Can I use my PS3 controller on a PC?

Are there some good drivers available to make the PS 3 controller work with Windows 7?

Also, can I use it wirelessly?

Solution 1:

I have successfully used an app called DS3 Tool to use a PS3 controller on Windows 7 64 bit. I did do it by cable though, it does also apparently work with bluetooth.

It was a bit of a hassle to get setup, but once it worked allowed a lot of customization and worked very well. Just follow the setup instructions closely.

Solution 2:

I think Windows will be able to fetch the driver for you automatically. Linux should work out of the box.

If you want to use it wirelessly, check out this guide:

PS3 Controller Wireless Guide

Note that the controller connects via Bluetooth so an ad-hoc network (Wi-Fi) won't work. You'll need a Bluetooth dongle.

If you're not too tech proficient, it might be best to just use it wired and if necessary, buy a longer USB-to-microUSB cable.

Solution 3:

I saw this question and wanted to provide another answer that I have found to be more stable and with less privacy concerns.

First, I want to point out a couple SERIOUS flaws with MotioninJoys software.

1. You must be connected to the internet to use it (or the page will fail)
2. The latest version has NO way to save your profiles. This means if you have multiple games you will have to manually configure them on each system (or each time you reload your OS)
3. Motioninjoy writes information to a normally windows reserved space on your C: (or root OS) drive. While I haven't looked at it in great detail, some of my information security friends pointed out that this could be malware and is a HUGE security flaw.
4. It is dependent upon specific versions of Internet Explorer, depending on the version of MotioninJoy, which adds another common point of failure. NOTE: This is also why you can't use older versions of MotioninJoy on Windows computers with newer versions of I.E.

Now that I have that out of the way, I have a way that still utilizes the MotioninJoy driver, but uses a different (superior) software called Better DS3 (Download here: http://betterds3.ciebiera.net/)

Here are some of the reasons I say it is better:

1. You can set it up so both the saved profiles and software itself is COMPLETELY PORTABLE
2. You don't have to be online (nor do you get SPAM ads in the software)
3. It does not require any invasive permissions

Here is a Screenshot to show you the software

I would also like to say that I found it incredibly user friendly and have no plans to change my controller software anytime in the near future, nor will I ever return to MotioninJoy (for the software... just the drivers)

I felt it was well documented on the site, but here are rough instructions:

1. Download MotioninJoy (0.7.1001) & Better DS3
2. Install the Driver with MotioninJoy (under the Driver Manager option in MotioninJoy)
3. Exit (from the taskbar, not just the program) MotioninJoy. If you dont exit from the taskbar, it will not close all the way.
4. Configure a new 'joystick' configuration in Better DS3.

That's It! Now you have a working PS3 controller via either USB or Bluetooth (provided MotioninJoy can find your Bluetooth Driver) NOTE: It will NOT work with Bluetooth 3.0