DS4 behaves wierd on desktop

[danamb]

Hi!

I bought my pc here ~2 years ago and I started using Dualshock4 to play Rocket League. My issue is a bit hard to describe. It's like my car received extra input or no imput at all. Sometimes its just goes a bit left and right and it makes it difficult to go in a straight line. In the menu sometimes when I press 'A' it registers multiple clicks and the menu starts switching to multiple sub-menus.

The controller is brand new. I tried using it with cables, I bought a bluetooth dongle (as I dont like the cable) to be able to use it via bt, I tried with and without the ds4windows app, tried in Steam and Epic, but its all the same. I had the same issue with my Steam controller, and I tried other DS4s, too. I also tried two different dongles. I suspect the motherboard has some issues, or maybe my CPU does not like something.

My pc has these:
Gigabyte AX-3 Gaming motherboard,
Ryzen 2600X CPU
2X8GB 2933MHz Ram
Win 10 Pro

I tried reinstalling Windows (twice, actually) and only installing the necessary drivers and apps to be able to play, but it makes no difference.

Has anyone experienced similar issues? I am Champ in Rocket League and have done a lot of coaching, too, so I can decide how it "should" behave. Unfortunately, I do not know anyone near Luton who also plays RL with the same setup, to be able to try out his/her setup, so I thought maybe the great members of this forum could help me.

If the issue cannot be solved, I think my next question will be what motherboard would you recommend to make it compatible with my 2600X, but also one that has bluetooth and possibly be compatible with the latest Ryzens?

Thank you in advance!

 

[SpyderTracks]

It's not a hardware issue, hardware couldn't cause that.

DS4 is buggy at the best of times and not necessary if playing through Steam.

I would personally do a reinstall of windows and start from scratch, it's likely there's something conflicting with drivers.

Have you used any driver downloader software at all?

What AV are you using?

 

[danamb]

It's not a hardware issue, hardware couldn't cause that.

DS4 is buggy at the best of times and not necessary if playing through Steam.

I would personally do a reinstall of windows and start from scratch, it's likely there's something conflicting with drivers.

Have you used any driver downloader software at all?

What AV are you using?

I have already reinstalled Win 10 twice and last time I did not even use ds4windows, only the Steam DS4 support. I only installed the latest NVidia driver, the DirectX runtimes, and Steam. The Windows reinstall was a full clean on C drive. Luckily, with the SSD it was pretty quick. When I plugged in the dongle (TP-Link UB400) the system immediately recognised it, then I turned on the controller, paired it via bluetooth, and tried to play the game.

I dont think it is relevant, but my mouse does similar things. One click is sometimes recognised as multiple clicks, but there are even videos about it and how to solve this issue, so I dont think the response issue comes with the other inputs.

I tried the dongle in different USBs (2.0, 3.0, 3.1), but it makes no difference.

What I also saw that when I checked the controller via the control panel, the left stick was not in the perfect centre and also without even touching anything, sometimes there is a very small vibration of the indicator, like something is "shaking" the sticks. The ds4windows app helps to reduce this when I play with the deadzone and anti-deadzone settings. Is it possible that I am so unlucky, that I managed to get bad controller 3 times in a row? Can the stick reset (when you hold the sticks down for 30 seconds) solve this somehow? What is the esiest way to reset everything in the controller? I also tried the reset button in the back.

Sorry for all these questions, I just dont know what is causing this and its driving me crazy!

 

[SpyderTracks]

What AV are you using?

What other software do you have installed?

When you reinstalled windows, did you delete all existing partitions before installing?

 

[danamb]

What AV are you using?

What other software do you have installed?

When you reinstalled windows, did you delete all existing partitions before installing?

The default Windows Defender.

I did not delete the partitions, I thought the reset with the 'dont keep anything' does something like that. My Win sits on the 250GB SSD and I have a 2TB HDD. Steam and the game is installed on my HDD.

 

[SpyderTracks]

The default Windows Defender.

I did not delete the partitions, I thought the reset with the 'dont keep anything' does something like that. My Win sits on the 250GB SSD and I have a 2TB HDD. Steam and the game is installed on my HDD.

So you did a reset from within windows rather than a clean install?

 

[danamb]

So you did a reset from within windows rather than a clean install?

I downloaded the Windows Creation Tool, made my usb stick the installer device, then with the 'Reset this PC' option I did a full reinstall.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I downloaded the Windows Creation Tool, made my usb stick the installer device, then with the 'Reset this PC' option I did a full reinstall.

Ah, that's not a clean install and will have left any residual issues from the existing image. That's essentially just using the install as a startup disk, but doesn't fully reinstall windows, just clears out the existing image.

I'd suggest doing a full clean install and deleting all system partitions then installing to the remaining space.

Option 1 from here:

How to do a Clean Install of Windows 10 the Easy Way

The Windows 10 upgrade process drags old files, settings, and programs from your previous Windows system to your new one.

www.howtogeek.com

 

[danamb]

Ah, that's not a clean install and will have left any residual issues from the existing image. That's essentially just using the install as a startup disk, but doesn't fully reinstall windows, just clears out the existing image.

I'd suggest doing a full clean install and deleting all system partitions then installing to the remaining space.

Option 1 from here:

How to do a Clean Install of Windows 10 the Easy Way

The Windows 10 upgrade process drags old files, settings, and programs from your previous Windows system to your new one.

www.howtogeek.com

Alright, it sounds cheaper than buying a new mobo. I am going to do it right now.

 

[danamb]

Ah, that's not a clean install and will have left any residual issues from the existing image. That's essentially just using the install as a startup disk, but doesn't fully reinstall windows, just clears out the existing image.

I'd suggest doing a full clean install and deleting all system partitions then installing to the remaining space.

Option 1 from here:

How to do a Clean Install of Windows 10 the Easy Way

The Windows 10 upgrade process drags old files, settings, and programs from your previous Windows system to your new one.

www.howtogeek.com

I did a full reinstall with deleting the partion and installing as new, instead of just resetting it. Then I installed the directx runtimes, the visual c++ 2015 runtimes, the nvidia driver, Epic launcher, then paired my DS4 via bluetooth and started the game. Still, its an absolute garbage. After this, I tried with Steam and with the ds4windows app. No difference.

At this point I cannot think its a software issue. Any other ideas?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I did a full reinstall with deleting the partion and installing as new, instead of just resetting it. Then I installed the directx runtimes, the visual c++ 2015 runtimes, the nvidia driver, Epic launcher, then paired my DS4 via bluetooth and started the game. Still, its an absolute garbage. After this, I tried with Steam and with the ds4windows app. No difference.

At this point I cannot think its a software issue. Any other ideas?

You need to first plug it and use it cabled without any DS4 or anything just through Steam, DS4 is the likely suspect here.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I would do another clean install.... DONT INSTALL DS4!!! That's the bug we're trying to eradicate.

Try it cabled initially with a game through Steam Big Picture, to identify if the controller works ok, I'm guessing it will.

If it does, it does point to DS4 being the issue, DS4 is not supported any longer and is well out of date with modern bluetooth support.

Try an alternative like InputMapper:

Home

InputMapper 1.7 Version: Last Modified: Size: Downloads: TODO MORE INFO InputMapper 1.7 takes the original goals of DSDCS's DS4Windows and ear

inputmapper.com

 

[danamb]

You need to first plug it and use it cabled without any DS4 or anything just through Steam, DS4 is the likely suspect here.

I just did another fresh install. No ds4windows, only cable. It has the exact same effect than before. Car control is totally unstable. It must be something else than a driver or a sofware.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I just did another fresh install. No ds4windows, only cable. It has the exact same effect than before. Car control is totally unstable. It must be something else than a driver or a sofware.

Ok, that concludes it then, it would suggest it's the controller.

 

[danamb]

Ok, that concludes it then, it would suggest it's the controller.

I forgot that I had a very old Logitech controller (cabled, no bt). While the button presses have some noticable delay (almost half a second) and the buttons and the left stick's up/down directions are mixed up, the car is stable during turning. I searched for issues regarding the analogue stick and found that DS4 often has "sliding" problem when even at no input it still registers some. It looks like I was this unlucky that I bought malfunctionaing controllers 3 times in a row.

 

[danamb]

I wonder if it's an issue with newer controllers? Older Logitechs use Dinput whilst newer ones use, well, whatever the newer version is (I used to have to flick a switch on the underside of my Logitech depending on the game I was playing).

Personally, if I was you, I'd buy an Xbox One controller for PC use...they have native support and work fine. I bought one back in February and love it...I even find the lopsided sticks to actually be much more comfortable than a PS controller.

My hands are small and when I started using the Steam controller with the "pro" key bindings, my fingers were tired after 10-15 minutes of playing because I had to strech them to be able to reach all buttons, especially the LB and RB (above the triggers). I am afraid the XBox would be the same in this aspect, while the DS4 is exactly what I need in size and feel. Not to mention that 70+% of the playerbase is using DS4.

 

[AgentCooper]

I wonder if it's an issue with newer controllers? Older Logitechs use Dinput whilst newer ones use, well, whatever the newer version is (I used to have to flick a switch on the underside of my Logitech depending on the game I was playing).

Personally, if I was you, I'd buy an Xbox One controller for PC use...they have native support and work fine. I bought one back in February and love it...I even find the lopsided sticks to actually be much more comfortable than a PS controller.

I’m with you on that, I can’t stand the PlayStation thumb stick layout, Xbox controller just feels ‘right’ in my hands 🤲

 

[AgentCooper]

My hands are small and when I started using the Steam controller with the "pro" key bindings, my fingers were tired after 10-15 minutes of playing because I had to strech them to be able to reach all buttons, especially the LB and RB (above the triggers). I am afraid the XBox would be the same in this aspect, while the DS4 is exactly what I need in size and feel. Not to mention that 70+% of the playerbase is using DS4.

I have laughably small hands for a grown man and have never had any problems with an Xbox controller. You got any mates with an Xbox you could have a go on to get a feel for it?

 

[danamb]

I have laughably small hands for a grown man and have never had any problems with an Xbox controller. You got any mates with an Xbox you could have a go on to get a feel for it?

Unfortunately, no. When I was in the shop "Game" I hold the Elite controller in my hand and that felt pretty good, but thats overpriced and I read a lot of negative review about the same sliding issue. I have not tried the normal 360 controller, tho.

 

[AgentCooper]

I used the wired 360 controller to death, and when it passed away I upgraded to a Xbox One controller. Both are excellent. And yeah, the Elite one is overpriced, even though I do like some of the features it has.

You could always get a cheap third party Xbox controller for about £20 just to see if the shape of it works for you and then go for the proper one...