 8bitdo that was better in this regard, but ultimately i returned that one also. possibly the best controller is a 1st party xbox series controller with TMR sticks, i am not positve but seems maybe you can calibrate the sticks now with software. previously you could only do it with physical calibration which was a non-starter for me. youd want to do more research on that, but if it is possible that is probably the ultimate xbox controller for a rumble junky.