Using xbox 360 controller on windows 7 for gaming

[simonlang]

i want to buy me an xbox 360 controller to use it for gaming on win 7. the game i mostly play is formula 1 2015. will it work? especially considering the accelerating/brake buttons. 

[President Devil]

It should.

[LUTZIFER]

Of course it will. An XBOX One controller should work on Windows 7 too.

[Anibal P]

Windows will recognize and install the drivers automatically 

[Aergan]

i want to buy me an xbox 360 controller to use it for gaming on win 7. the game i mostly play is formula 1 2015. will it work? especially considering the accelerating/brake buttons. 

Yes it does. Wired model or Wireless model (when used with with Microsoft's USB Wireless Receiver). You can often find the Official Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows (Black control pad & Receiver) for a reasonable price via Amazon or eBay.

The Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel also works if you're interested.

If the game supports Xinput, it should work with the Xbox 360/One control pads.

[philcruicks]

Yeh, though I wouldn't bother with the official wireless adapter (if your going wireless), from what I've heard they tend to break a lot, so just get an cheap once off ebay, even if that breaks as well at least it was only like £5 rather than £15-20.

Note: as much as the wired controller works fine, the wireless will not work with the Play & Charge USB cable, you need the wireless adapter, but it does mean you can use your existing controller if you have one rather than buying a whole new wired one.

Xbox One Controller should work fine on just the standard USB cable.

[rmorris003]

Yes Xbox One controllers work by plugging in the micro usb cable and wired xbox 360 are the way to go if your going that route so your choice on which one you want to go for.

[Gerowen]

Should work just fine, I use my wireless PS3 controller on my Linux machines by just plugging them in via the USB charging cable and pressing the "Home" button, and I know Microsoft makes a wired (USB) XBox 360 controller, so surely they would build compatibility with hardware they make into the operating system they make.

[dragontology]

Wired 360 controller is the best for PC gaming. Fun fact: Windows recognizes the first-generation Rockband instruments. Everything just works. Actual, useful applications of said Rockband controllers are quite limited, but get Rockband drums and NES Tetris. Outer pads move, inner pads rotate, and kick pedal is down. Easy for a while but it gets hard real fast. It's a shame nobody's managed to replicate Rockband gameplay on the PC (Frets on Fire doesn't count, it's garbage). I suppose you can get the first two via a PS2 emulator. The third one was on Wii, I believe, and that can be emulated too, but good luck getting DLC, or customs.

[Ironman273]

I use an Xbox 360 controller (wired) on my PC for gaming.  Lately the shoulder buttons have started being little fiddly so I tried using my Xbox One controller.  It works on some games (Batman Arkham Knight) but not others (Mad Max).  I figured it would be just a gamepad input but apparently not.

[Ian W]

i want to buy me an xbox 360 controller to use it for gaming on win 7. the game i mostly play is formula 1 2015. will it work? especially considering the accelerating/brake buttons. 

Good choice! As others have said, it should work.

I realize that this is a bit off topic, but your post reminded me of when Microsoft discussed Xbox 360 peripheral compatibility with Windows.

[Aergan]

Yeh, though I wouldn't bother with the official wireless adapter (if your going wireless), from what I've heard they tend to break a lot, so just get an cheap once off ebay, even if that breaks as well at least it was only like £5 rather than £15-20.

I have 2x Black, 3x White & 1x Unofficial KO. Only had one official white one fail but that was down to a powered USB hub shorting out. The oldest I have was manufactured in 2007 and is still going strong today.
The KO ones work but require manual driver installation under Windows and can be hit or miss in non-Windows platforms depending on whether they cloned the device ID information correctly. They tend to struggle to support two or more devices as the power draw is lower and they don't use a proper ground/shielding in the cable construction (which is used as the antenna). I would buy second-hand genuine cheaply rather than KO new.