Last year, I wrote about GameSir’s excellent G7 Pro controller. There was a lot to love about it, though I had a few small gripes. Earlier this year, the company launched an improved version of the G7 Pro in partnership with Aimlabs, an aim training program to help people improve their skills for first-person shooters (FPS) and other games.
The new G7 Pro 8K brings a handful of improvements, but doesn’t address all of the issues I had with the original G7 Pro. Still, with the fancy Aimlabs-inspired teal colourway, the new controller stands out and has become one of my favourites to use.
It’s got the juice
GameSir G7 Pro 8K has a lot of swappable parts.
The first and most obvious difference between the G7 Pro 8K and the regular G7 Pro is the colourway. The original G7 Pro I tested came in white, but there are other options available, including red, orange, pink and more. However, none of the colours come close to the teal and black gradient that you can get on the Aimlabs variant.
Moreover, the G7 Pro 8K sports a lovely semi-transparent look on the teal portions, like the rear triggers and rubberized grips that I absolutely love. Like with the original G7, the Pro 8K has swappable magnetic faceplates so you can change up the look — though, when I checked out the alternate faceplate colours GameSir offered, there weren’t many that would mesh with the black and teal colours already on the controller.
Also like the original G7, the Pro 8K sports transparent plastic beneath the faceplate, which I think looks way cooler than the faceplate. While you could ditch the faceplate, I find the controller much less comfortable to use that way.
What you doing with all those hertz?
GameSir G7 Pro (top) and G7 Pro 8K (bottom).
Looks aside, there are some additional changes with the G7 Pro 8K worth considering. One upgrade is right there in the name — 8,000Hz polling rate. Polling rate refers to how often the controller communicates with your PC. The higher the hertz, the lower the response time.
On one hand, having an 8K polling rate means potentially more responsive input, but on the other, it’s pretty overkill for most people. The vast majority of people will be fine with a 1,000Hz polling rate, and some niche cases might benefit from a 2K or 4K polling rate (like professional esports). Most games don’t even support 8K polling rates, and even Aimlabs — which does support 8K polling — says most people won’t notice the difference.
Another upgrade on the Gamesir G7 Pro 8K is the shift to second-gen Tunneling Magnetoresistance (TMR) sticks, which offer smoother, more linear control compared to the first-gen TMR sticks in the G7 Pro. In my own testing, I didn’t notice a huge difference in terms of gameplay, but the G7 Pro 8K sticks feel incredibly smooth, and they were a joy to play with.
As a quick aside, TMR works similarly to Hall effect sticks, the current ‘big thing’ in gaming controllers. Both use contactless magnetic sensing for smoother sticks and to reduce stick drift. There are plenty of great technical explanations of the differences out there, but the important part is that TMR sticks are more precise than Hall effect, more stable over time, and more expensive to produce.
And that’s about where the differences end between the G7 Pro and Pro 8K, with the controllers sharing most other features. The G7 Pro 8K sports a 1,200mAh battery and includes a charging cradle that can also double as the wireless dongle (or you can plug in if you prefer). The G7 Pro 8K also sports four remappable buttons, swappable face buttons and D-pad, and lots of customization options through GameSir’s app. Heck, the controller even sports a six-axis gyroscope for motion controls.
I still dislike the D-pad
Speaking of the D-pad, it’s unchanged from the G7 Pro. It was one of my vew gripes with the controller, and remains a pain point on the Pro 8K. The controller ships with three D-pads, the default being a circular one that I find incredibly annoying to use because it often registers incorrect inputs. The alternate D-pads are slightly better, but my favourite one leaves large gaps in the faceplate that would be covered by the circular D-pad. It’s a small thing, but worth highlighting all the same.
Overall, the G7 Pro 8K is a really great controller, and I absolutely love the aesthetics. However, that’s really what you’re paying for here since the only other differentiating features aren’t that notable. 8,000Hz polling rate is neat, but overkill for most people, while the new TMR sticks aren’t noticeably better than the TMR sticks on the original G7 Pro.
At the time of writing, GameSir sold the G7 Pro 8K for $109.99 on its website, while the same controller was on Amazon Canada for $129.99. That makes it more expensive than the regular G7 Pro, which costs $99.99 on both the GameSir website and on Amazon. If you don’t love the Aimlabs colourway or need 8K polling, you’re probably better off saving a few dollars and getting the G7 Pro.
