By: Ben Joubert
August 3, 2018
When I think back to all the gaming mice I have used over the years, there are few that really stand out. Often, it is difficult to properly place my finger on what exactly made those mice stand out, but I think there might be a couple of specifics I enjoy about them. Design is important to me to a certain extent. I enjoy the traditional design, while a mouse that is slightly larger than normal would not bother me at all. However, I dislike the extremely fancy and the many trivial functions a mouse may have. I understand the appeal to be able to fully change how your thumb sits or where your pinky finger rests, but from my experience none does much in the end. Because of that, I prefer a more straightforward design with the only customization being the weight system. RGB LEDs look pretty cool, but with too much, it starts to look tacky. The next important part is how comfortable a grip is on it. I have frequently fluctuated between claw and palm grips. In general, this requires a more rounded mouse, which can vary in size. Mice like the ROCCAT Kone EMP and Patriot Viper V560 both do this excellently. Performance-wise, the mouse needs to be easy to deploy. It is a frustrating mess when I have to spend up to an hour honing my DPI to that perfect sweet spot, while with some mice I just set it to what I usually have and it works fine. Some of my experiences have been terrible trying to find the sweet spot and I keep changing it throughout use because something constantly feels off. Otherwise, for performance, I expect smooth tracking as well as accuracy. One of the best gaming mice I remember using was the SteelSeries Sensei, which fills in most of the requirements I have. Today, we have yet another SteelSeries mouse, the Rival 600. Will it fulfill the above requirements, or will it fail to make a mark? Read on to find out!
The SteelSeries Rival 600 arrived in a soft packaged white bag. It was shipped via UPS Standard all the way from Miami, Florida, to us here in Calgary, Alberta. It is impossible to judge how many bumps or bruises were inflicted on the package, but there were no rips anywhere on it. I proceeded to open it; fairly confident that everything should be safe.
As you can see in the above picture, the retail packaging of the SteelSeries Rival 600 arrived in good condition. The box looks nice and modern with a mix of colors. The enlarged picture of the mouse on the front effectively demonstrates the different features of the mouse such as RGB lighting and adjustable weights. Otherwise, some more features are listed in the bottom left and in the top right. SteelSeries boasts that this mouse has the world's best dual optical sensor, which is definitely an ambitious claim to be making. According to SteelSeries, the dual sensor ensures true one-to-one tracking. Otherwise, we find more clarity in the specifications on the side and back of the retail packaging.
Before we move on, let us take a look at the specifications as obtained from the manufacturer's website:
Sensor System: SteelSeries TrueMove3+ Dual Sensor System
Primary Sensor: TrueMove 3 Optical Gaming Sensor
Secondary Sensor: Depth Sensing Linear Optical Detection
CPI: 100–12000 in 100 CPI Increments
IPS: 350+, on SteelSeries QcK surfaces
Acceleration: 50G
Hardware Acceleration: None (Zero Hardware Acceleration)
Lift Off Distance: Customizable, 0.5–2 mm
The retail box of the SteelSeries Rival 600 has a black box on the inside, which opens from below to reveal the SteelSeries Rival 600. A round soft foam circle keeps the mouse from moving up and down, while the plastic mold keeps the mouse from moving to the left or right. Below the soft foam pad is a small envelope-style container. Inside of it, we find a product information guide. There is a small cardboard box at the back end of the mouse containing the rest of the accessories. Inside, we find the cable and weights that can be added to the mouse. The container for the weights is made from rubber and opens up to reveal weights on both sides. Overall, the packaging for the SteelSeries Rival 600 is good and will definitely keep the mouse safe from the store to your house.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
