good joystick/rudder/throttle choices for MS Flight Sim 2004 on XP

I'm looking around for good joystick/rudder/throttle combos for the MS
FS 2004 that I finally installed on my HP Pentium 4 1.6 GHz Pavilion
760n running XP (that detail so you get a reference frame for what the
system might support). So far I see among the higher-end stuff the CH
products, and the Saitek controller.

What I want:

Initially, controls that provide input accurately enough so they
control the game realistically. It seems like the game and the
controls available are configurable 9 ways from Sunday, so, can I get
this with anything I buy ?

I want rudder control that I can use. Are pedals the only way to go ?
Can I bundle the CH pedals with other brand stick/throttles ? I would
also ideally like an independent throttle rather than controls on the
joystick base.

As far as widgets on the stick (and I'm thinking stick rather than
yoke, although I'll appreciate your making the effort to convince me
otherwise if you're so inclined) my first priority is having them
afford me an accurate simulation - hat switches, trim controls, etc.,
if they're realistic, and usable with MS FS, great; I don't want a
bunch of spacewars junk cluttering the stick or other controls that
will be found on real craft in another 200 years. I am looking for
controls/configurability that will eventually let me play fighter
pilot, so worthwhile triggers, etc. are wanted.

As far as connectivity goes - with what's on the market today, do I
have to choose between USB and gameport connectivity, or is everything
USB these days ?

cost, I would rather spend once and spend well than get something
cheap with limited function now, and then have to upgrade.

TIA!

I doubt that there's much gameport hardware on the open market. I have
gameport controls that I'm happy with - they're 2nd hand which means
I'm SOOL if they start going bad. Also, you should check to make sure
that your machine has somewhere to plug those gameport controls in.
From what I understand, there's a solid demand for some gameport
controls, and you can still find gameport rudder pedals on E*Bay. I
got mine about 2 years ago on E*Bay for under $50, and I'm not about to
replace them. BTW, you can mix and match different brands - my pedals
are CH, buty my stick and throttle (separate units) are Thrustmaster.
I'm not as certain you can mix different connector types (USB &
Gameport) though. If you don't already have a gameport, you may have
to buy a new soundcard - all the original gameport-only add-on cards
(including the Thrustmaster ACM) were designed for the ISA bus, and
AFAIK, all motherboards of the last five years ditched ISA for PCI.

Lastly, have you even tried ACoF on your machine, controls or
otherwise? Before it crapped out, my machine tested the somewhat more
demanding but similar CFS3 - and the results were quite dispiriting,
painful reminders of the slideshows I experienced on older machines
when stretched the limits of the hardware sys req. My specs were P4
running at 2 gig, 512 mb RAM, GeForce III. I suggest persuading a good
friend who already owns ACoF to lend you his copy for evaluation.

Thanks - I have a copy, and the reason for the joystick is that flying
with the keyboard sucks - I've had a sequence of failed to take off,
took off, but failed to land, landed, but in a hayfield so far, so
that's BS - aside from unrealistic feel, the keys don't provide
realistic control input, either holding them down or tapping them. The
display rate is no problem, I have an NVIDIA card and it flows smoothly

what card do you have? (incl. bus type.)

RIVA TNT2 model 64 on PCI - why ?

BTW, (FatKat, ignore this): for any sniffers - I'll be practicing
takeoffs and landings in addition to level flight, in case you had
doubts. Allow for a subset of your target population to have brains
and an absence of malfeasance at the same time.

wrote:
What I want:

Initially, controls that provide input accurately enough so they
control the game realistically. It seems like the game and the
controls available are configurable 9 ways from Sunday, so, can I get
this with anything I buy ?

I want rudder control that I can use. Are pedals the only way to go ?

Since any aircraft that I fly use pedals, the answer for me is an
emphatic yes. Although I should add that I just fly gliders where
adverse yaw is always an issue so rudder may be more important for a
glider simulator.

Can I bundle the CH pedals with other brand stick/throttles ?

Yes. This is what I do now. CH pedals and Logitech force feedback
joystick.

I did not like the spring loaded self-centering of the pedals. No
glider that I've heard of has pedals that do this. So I opened up the
CH pedals (thus voiding my warranty), removed the springs, and now the
pedals feel great. Much more realistic. One could argue that at speed
the aero forces on the ruddder will provide some self-centering effect.
Probably true. But nothing as overwhelming as the CH springs, at
least for gliders. Not sure about other craft. Perhaps weaker springs
would be the way to go in some cases.

Regards,

-Doug