INTRODUCTION
Happy New Year everyone! 2018 may finally be here but we still haven't been unable to play and enjoy Playerunknown's Battlegrounds due to several memory error bugs on both of our systems (hopefully they will fix them soon). So in order to test a large number of keyboards and mice (mostly anyways) we decided to spend a large portion of the holidays playing several other titles including Need For Speed Payback, Star Citizen, Destiny 2, Armored Warfare, Project Cars 2, Dreadnought and Warframe. Now as I’ve pointed out quite a few times in the past two of the best gaming mice to ever pass from our lab are the Sensei MLG and RIVAL 700 manufactured by SteelSeries so i had very high hopes for their latest RIVAL 310 Ergonomic Esports Mouse which we ended up testing for almost two weeks.
SteelSeries has fueled the gaming industry by creating innovative new products, designed specifically for eSports and passionate gamers everywhere. Here at SteelSeries, we are obsessed with “firsts”. Dating back to 2001, our company was formed to meet the surface needs of hardcore gamers by introducing the first glass mousepad, the Icemat. Since that original innovation, we created the first mechanical gaming keyboard, the first suspended headband for gaming headsets, the first World of Warcraft mouse and endless other innovations. SteelSeries is dedicated to building products that push professional gaming further than anyone dreamed. Those innovations make gaming more competitive and more fun for gamers everywhere.
Since the RIVAL 310 Ergonomic Esports Mouse is a step down compared to the 700 model (always in terms of available features) it's quite lighter (approximately 88g vs 135g) making it far more ideal for right handed people looking to get their hands on a mid-sized gaming mouse. Now although the RIVAL 310 lacks the modular sensor, OLED screen, 3D nameplate, removable backplate and the detachable cable found on the RIVAL 700 and features a total of 6 programmable buttons (instead of the 7 on the RIVAL 700) it still has a 2-zone RGB illumination system, 32-bit ARM CPU and also brings higher durability/endurance thanks to the new split-trigger switches by OMRON which are rated for up to 50 million clicks (compared to the 30 million of the RIVAL 700). The most important aspect however is perhaps the brand new TrueMove3 optical sensor which SteelSeries co-developed with the help of Pixart. This sensor features zero-hardware acceleration, resolution of up to 12000CPI (counts per inch), tracking speed of up to 350IPS (inches per second) and acceleration of up to 50G. If these numbers ring any bells to you that's because the brand new TrueMove3 sensor is actually a modified (improved for some) PMW3360 sensor with differences only in its firmware/ROM (it features "substantial" jitter-reduction up to 3500CPI while the PMW3360 features jitter-reduction above 2100CPI).
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
The RIVAL 310 arrived inside a small box that has a product picture at the front right over its main features and beneath the company logo.
SteelSeries has printed the full features list at the rear of the box in 8 difference languages.
You can take a look at side product pictures from the two sides of the box.
The main box has a RISE UP message printed at the front.
Thanks to a large formed piece of black foam the RIVAL 310 sits safe inside the box.
Unfortunately there's not much in terms of a bundle since aside the RIVAL 310 Ergonomic Esports Mouse you will only get its guide.
THE RIVAL 310
The fiber-reinforced plastic enclosure of the RIVAL 310 measures 127.6mm in length, 70.1mm in width and 41.98mm in height.
Two programmable buttons are placed on the left side right over a textured rubber area.
Typically SteelSeries has placed their logo at the rear of the mouse.
The CPI selection button is placed at the top of the mouse (although older models had two CPI selection buttons we've recently moved to one).
A soft rubber textured area is also placed on the right side of the mouse.
The clickable scroll wheel is also rubber coated and very silent when used.
SteelSeries has equipped the RIVAL 310 with a regular 2 meter long cable that has a normal USB plug on its end (not gold plated).
Underneath the RIVAL 310 we find three large PTFE feet, the TrueMove3 sensor lens and the company logo.
ENGINE 3 SOFTWARE
To download the latest version of the Engine 3 control software you will need to visit the official SteelSeries support/downloads page as seen above.
Once you download and install the software it will automatically check for new firmware updates and if there are any it will notify you.
The update procedure takes roughly a minute to complete and then you are just required to unplug the mouse and then plug it back in.
We had turned enhanced pointer precision on recently to perform some tests on the sensor of the RIVAL 310 something which the Engine 3 software detected.
The SteelSeries Engine 3 is one of the most thorough and yet easy to use software control panels in the market. From here you can program any of the 6 available buttons, set the sensitivity levels, adjust acceleration and deceleration, enable/disable angle snapping, set the polling rate, create macros and of course adjust the RGB illumination for both zones.
Here we've placed some of the available colors and two different ones for the two zones (unlike other gaming mice these zones can be adjusted individually).
CONCLUSION
When we reviewed the RIVAL 700 although we concluded that it was one of the 5 best gaming mice to ever pass from our lab still we thought that it had more bells and whistles that it really needed. Sure the modular sensor is a very a good touch (if supported in the future by SteelSeries that is) but that aside what really impressed us was its grip and tracking performance rather than its OLED screen, removable backplate, detachable cable and 3D nameplate. The RIVAL 310 may not feature a modular sensor (thus it may not be future proof like the RIVAL 700) but it retains all the great things about the RIVAL 700 and at the end of the day that's what really matters. Tracking/accuracy is near excellent, speed is impressive (although i doubt many will be using it at 12000CPI) and grip is exactly what you've come to expect by SteelSeries manufactured professional gaming mice. Ontop of that add the new split-trigger switches by OMRON with their much higher endurance (50 million clicks) and you have a mouse that can really RIVAL even the 700 model. Unfortunately however just like the RIVAL 700 the RIVAL 310 also lacks an impressive RGB illumination system so if you're looking for a gaming mouse that will light up your desk this is just not it.
By cutting down on many of the features found in the RIVAL 700 SteelSeries has kept the price of the RIVAL 300 at rather low levels and so currently it retails for just USD59.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 67Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). That being said you can also find the new Sensei 310 ambidextrous model for the same amount of money (only the housing basically changes between these two models) so even left handed gamers can enjoy the TrueMove3 optical sensor. Bottom line the RIVAL 310 may not offer the plethora of features found in the RIVAL 700 but for serious gamers that matters very little and since it does extremely well in terms of build quality, tracking performance, speed and grip it's more than just worth of our Golden Award.
PROS
- Build Quality (Fiber Reinforced Frame / OMRON Switches)
- Design
- Near Excellent Grip
- Very Fast and Accurate (TrueMove3 Sensor)
- Dual Zone RGB Illumination
- Engine 3 Software
- Price (For Some)
CONS
- Right Handed Only
- Plain Cable And USB Plug