There used to be a time where you needed to spend over $100 on a gaming mouse to get anything relatively good—times have changed. Razer’s DeathAdder and SteelSeries’ Rival offer tournament-level peripherals for respectable, and affordable, price tags. On this front, SteelSeries is stepping up their game with the new Rival 310 featuring the TrueMove3 sensor, and for $59.99 USD, it is a hell of a deal.
Much like past iterations, the Rival 310 is a budget-friendly offering. The mouse comes with the new TrueMove3 technology that offers 12,000 CPI, 351 IPS precision, with ultra-low latency and rapid response tracking—impressive specs for the price.
Visually the mouse is similar to past iterations. The Rival 310 features six programmable buttons, rubberized sides, and a new split trigger design with mechanical switches that in testing was much more comfortable to use compared to past Rival series mice. The simple design feels good in the hands and the iconic SteelSeries logo at the back features the lighting we have grown to know and love with the use of the SteelSeries Engine software.
All these features look good on the box, and in reality work just as well. The Rival 310 is a pleasure to use in gaming or even in an office environment. I used the Rival 310 for a few days now, with some heavy gaming including games such as Quake, StarCraft II, and DotA 2, and everything played as I expected. It should be noted that while I did push the CPI to the limits, I found a midrange of around 5,000 CPI was the best for the games I was playing.
My go-to mouse before this was the DeathAdder, and while I still love the iconic design Razer offers with that mouse, the Rival 310 was a close second in terms of comfort, especially when you consider the price. It feels good in the hands, and even after long gameplay sessions, it was never painful to use.
The placement of the buttons worked well and its evident SteelSeries spent the time to ensure that all buttons on the mouse were useable, even in high-pressure tournament type settings. Even the placement of the CPI toggle felt well thought out, ensuring the CPI was always where I needed it when I jumped from shooter to strategy. Finally, the mouse wheel has a tire like imprint that feels comfortable on the hand while still offering a level of tactile feedback.
One negative thing I will say about the Rival 310 is the weight. Spec-wise this mouse feels well above its price range, but as soon as you pick it up, you can feel how light it is. Personally, I am a fan of a mouse with a bit of heft to it. The Rival 310 feels very light and cheap. Now, this is a personal preference, but if you are a fan of mice with weight, the Rival 310 is not the mouse for you.
Despite the weight issue, the Rival 310 never felt like it was skidding across the mouse pad, or with any loss of signal during fast-paced, twitch gameplay. It managed to live up to the promises and offers a tournament-level gaming experience at a price that is hard to beat.
The SteelSeries Engine is where you will do all your tweaking on the mouse, and much like past mice, the process is painless overall. I have never been a fan of programs that sit running as you play your game, but at least the SteelSeries engine manages to be—for the most part—unobtrusive. It allows you to easily change the buttons, CPI settings, and even the lighting. While I don’t think a mouse needs lighting, since as you play, your hand covers up most of the lights anyway, for a mouse at this price point it is nice to see this feature included. It makes it feel like a far more expensive mouse then it really is, and it does allow for some fun customization as you go off to a tournament.
Throughout my time with the Rival 310, I have struggled to find things to complain about. SteelSeries has clearly taken the time to ensure that they have released a mouse that even for the low price can stand with the best the market has to offer. It is comfortable, precise, and overall a joy to use. If you are looking for a mouse in the sub $100 category you can’t go wrong with the Rival 310.
