We’ve reviewed a few SteelSeries gaming mice here at Techaeris, from the simple and affordable to the multi-button and more expensive. The company is stepping up their game with a new pair of mice aimed at the eSports crowd with a new SteelSeries TrueMove3 optical sensor. The TrueMove3 optical sensor in these mice boasts a 12,000 CPI, 350 IPS sensor that is ultra-low-latency to deliver “the most natural and accurate mouse movement” while gaming.
Our SteelSeries Rival 310 review takes a look at the first of these, an ergonomic, right-handed gaming mouse with a “true 1-to-1 eSports gaming mouse sensor.” If you’re left handed, don’t fret — we’ll be posting our review of the SteelSeries Sensei 310 shortly!
Specifications
The SteelSeries Rival 100 gaming mouse has the following features and specifications:
- Top Material: Finger Print Resistant Semi-Rough Matte
- Core Construction: Fiber-Reinforced Plastic
- Shape: Ergonomic, Right-Handed
- Grip Style: Palm or Claw
- Number of Buttons: 6
- Switch Type: Omron Mechanical Rated For 50 Million Clicks
- Illumination: 2 RGB Zones, Independently Controlled
- Sensor Name: SteelSeries TrueMove3
- Sensor Type: Optical
- CPI: 100-12000, 100 CPI Increments
- IPS: 350+, on SteelSeries QcK surfaces
- Acceleration: 50G
- Polling Rate: 1ms
- Hardware Acceleration: None (Zero Hardware Acceleration)
- Cable Length: 2m, 6.5ft
- Length: 127.6mm
- Width: 57.16mm (front), 62.07mm (middle), 70.1mm (back)
- Height: 41.98mm
- Weight: 88.3g
What’s in the box
- Rival 310 Gaming Mouse
- Product Information Guide
Design
Unlike some other SteelSeries gaming mice, the Rival 310 looks pretty standard. Your typical left and right click buttons are split with a scroll wheel button. Just below these is another button which is defaulted to on-the-fly CPI toggling. At the base of the top of the mouse is the familiar SteelSeries logo. Both the scroll wheel and SteelSeries logo are LED backlit. The entire top surface is a matte black finish which, for the most part, hides fingerprints quite well.
On the left-hand side of the mouse are two more buttons, bringing the total to six. The buttons are angled, and are very nicely placed and easily accessible with your thumb. Below the buttons is a textured grey silicone grip which extends almost the entire length of the mouse. On the right-hand side of the mouse is a similar grip which is slightly longer.
The bottom of the mouse is where you’ll find the optical sensor (of course), as well as three smooth plastic glider feet — a long one at the front and two smaller ones on each corner at the bottom.
The Rival 310 also features a lower profile than some of the other SteelSeries mice and is fairly light as well weighing only 88g.
Ease of Use
Like all the SteelSeries mice we’ve tested so far, you can use them straight out of the box. Simply plug the Rival 310 into an available USB port on your PC or laptop and you’re good to go. If you want to customize the buttons, CPI sensitivity, LED lighting, and more, you’ll definitely want to download and install the SteelSeries Engine 3 software.
Software
With the SteelSeries Engine 3 software, you can customize the actions that happen for each button and the scroll wheel. You can also adjust the LED lighting of the scroll wheel and logo and each can be set to a different color or sequence. You can also add macros to a button, adjust your primary and secondary CPI sensitivity preference, mouse acceleration/deceleration, angle snapping, and polling rate.
The software also allows you to store multiple configurations. The mouse will only remember and use the one you have currently selected but does store it onboard so if you plug it into a different computer, your last settings will be saved. Still, having preset configurations that can easily be applied by launching the software is a great feature. Not only that, if you have a SteelSeries account, you can sync your SteelSeries Engine 3 settings across computers easily.
The Rival 310 also supports GameSense for the games that utilize it (which is a small number). In those games, you can set the two LED zones to change colour based on your health, ammo, mana, or other in-game metrics. Considering your hand is covering both zones, it’s kind of useless to be honest but the functionality is there.
Performance
I’ve been using the SteelSeries Rival 500 and 700 as my daily mice and I’ve become accustomed to the heavier weights of both. At just over 88g, the Rival 310 is extremely light and almost feels like there’s not much substance to the mouse. It didn’t affect performance at all, it was just a matter of getting used to using a lighter mouse — I guess in eSports the lighter the better as it provides less resistance and weight to drag around.
Light weight aside, just how does the Rival 310 perform with the new TrueMove3 optical sensor that boasts a “true 1-to-1 eSports gaming mouse sensor” with ultra-low latency? I usually set my CPI to 800 and 1600 as I find anything higher a bit sloppy and harder to control. Given the new sensor on the Rival 310 (and Sensei 310 — review coming soon), I decided to bump the upper end up to 2600. Unlike other mice I’ve used in the past, it didn’t seem nearly as sloppy and was actually very manageable. With the higher CPI, I was able to turn, retreat, and aim more quickly while gaming.
When used with the SteelSeries QcK Prism mousepad, the Rival 310 shines even more given the smooth surface on the one side.
Price/Value
Given the way SteelSeries is marketing this mouse, you’d think it’d be a pricey option. However, at only $59.99USD, the Rival 310 is very reasonably priced for the excellent performance.
Wrap-up
If you’re looking for a high-performance, affordable gaming mouse and can stand a lighter mouse, you should definitely check out the SteelSeries Rival 310. Given the performance, comfort, and price point, the Rival 310 earns a Top Pick of 2017 here at Techaeris.
*We were sent a sample of the SteelSeries Rival 310 Gaming Mouse for the purposes of this review.
Last Updated on November 19, 2017.
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