USB converters and lag

[TuZhao]

I happily bought  the 3-in-1 PC Joybox which sports 3 joypad sockets (SS, PSX, DC) and connects to the USB port. Problem is, I feel a noticeable lag in playing MAME (I'm using a Saturn pad). I'd say it's at least 70-80 msec.
I thought it was a MAME's fault, so I tried an old pc gamepad that plugs into the joystick gameport, using a standard 6 button windows driver, and it was super responsive, like playing a real arcade!
So the USB protocol is to blame?

[fragment]

yeah, i noticed that when using this awesome PS1 arcade stick that I made and was playing some MAME capcom games. It really sucks! I will eventually make a PC joystick, just figuring which direction to go for the interface (hack a keyboard, MS Sidewinder, etc).

[NFG]

That USB adaptor is known to be buggy, but apparently only when using the Saturn pad.  It's bad programming, nothing more.

I've heard there are revisions without this lag, but I can't confirm it.

[TuZhao]

Damn, how unlucky I am! I built my own arcade stick for Saturn and I would be happy to use it on my PC... So now I have to build a saturn->gameport adapter or find another converter
Effectively I tried with a PS2 DualShock pad and it seems fine. Although some games won't recognize correctly the left analog stick.
I think I kinda wasted my money on it...

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

someone correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't directpad (or one of it's current incarnations) have support for saturn pads?

[TuZhao]

I don't know much about Directpad. According to some info I found it does support Saturn pads, even the analog one!

[benzaldehyde]

Yup, Direct Pad Pro is the way to go...

...

<Smashes head into a wall.>

I've gotten the analog to work just fine. The only thing I can't do is get proper power to completely power two controllers (the 2nd player L button won't work in my case) or the arcade stick. There is no lag, even on my old-ass 200MHz Pentium. Well, that was until my parallel port blew out... stupid scanner...

You can always use an XBox controller directly; it's a USB pad with a different form connector. An adapter is all you need, and no extra encoding to the USB bus is necessary.

[TuZhao]

I need a Saturn converter/adapter because I built my own huge arcade stick out of a Saturn pad (the Saturn is my favourite console), and I thought I could use it even for playing with some emulators on the PC.
Moreover, I don't think the XBox pads are *that* good. At first I liked them because they were very similar to the Dreamcast's. But the keys have a weird feel and the analog stick is way worse than the one on the DC pad.
In the end, the Saturn 3D pad is still the best for me