Page 4 - Conclusion
As it turns out, the SteelSeries Rival's biggest rival may all boil down to the firmware it runs on, and the software it runs with. Now don't get me wrong -- the SteelSeries Rival is undoubtedly excellent hardware -- there is not a whole lot of question about that. What we have here is a shell built with relatively conservative right handed curvature; while designed mainly for a palm grip, can easily accommodate those who prefer to handle their mouse with their fingers, if so desired. The soft touch paint is very comfortable during usage, and its custom molded side rubber grip handles even the most intense gaming situations. At 128g, FPS gamers will happy to know there is little unsprung weight under their hand for quick, agile movements. To add a bit of personality, the dual zone, color customizable illumination system along with a customizable nameplate at the back rounds off the list of external excellence. Under the hood, the Pixart PMW3310 optical sensor provides a super wide range of sensitivity, from a floor thrashing 50 CPI to a sky scraping 6500 CPI. The SteelSeries Rival's razor sharp handling characteristics and beautiful precision is something none other than the sensor can take credit for. On the other hand, I have some complaints against the SteelSeries Rival. The major one is the mouse is unable to track on certain surfaces like my Func mousepad. I mean, when it works well, it works really well. But when it does not, it can be very annoying. I think this can be fixed with a future firmware update. The other complaint boils down to software. SteelSeries advertises adjustable lighting intensity, but you cannot change the brightness directly in software. Also, for something that costs $60 at press time, I think a braided cable is to be expected. At the end of the day, the SteelSeries Rival is, as its slogan suggests, deadly precision. But if you happen to own a mousepad that it does not like, there is precision, and then there is deadly.
SteelSeries provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Review Focus Summary:
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.0/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
The SteelSeries Rival is an well designed gaming mouse with generally excellent hardware inside and out, especially for those who are into first person shooters. A firmware update should fix tracking issues on certain mousepads.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
