I am looking for a balance between style and price for a good controller. Not too expensive, but not too cheap either. I want the controller to look good - not anything that looks too cheap or bad in general. The feeling is of course important too, that's why I asked more opinions from you guys. What controller could you recommend? What controllers have you used and what did you like and dislike about them?
PS: I am not interested in anything that is branded like "Battlefield 4 gamepad" or something...
The Xbox 360 controllers make awesome PC controllers. You can get the wired one and hook it up like any usb controller. PS3 controllers work too you just have to download drivers for them. The one from Steam looks interesting but who knows when that'll be out. I assume the Xbox One controllers will work but I haven't used one or looked into whether they can be used on the PC. They look nice though.
Xbox 360 Wired controller has always worked the best for me in most games, mouse and keyboard is nice, but not when it comes to racing games. You can get the windows Xbox 360 Controller kit which has a wireless adaptor and such if you don't like the cabling. Being that the XBOne is out now, I assume wired controller prices have probably gone down also. Probably your best bet, and the PC controller I have had the most luck with. I am also pretty sure that if you are looking to play an FPS on a controller for whatever reason, then BF4 natively supports the 360 Controller.
EDIT: Xbox one controller is only wireless, connects via MicroUSB, not sure how it will work with a PC, but I think it uses Bluetooth or something.
Xbox 360 wired controller should be plug and play, and it is a very good ergonomic controller. If you have/wish to buy a wireless one, you will need to buy an adaptor. Adaptors sit around the $10 price point.
Not sure why this was in the new and updated section, but while I'm here, I'll throw in my two cents.
I just got the DS4 (DualShock 4/ PS4) controller and it works great so far. I actually love this controller; leaps and bounds better than the DS3/PS3 controller, which I already preferred over the 360 controller due to symmetrical set up and d-pad. The main issue is the DS4 uses DirectInput API, which is fine for older games (like Jade Empire), and works without driver installation, but all the newer games use Xinput API. There is a Xinput wrapper for DS4 (which is beta, but most features work now, such as rumble and changing lightbar), but my only issue is I wish there was a seamless way to transfer modes. However, I connect the controller via BT (or USB), fire up the utility, and my PC thinks I'm using an xbox controller, and it maps perfectly to newer games. I couldn't be happier. Tad bit expensive though.