Refined by pro-gamers, the Rival 100 features a custom optical sensor to provide the most accurate 1:1 sensor in its price range, is it truly unrivalled?
Product on Review: SteelSeries Rival 100
Manufacturer & Sponsor: SteelSeries
Street Price: US: $39.99, EU: €39.99, UK: £29.99
The price point for gaming peripherals is steadily rising as higher quality and precision is driving demand. Just take a look at the Xbox ONE Elite Controller, priced at a whopping £119/$150 yet lack of availability as seen prices soar! Prices of gaming mice have arguably gone stellar too with the current ‘mainstream’ gaming mouse costing the gamer double they did just a few years ago. Luckily, PC gamers have a wealth of choice and options due to a highly competitive market. This drives well known brands to do a good job with their research and development so they can create products exactly for what is in demand.
This is what SteelSeries have appeared to do with the Rival 100 where the scene is set in an era of esports. Precision, 1:1 raw input, reliable tracking, ergonomics, quality construction and aesthetics which is all supported by intuitive software, make up the current demands being for the Man and Machine Interface. SteelSeries claim that the Rival 100 does all this and just for £30; did we mention it also has SteelSeries’ ‘Prism’ LED lighting too? They (kind of) didn’t either, marking a step towards customisable LED lighting being a ‘standard feature’.
Overview by SteelSeries
The Rival 100 Optical Gaming Mouse brings unmatched performance, at an unrivaled price. Whether this is your first gaming mouse, or you’re already topping the leaderboards, the Rival 100 is the gaming mouse for you. Equipped with Prism RGB illumination, six buttons, an ergonomic design, and unmatched performance – we sacrificed nothing. The Rival 100 is the only fully-equipped gaming mouse in its class.
Technical Specifications
Width: 67.13 mm
Height: 120.6 mm
Depth: 38.12 mm
Weight(w/cord): 120 g
Siding: Textured plastic
DPI Steps: 250, 500, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750, 2000, 4000
Programmable Keys: 6
Number of Illumination Colours: 16.8 million (RGB)
Illumination Modes: Single Zone (Mouse Wheel & Logo)
Sensor: Optical 3059-SS (custom)
Cable Material: Rubber
Cable Length: 2m
IPS: 140
Mouse Acceleration: 20 g
Lift Off Distance: 1.5 mm
Height: 120.6 mm
Depth: 38.12 mm
Weight(w/cord): 120 g
Siding: Textured plastic
DPI Steps: 250, 500, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750, 2000, 4000
Programmable Keys: 6
Number of Illumination Colours: 16.8 million (RGB)
Illumination Modes: Single Zone (Mouse Wheel & Logo)
Sensor: Optical 3059-SS (custom)
Cable Material: Rubber
Cable Length: 2m
IPS: 140
Mouse Acceleration: 20 g
Lift Off Distance: 1.5 mm
Packaging & First Look
The box is small but of good quality with a picture of the product clearly visible. If you are familiar with SteelSeries you could clearly recognise it as such from a distance.
At the back we get basic information about the Rival 100, including its customisable lighting, its optical sensor and support with the SteelSeries Engine 3.
The Rival 100 is a relatively small mouse, which has been designed specifically for various grip types. It features 6 programmable buttons, rubberise surface, rubberised mouse wheel and textured side grip.
Closer Look
Face on the Rival has a slight shape to it, favouring the right hand and is quite short at 38mm tall. This is to help with its versatility with various grip types.
The two side buttons are quite slender but have a tactile lip that sticks out so you can feel them without an issue. Underneath the buttons is a textured surface for extra grip.
At the back the SteelSeries logo dominates, giving it a large area for the LED lighting.
Unfortunately the Rival 100 is not ambidextrous and so does not feature extra buttons this side like with the Sensei, though there is extra textured grip.
Underneath there are 3 large pads for control and the sensor is positioned slightly off centre favouring the rear side.
Software & Lighting
The SteelSeries Engine 3 is the unified driver software for SteelSeries products and supports the Rival 100. Each button can be remapped, and the customisable options are everything you could want/need. There are two on the fly sensitivity settings and though the adjustments are in relatively large steps (250, 500, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750, 2000, 4000) these settings are going to satisfy the majority of people. Remember, the Rival 100 offers zero acceleration, 1:1 raw input, meaning, there is no added acceleration as standard and no matter how fast you move the mouse, the distance travelled determines the response. Competitive FPS gaming (CS:GO) fans will love these features. Should you wish to add acceleration and deceleration you can, you can add angle snapping controls and adjust the polling rate too. Another nice bonus is the added macro recorder which is simple to use and edit macros.
The lighting options are similar to any ‘Prism’ device by SteelSeries, offering a static colour of your choice, breathing effect and colourshift in the various preset patterns including the spectrum.
Performance Testing
Setup, Design & Observations
The Rival 100 is a simple product, no braided cable, which would have been nice to see at this price, though the rubber cable feels good quality. In the hand, the mouse is on the smaller side, though is comfortable for my preferred claw grip with the side buttons, wheel and DPI button easy to access. The side buttons could have been a little larger, though I had no issue pressing them or finding them so the size doesn’t seem to matter, though others may prefer otherwise. The textured grip feels good and the mouse click strength is neither too strong, or too weak giving a perfect tactile feedback.
In games the mouse lived through my 7K clickfest on DOTA 2, at that click rate it would take 4200 matches to reach the rated 30 million click life span (assuming each match is 30mins, back to back that is around 7 years). In CS:GO the Rival 100 felt smooth and surprisingly better than expected, the true 1:1 input gave a quick, easy to use aim that felt natural.
The lift of distance is very low, while difficult to measure it is easy to believe the rated 1.5mm LOD. This is quite important for those who prefer a low sensitivity/speed but large movements. The tracking was flawless on generic plain black fabric mouse mats, and no observable issue on plain white paper or matte wood. Things felt a little airy when using glossy mixed colour surfaces but that is normal for optical sensors. As good as the sensor feels I would always recommend sticking to plain black gaming surfaces with optical mice.
Conclusion
The Rival 100, from its first moments in our hands, to the end of each gaming session was a joy to use. The SteelSeries Engine 3 is a great bit of supporting software that allows easy setup and customisation of the mouse. In-game performance, specifically in competitive FPSs such as CS:GO is gloriously good. When you consider that the Rival 100 is hitting UK shops at around £30, it is practically a steal. The ergonomics allows for comfortable claw and finger grip, though some may find it a little small for those who prefer a palm grip.
The packaging of the Rival 100 is ‘lite’ and didn’t even spew out a case sticker as we see with most products, but that just emphasises that it is raw performance, high value product that was not made to mess around. Some may prefer the side buttons to be a little larger, some may prefer a braided cable, fancier lighting and telepathic connection, though all these things (which currently exist) are niceties that bump up the price for no real reason other than ‘aesthetic preference’. SteelSeries have clearly put a lot of thought into refining the Rival 100 and the end result reflects that. Unless you want a pricer poly-input MMO mouse, this will happily cater for gamers of any level and should only be overlooked by those who want a large mouse; even then I would recommend considering this one too.
SteelSeries deserve high praise for the Rival 100 which has dropped into the gaming world like the Tsar Bomba. Its pro level features and no compromise design sets the benchmark at this price point.
Pros.
+ Comfortable for various grips
+ Custom S3059-SS sensor for true 1:1 raw input
+ Low lift off distance
+ Zero hardware acceleration
+ Customisable illumination and buttons
+ Price
Cons.
– None
+ Comfortable for various grips
+ Custom S3059-SS sensor for true 1:1 raw input
+ Low lift off distance
+ Zero hardware acceleration
+ Customisable illumination and buttons
+ Price
Cons.
– None
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
