SteelSeries - Rival 3 Wired Optical Gaming Mouse with Brilliant Prism RGB Lighting - Black

Mice have continued to get better and better, and so have tastes. Sensor quality and type are very important for different use cases. Gaming mice used to be a bit of a crap shoot: did the mouse have embedded acceleration, weird lift off distance, etc. Things have gotten much better, and manufacturers have gotten better at equipping their premium gaming mice with the hardware gamers are looking for. Of course, the high end is awash with highly capable mice, but what about the entry level? This is where SteelSeries’s Rival 3 sits. At a $30 MSRP it undercuts much of the competition. While the price spikes above a ‘basic’ mouse, the Rival 3 hits above its weight when it comes to the important gaming features. You get a good sensor (TrueMove Core - which rumor has it is a pixart 3331), excellent buttons (60m click mechanical switches), customizable RGB lighting, and on-board memory/DPI settings. First of all, the packaging is pretty basic. If you’re going to cut costs somewhere, this is the place to do it. The box is slightly larger than the mouse itself, and focuses on the specs. The cable is a simple rubber affair at 6ft long. While not the braided cables found on higher end mice, it may be considered a positive for some who know how braided cables can catch on things. The mouse physically is relatively light, at only 77 grams. The diminutive weight of this mouse keeps it feeling almost weightless in hand. The balance and weight distribution are excellent in my opinion and keep the mouse planted well. There are 4 buttons up top counting the scroll wheel. The primary left and right buttons have a satisfying click to them that differs from other popular mice. They’re quieter and have a bit of a thock to them instead of a click. The scroll wheel matches the feel quite closely and has a decent scroll, if not as precise as some higher end mice. The 4th button is the profile switcher, which can be set to switch up to 5 different profiles. Along the left side are two backward/forward mouse buttons that are quite narrow. Some might find them hard to use, but they fit my medium sized hand profile well. The overall shape of the mouse is lower than many mice, raising to only 1.5” at its tallest location. The palm hump is not quite as prevalent, so palmer may want to consider a different mouse. Clutch users like myself will rejoice at a mouse that gets out of the way and has generous gripping zones (helped by those thin back/forward buttons). The software is excellent from Steelseries. They’ve been doing custom gaming mice for a while, and the sensor options and on board profiles are competitive with the best. Some may bemoan the lack of adjustable lift off distance, and indeed the firmware that shipped with the mouse appeared to have quite a high lift off set, but the firmware update that came to me on the 27th of March 2020 seems to have abated this lift-off distance. It would still be quite nice to have this be customizable, but alas, I’m quite happy with the latest firmware. Again, up to 5 profiles can be cycled through giving a large amount of customization for DPI, polling rate, angle snapping, and acceleration/deceleration. I found two honed settings was all I wanted, but greatly appreciated them being stored on the mouse for when I switched between my desktop and laptop. I wish the illumination would follow the profile, making it easier at a glance to see what profile was selected. Alas, it is only globally configurable. That said, there are 3 zones and they each can be separately set. The zones basically amount to top, middle, bottom. They can be separately configured with settings, or all synced together. Either way, this is the best cheap mouse illumination I’ve seen, outpacing most of my more expensive mice. And the lighting isn’t over the top, but rather helpful at both illuminating the surrounding pad and giving you a solid target to grab with the outer rim illuminated. Buttons are also customizable in software. Steelseries doesn’t attempt to imagine every game should have a separate profile, so out of the box there is just one profile. If you add other profiles, you can select what program triggers them. I don’t use this feature, but you might find it less baffling than some of the more well known brands software. So how does it game? Very well. In fact, this is the sort of mouse that I could see being bought in bulk for tournaments or small OEMs, as it's cheap, but also effective. Steelseries is also a pretty well respected brand in the gaming world, and this product is a great trickle down entry level mouse. Until recently I was the owner of a Sensei Raw mouse. That mouse disappointed me in the long run, turning into a sticky mess. The plastic of the Rival 3 won’t suffer from that fate, but will probably get shiny over time (I believe this is ABS), which won’t affect most players. Overall, I feel like this mouse is a huge step up from the Sensei Raw of yesteryear, even if it targets a different market. It’s staggering how good this $30 mouse is. Overall, I have to give a glowing recommendation for the Rival 3. It’s a solid mouse, and a bargain at its asking price of $30. Just 5 years ago, it seemed like a mouse like this would fetch double that easily at MSRP. It's hard not to love this mouse unless you are a serious palming user with large hands. Most users will find this mouse a great, if simple, fit to their hand. If you’re looking for a starter mouse, try this - and you may just find it's your forever mouse.

THE BREAKDOWN: The packaging was very basic and to be honest if you are going to cut costs this is the place to do it. The design and feel of the mouse felt excellent to me. The mouse feels almost weightless and I believe it weighs in at 77 grams. The cord is not braided like most high end brands but it is a rubber material. Honestly, I like the cable because it is not plastic feeling but more durable rubber feeling. The mouse itself was not super smooth/slick if you will but more like a slight textured feel to give grip. The left and right primary buttons felt like they had grip as well. Another thing to note is that the click sound wasn’t a sharp click it was more like a dull thud if you will. I personally found this to be better than the sharper click. Next, is the scroll wheel. I found the scroll wheel to be super grippy and very precise. The last button on the top is the profile changer button. This button can switch between 5 different profiles and works as intended. The last two buttons are on the left side of the mouse. The forward facing and rear facing buttons. I also found them to work as intended. However if you have large hands like myself I found using the side buttons a little more labor intensive. The overall shape of the mouse I thought was great but again I have large hands so it could have been slightly larger for me. The initial setup was easy, just plug and play but to get the lighting to work in a specific way you have to download the Steelseries software. The software was easy to find, download and install. Once you have the software installed you can set 3 different lighting zones. You can set them individually or sync them all together. If you like to customize lights then this mouse is for you. Especially at this price range. The buttons are also customizable in the software. I personally do not use this feature but it is available for those that do. PRO’s: -TrueMove Core -6 programmable buttons -Excellent rubbery and accurate scroll wheel -Save poling rate, key binds and up to 5 CPI’s directly on the mouse -Customizable lighting CON’s: -If you have larger hands the side buttons may be an issue SUMMARY: Overall, I feel that this product worked very well and I would recommend this to a friend if they are in the market for device like this. I think for the price point on this mouse everyone should have one!

First of all, remember this mouse costs about $30. Having said that, it has more features than I expected. This is definitely just for right-handed people, so if you are left-handed, this is NOT the mouse for you. It is also on the small side if you have large hands like I do but it is still usable. It is also light. I have not deducted stars for the reasons above because all in all it is a very functional and attractive gaming mouse. When you get it, please visit: steelseries.com/engine to download the application that allows customization. Once you have installed the software you will be able to fully customize the lighting, sensitivity, ETC. The packaging the mouse arrived was as small as possible and made of recyclable materials. If I had to gripe about something it would be that the cable although long enough for most uses feels "cheap", unlike my other mice that have braided cables and feel more substantial. So if you are gaming on a budget, definitely consider this mouse. Even though it is wired, I will keep in in my laptop backpack to use while travelling.

The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wired Gaming Mouse is a great intro level mouse with a lot of features. Pros: * Sleek design. It has subtle RGB lighting along the bottom outside edge as well as the logo which can be customized using the SteelSeries software. The software is easy to use and allows for customization such as of lighting, sensitivity, and setting up profiles. * Ergonomic. The mouse is slightly smaller than some of the other mouses I have used which I prefer since I use a claw style grip. It is lightweight and glides nicely along the mouse pad. For me, an ergonomic mouse is an absolute must as it allows for prolonged gaming sessions with less hand fatigue and discomfort. * Responsive. The right and left click give just the right amount of feedback. The side buttons (two) are well placed and easy to access. The overall mouse movement is very consistent, Cons: * CPI (Counts Per Inch) button. The CPI button does not have a light or other indicator to let you know what setting you are on. Not a deal breaker but would be nice to see in future iterations. * Cord. It would be really nice to see a braided cord. * Middle mouse scroll wheel. This mouse lacks a free spinning scroll wheel option. While not necessarily needed for gaming it would add to the ergonomic aspect of this mouse. Overall, the SteelSeries Rival 3 is a great mouse at a great price. I have enjoyed using it and highly recommend it.

The mouse is not to light and also not too heavy, it has a good feel to it and has a good response time. There is no lag and the two side buttons work good. I’ve always liked this brands peripherals and I also have they’re new keyboard so for the price I would definitely buy this again

Gaming mice can be very expensive. If you are looking for a well functioning wired gaming mouse, this is an excellent option. Pros: - Easy set-up - plug and play! To fully customize settings and program macros you will need to download the "SteelSeries Engine". - The scroll wheel has excellent texture and works very well. - It is designed and contoured to be used by both left and right-handed users. - Accuracy was excellent. I always prefer wired to wireless mice as I feel there is always better accuracy and no lag. - The lighting looks really cool, kind of like a car with underglow features. - Lightweight and easy to move around smoothly - Excellent price for the performance and features Cons: - None This is an all-around fantastic mouse at a budget price. Unless you are an extremely competitive gamer and want something really high end with more than 6 buttons to customize, this is a great option for you.

This mouse is very solidly built and fits perfectly in my hand. The mouse is very responsive (almost too responsive, I had to lower the mouse sensitivity settings on my computer) and the buttons are rather satisfying to click. I mean, there really isn't much you can say about a mouse, either it works well or it doesn't, and this one works well and is comfortable to boot.

I bought this for my first gaming pc that I built. I’ve had a Razer Dethadder before but it always a little too big and awkward for me and I have big hands. This Rival 3 is an excellent size and minimal buttons. There’s a lot of customization that you can do via the SteelSeries Engine software and that adds the cherry on top of this sweet deal.