How Can I Get My Circularity Average Percent to 0%?
Here’s another myth regarding joysticks: you don’t want 0% circularity. The term “Average Error” is misleading, and we think it’s a poor choice of words. The circularity test is definitely an important test for joysticks, but it shouldn’t be zero.
Like we mentioned before, some controllers on the market have “0” deadzone and “0% circularity average error.” This is just another trick from the built-in software. When you test a GameSir or similar controllerr, it’ll show an incredibly low circularity error rate. But that’s fabricated by the software.
When you plug in a PS5 or Xbox controller, you’ll see the raw data, including a higher ‘average error rate’. That’s because PS5 and Xbox controllers come from the factory with around an 8% circularity. This is the number the engineers chose intentionally.
Brand-new PS5 controller with standard joysticks.
If your PS5 or Xbox controller has too low of a circularity rate, it can negatively affect your gameplay. The joystick’s range needs to extend beyond a perfect circle. But when the circularity goes outside the circle, the “error rate” increases. Again, this shouldn’t be labeled as an “error”, it’s just the circularity of your joystick.
For example, in Rocket League, your joystick needs to extend outside the circle in order to pull off certain moves. In Call of Duty, many players use “Auto Sprint”, when you move it makes your character automatically sprint. If your joystick’s range is too low, Auto Sprint won’t even trigger.
Thankfully for PS5 controllers, we can calibrate the circularity using this amazing free tool:
https://dualshock-tools.github.io/
When we fine-tune the range, we aim for a circularity between 5% and 9%. We’ve found this to be ‘perfect’. We know it’s confusing that it’s called a “5% error rate” when it’s not actually an error, it’s supposed to be there.
Still skeptical? If we handed you two PS5 controllers, one calibrated to 0%–1% and the other to 10%–15%, you’d prefer the one with the higher circularity rate. Trust us. We’ve worked on thousands of controllers.
