BEST BUDGET GAMING MOUSE – Steelseries Rival 3 Review
For just $30, despite a couple issues, this is hands down the best budget gaming mouse around right now and here’s why. But first, if you aren’t already, consider subscribing for more videos like this one every monday wednesday and friday.
Let’s get the bad part out of the way first. If you have larger hands, and like to palm grip mice, this isn’t for you. It’s, at best, a medium sized mouse and isn’t really designed for palm gripping anyway. My hands are 7 inches from the tip of my middle finger to the base of my palm, and I don’t really fit this mouse. While claw and finger-tip gripping work just fine, I am a palm gripper at heart and so if you are like me, this mouse isn’t for you.
With that said, if you’ve got smaller hands or like to claw or finger-tip grip – then this is an amazing deal. For just $30 – or somehow £35 here in the UK – you get Steelseries’ new mid-tier sensor, the True Move Core. It’s effectively a toned down version of their True Move 3 sensor found in the older Rival 310 and a number of their other mice as it’s capable of anywhere between 100 and 8,500 CPI, which is more than enough for the vast majority of players.
Being an FPS mouse, aim with this is pretty easy. It tracks well in game, and feels like a mouse you could very much win rounds with. It’s got a CPI button up top in the usual spot, and those levels can be customised in the Steelseries Engine software – by default there are only 2 levels but you can add more if you prefer – and adjust what each level is of course too.
Also in the software is acceleration and deceleration, if you want that, polling rate adjustment which goes up to the usual 1000Hz, and angle snapping – one notable option missing though is liftoff distance adjustment. While not a big deal, it is a feature some of their higher end mice offer and can be a nice bonus.
Movement on this is pretty nice too – it’s got pretty large glide pads on the bottom that when paired with a good mouse pad make for a smooth slide, and coupled with it’s relatively light weight – a quoted 77g – flicking it around is pretty easy. While 77g isn’t the lightest, it’s almost 10g heavier than the Glorious Model D I reviewed a week or two ago, it still feels crazy light in the hand. As someone who games on a 120g monster of a mouse, this is a big difference.
One thing that often comes with weight reduction though is a lower build quality. Happily though, Steelseries have done a good job here. The shell feels sturdy enough, with it’s semi-soft touch feel, the left and right clicks are satisfying and while the two thumb buttons are painfully small and difficult to press, they are well reinforced and tactile, so when you do manage to press the right one, it’s a good feel.
One other thing to mention is the USB cable – it’s Steelseries’ usual soft touch rubber – which I’m not a massive fan of. I find they get caught easily, although a good mouse bungee can remedy that so it’s hardly a big deal. And, of course, it has RGB. So there’s that.
This mouse, while brilliant, isn’t for me. I’m not entirely sure why Steelseries decided to make this a claw/finger-tip mouse when it’s something they want to be a ‘mass appeal’ product, but if you are in that target market, this is a great deal. You get an accurate, smooth mouse the feels good in the hand, and plays well in game, and all for $30. You can’t really go wrong there.
Rival 3 on Amazon: https://techteamgb.co.uk/rival3
Products provided by Steelseries
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