So I purchased this mouse as my first gaming mouse. After using a basic office mouse for gaming for quite a few years, I needed an upgrade and my budget was tight. So after considering various options I ended up opting for the Rival 100. In short I was really impressed with this mouse and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good budget mouse but allow me to dive into the details first before you make your decision.
Build Quality & Design:
In terms of design and build quality, this thing is really nice. I like the minimal and straightforward design which doesn't look gamer-y. The mouse is not too small or too big and fits nicely in my hands but I would of personally liked it to be a little bigger. I mainly use a claw grip but I could see this design working fine for people with palm or hybrid grips as well. As for the buttons, there 5 in total. You have two side buttons on the left side which are super clicky and tactile and are well positioned. On the top you obviously have your main left and right clicks and the scroll wheel. The main clicks are also quite solid but they are a little bit on the heavier side for my liking. The scroll wheel is ok, it has a nice rubbery texture to it and scrolls with defined steps but is a little noisy. In terms of build, the majority of the build consists of a simple black matte coating which is grippy and comfortable to the touch. One down side of this coating however is that it attracts fingerprints and dust very easily. As for the sides there is a glossy plastic area with dotted perforations to help with holding the mouse. This is probably my least favourite part of the build. While they help with keeping a good grip on the mouse, these side grips can get quite uncomfortable after long periods of use. They're fine to use for 1-2hours of continuous use but beyond that they get slippery and make your hand sweaty and overall lead to an uncomfortable experience. However after a few weeks I got used to the side grips and they don't bother me as much anymore but this may be different for you. Overall though I am quite pleased with the build quality considering this is my first gaming mouse and it is a huge upgrade over my last mouse.
Software and Features:
In terms of features, the mouse features adjustable DPI with 8 defined steps from 250 to 4000CPI in increments of 250. The fact that is is in defined steps is a little disappointing but understandable for the price. As well as that, the mouse also features RGB lighting with various lighting effects to choose from which is impressive for this price. The lighting is uniform, bright and colors are represented fairly accurately. All of this can be controlled via the SteelSeries Engine software that you can download off their website. The software is simple and easy to use and allows you to change other settings as well such as polling rate, acceleration and deceleration and applying macros. Overall I have no real complaints in this department.
Sensor Performance:
The mouse uses a custom SteelSeries 3059-SS sensor and while I have very little knowledge about mouse sensors and which are the best ones, I can say that the sensor here does not disappoint. I used the sensor at 1000 DPI for my testing and whatever I was doing, whether that was flicking a sniper in a first person shooter, browsing webpages or anything else, the sensor managed to handle it all without any issues. There was no jitter or anything of that sort. The mouse also has no hardware acceleration for those who are worried about that. I tested out other DPI settings as well and they worked fine as well. Just note that the 4000 DPI setting is software emulated and not actually supported by the sensor. Overall coming from a office mouse, I can't complain about the sensor here.
Verdict:
Overall I have to say that this mouse is very good for the price and I would recommend it to anymore looking for a decent budget gaming mouse. It has a great sensor, good build quality, RGB lighting and included software. It isn't a perfect mouse and it has a few issues but for the price you really cannot complain about what you are getting here. There may be better options for the price but I feel like this is most well rounded mouse in this price category as it doesn't make any big sacrifices to maintain this price. Everything is well balanced and nothing feels particularly subpar about it.
+ Great Build Quality
+ Good Sensor
+ RGB Lighting
- Uncomfortable side grips for long periods of use
- Coating attracts fingerprints
- Limited DPI options
| Wireless Type | 802.11abg |
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