Hi Guys
Over the past few months SteelSeries have been meeting with me to finalise plans for launches around their upcoming products and new ranges. You may have already seen plenty of hype on the forums about their new headset range and the Apex Mech 800 which is about the most interesting thing to happen with mechanical keyboards for a while!
With the headsets launched and they Keyboard range due to get a very interesting revamp in Q1 2015, Focus at the moment has been on Gaming Mice.
SteelSeries released the Rival around a year ago and it has slowly started gaining traction as the go to FPS gaming mouse for many players and Pros alike. The Rival has been adopted by many of the worlds top Counterstrike players and even some moba players too.
Given the new mouse lineup for SteelSeries next year will be based around Rival and its upcoming variants, and SteelSeries have released a White version of the Rival this week, I asked if we could try something different as an OcUK forum review.
Rather than do the usual thing when I review stuff, I thought that I would do a joint review with TwsT on the same product. That way, readers will be able to see two points of view on the same product.
SteelSeries sent across both versions of the Rival, The Black has a soft touch finish and the White is smooth plastic.
After trying both out in the office, I took the White and TwsT opted for the Black version.
The Box:
Included in the box is the mouse itself, two SteelSeries stickers and a quick start sheet. The outer packaging has plenty of information about the product on it as well as a folding door/window so you can see the product. Perfect packaging for a retail store but fairly pointless for internet shopping purposes.
rjkoneill
The box feels a little flimsy and doesnt really scream that the product is premium or high end. however, it does have plenty of info in and fit in with the rest of the SS product range.
It certainly wouldnt attract me to the product too much if I spotted it in a retail store.
Twst
The Box like Rich says doesn't scream premium but it allows you to see and inspect the shape of the mouse before opening.
Initial Setup:
The mouse requires SteelSeries engine to configure and set up the mouse properly. The download is small and the software is really easy to use. It also gives you the option to cloud save your configuration. It means that any other SteelSeries peripherals you get will be added to the software too.
Screenshot Gallery in Spoiler Tags
rjkoneill
Setup is simple, Install the software, set your DPI, Polling rate, angle snapping options and lighting then forget about it. It was fairly hassle free and the software doesnt have any bugs I have found to be present on other more expensive peripherals that I have used. SteelSeries Engine has come a long way since the first time I used it with the Sensei Pro when that product was first released. The software is well integrated, intuitive and simple to use and hassle free.
Twst
On windows 8.1 Pro the mouse worked straight away however to use all of the features you have to download the SteelSeries engine. The engine is 55MB in size and no real stress to download on modern internet connections. The software itself is clear and well presented and easy to understand what you are doing. It is worth noting that SteelSeries have decided to call DPI (Dots per Inch) to CPI (Counts Per Inch) from my understanding this is the same value and determines the same thing. They have allowed for you to enable or disable angle snapping (apparently it's a feature some people want) I keep this off as I favour fps games and nothing is linear.
The colour optimisation allows for any colour you can knock up in the visible scale and you can have it in a permanently on or breathing lighting feature. I have opted for Green as it matches my Keyboards LED's The software allows for multiple profiles I have found no options for on the fly profile switching but there is an option for on the fly CPI switching between Setting 1 and Setting 2
That said as you can see from the screen shots just open up the Engine and you can quick select a profile. You can also set the device to profile switch as specific games are opened so you can have different binds on your thumb buttons for different actions in different games without much hassle.
Build and Feel:
The Mouse is plastic construction. Black Rival has a soft touch finish and White Rival has a smooth finish. The side panels of the mouse have a dimpled rubber surface for grip.
rjkoneill
The mouse feels great in my palm grip. It is a little longer than the Mamba I use all the time but has a similar shape and side button layout. The feet glide on a hard surface really nicely and there is very little resistance to the glide. The buttons on the mouse are very responsive and don't have the stiffness found on other FPS orientated mice like the Zowie FK1. I personally prefer soft clicks. Repeat clicks are a joy on this mouse. The buttons have no side to side wobble and there is a satisfying level of build quality to the mouse that I feel fits the price point well but also represents good value for money.
The side grips on the mouse were off putting at first but feel great once I got used to them, the only gripe I had with the build was the cable not being braided but this is not really a deal breaker for me.
I was worried about the white model not having the soft touch, grippy finish but given that I get sweaty palms whilst gaming, I have used this mouse for over 50 hours now and not had a single issue with loss of grip in my hand. Whilst the finish on the white model is smooth, it doesn't detract from the feel of the mouse in your hand. In fact, I would say that this is the first smooth finish mouse I have used that does manage to grip well.
Twst
Here is where it comes into its own the mouse feels sturdy and well built the surface on the top is grippy. The thumb grips on the side are firm and comfortable, the position of the thumb buttons is perfect it's far enough forward that you don't have to move your thumb around and the click actuation is audible as well as physical. The shape of the mouse is not dissimilar from the EC1 or the intelli mouse 3.0 I'm sure the pro CS gamers had a fair bit to do with the design process as the transition from my EC1 was considerably more natural than when I usually try out a new mouse. The size of the mouse I would say is large it's not a huge mouse but it seems on the larger end of the scale
The buttons on top are also firm and have an audible actuation I found it easy to repeat press in quick succession without spraying in CS:GO. (Tec 9 allows for some great repeat fire). The scroll wheel has a nice motion to it also
Tracking and Sensor Smoothness:
The SteelSeries Rival is equipped with a Pixart PMW3310 Optical Sensor. This sensor is renowned for lack of hardware acceleration and wide range of DPI/CPI adjustment. This Sensor is the same as the Avagao sensors used in a lot of other premium gaming mice.
rjkoneill
The tracking, lift off distance and smoothness of the sensor is quite nice. It feels accurate on quick movements and movement translates well into game due to lack of hardware acceleration. I have been using 600DPI, Max Polling Rate and no angle snapping.
Twst
I think this is where the rival seems to excel the sensor seems precise there is minimal lift off flicker you can hold the mouse just a tiny bit off the mouse mate and it won't move which is great news for us Low sense gamers.
Image Gallery
Hopefully this review format & overview gives you a better spread of opinion than just a regular forum review.
I think the strongest argument for this product is this. I use a Razer Mamba and TwsT uses a Zowie EC2. These are both very good, performance mice with brilliant features.
We have both swapped over to the Rival as our main gaming mouse at home. This is a huge win for the Rival in our opinion.
It should certainly be on the short list for anybody looking for a performance/fps orientated gaming mouse.
Over the past few months SteelSeries have been meeting with me to finalise plans for launches around their upcoming products and new ranges. You may have already seen plenty of hype on the forums about their new headset range and the Apex Mech 800 which is about the most interesting thing to happen with mechanical keyboards for a while!
With the headsets launched and they Keyboard range due to get a very interesting revamp in Q1 2015, Focus at the moment has been on Gaming Mice.
SteelSeries released the Rival around a year ago and it has slowly started gaining traction as the go to FPS gaming mouse for many players and Pros alike. The Rival has been adopted by many of the worlds top Counterstrike players and even some moba players too.
Given the new mouse lineup for SteelSeries next year will be based around Rival and its upcoming variants, and SteelSeries have released a White version of the Rival this week, I asked if we could try something different as an OcUK forum review.
Rather than do the usual thing when I review stuff, I thought that I would do a joint review with TwsT on the same product. That way, readers will be able to see two points of view on the same product.
SteelSeries sent across both versions of the Rival, The Black has a soft touch finish and the White is smooth plastic.
After trying both out in the office, I took the White and TwsT opted for the Black version.
The Box:
Included in the box is the mouse itself, two SteelSeries stickers and a quick start sheet. The outer packaging has plenty of information about the product on it as well as a folding door/window so you can see the product. Perfect packaging for a retail store but fairly pointless for internet shopping purposes.
rjkoneill
The box feels a little flimsy and doesnt really scream that the product is premium or high end. however, it does have plenty of info in and fit in with the rest of the SS product range.
It certainly wouldnt attract me to the product too much if I spotted it in a retail store.
Twst
The Box like Rich says doesn't scream premium but it allows you to see and inspect the shape of the mouse before opening.
Initial Setup:
The mouse requires SteelSeries engine to configure and set up the mouse properly. The download is small and the software is really easy to use. It also gives you the option to cloud save your configuration. It means that any other SteelSeries peripherals you get will be added to the software too.
Screenshot Gallery in Spoiler Tags
Home Screen
Main Page
Config Saving
Config quick switch
Main Page
Config Saving
Config quick switch
rjkoneill
Setup is simple, Install the software, set your DPI, Polling rate, angle snapping options and lighting then forget about it. It was fairly hassle free and the software doesnt have any bugs I have found to be present on other more expensive peripherals that I have used. SteelSeries Engine has come a long way since the first time I used it with the Sensei Pro when that product was first released. The software is well integrated, intuitive and simple to use and hassle free.
Twst
On windows 8.1 Pro the mouse worked straight away however to use all of the features you have to download the SteelSeries engine. The engine is 55MB in size and no real stress to download on modern internet connections. The software itself is clear and well presented and easy to understand what you are doing. It is worth noting that SteelSeries have decided to call DPI (Dots per Inch) to CPI (Counts Per Inch) from my understanding this is the same value and determines the same thing. They have allowed for you to enable or disable angle snapping (apparently it's a feature some people want) I keep this off as I favour fps games and nothing is linear.
The colour optimisation allows for any colour you can knock up in the visible scale and you can have it in a permanently on or breathing lighting feature. I have opted for Green as it matches my Keyboards LED's The software allows for multiple profiles I have found no options for on the fly profile switching but there is an option for on the fly CPI switching between Setting 1 and Setting 2
That said as you can see from the screen shots just open up the Engine and you can quick select a profile. You can also set the device to profile switch as specific games are opened so you can have different binds on your thumb buttons for different actions in different games without much hassle.
Build and Feel:
The Mouse is plastic construction. Black Rival has a soft touch finish and White Rival has a smooth finish. The side panels of the mouse have a dimpled rubber surface for grip.
rjkoneill
The mouse feels great in my palm grip. It is a little longer than the Mamba I use all the time but has a similar shape and side button layout. The feet glide on a hard surface really nicely and there is very little resistance to the glide. The buttons on the mouse are very responsive and don't have the stiffness found on other FPS orientated mice like the Zowie FK1. I personally prefer soft clicks. Repeat clicks are a joy on this mouse. The buttons have no side to side wobble and there is a satisfying level of build quality to the mouse that I feel fits the price point well but also represents good value for money.
The side grips on the mouse were off putting at first but feel great once I got used to them, the only gripe I had with the build was the cable not being braided but this is not really a deal breaker for me.
I was worried about the white model not having the soft touch, grippy finish but given that I get sweaty palms whilst gaming, I have used this mouse for over 50 hours now and not had a single issue with loss of grip in my hand. Whilst the finish on the white model is smooth, it doesn't detract from the feel of the mouse in your hand. In fact, I would say that this is the first smooth finish mouse I have used that does manage to grip well.
Twst
Here is where it comes into its own the mouse feels sturdy and well built the surface on the top is grippy. The thumb grips on the side are firm and comfortable, the position of the thumb buttons is perfect it's far enough forward that you don't have to move your thumb around and the click actuation is audible as well as physical. The shape of the mouse is not dissimilar from the EC1 or the intelli mouse 3.0 I'm sure the pro CS gamers had a fair bit to do with the design process as the transition from my EC1 was considerably more natural than when I usually try out a new mouse. The size of the mouse I would say is large it's not a huge mouse but it seems on the larger end of the scale
The buttons on top are also firm and have an audible actuation I found it easy to repeat press in quick succession without spraying in CS:GO. (Tec 9 allows for some great repeat fire). The scroll wheel has a nice motion to it also
Tracking and Sensor Smoothness:
The SteelSeries Rival is equipped with a Pixart PMW3310 Optical Sensor. This sensor is renowned for lack of hardware acceleration and wide range of DPI/CPI adjustment. This Sensor is the same as the Avagao sensors used in a lot of other premium gaming mice.
rjkoneill
The tracking, lift off distance and smoothness of the sensor is quite nice. It feels accurate on quick movements and movement translates well into game due to lack of hardware acceleration. I have been using 600DPI, Max Polling Rate and no angle snapping.
Twst
I think this is where the rival seems to excel the sensor seems precise there is minimal lift off flicker you can hold the mouse just a tiny bit off the mouse mate and it won't move which is great news for us Low sense gamers.
Image Gallery
Hopefully this review format & overview gives you a better spread of opinion than just a regular forum review.
I think the strongest argument for this product is this. I use a Razer Mamba and TwsT uses a Zowie EC2. These are both very good, performance mice with brilliant features.
We have both swapped over to the Rival as our main gaming mouse at home. This is a huge win for the Rival in our opinion.
It should certainly be on the short list for anybody looking for a performance/fps orientated gaming mouse.
.