Simple and lightweight, the Rival 310 still packs a heavy punch that won’t hurt your wallet.
The Rival 310 is the right-handed brother of the Sensei that SteelSeries says is an Esports-ready high-performance gaming mouse. The 310 is home to arguably one of the best sensors around, the TrueMove3 optical sensor which boasts 1 to 1 tracking, low latency, and precision.
The first thing I noticed about the 310 is how uncomplicated it looked. Its simple ergonomic shape was welcoming and with its low weight, the mouse feels really comfortable to hold and move around the pad. The mouse contours help fit my grip and it sits nicely in the palm with the raised hump not being too obtrusive. SteelSeries have added thick rubber grips to the side for added control and style which anyone who previously had the Rival 110 will appreciate.
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Pros
- Design – Simple elegant design.
- Comfortable – Ergonomically designed for the right hand.
- Great Tracking – TrueMove3 sensor performs well.
- Build Quality – Mouse feels sturdy.
- Price – Affordable
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Cons
- Thumb buttons – Not the easiest to reach.
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Mouse Size & Weight
- Weight: 88.3 g
- Size: Medium
- Length: 12.6 cm -5inches
- Width: 7 cm – 2.4 inches
- Height: 4.2 cm – 1.7 inches
- Hand Orientation: Right
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Mouse Tech
- Sensor: TrueMove3 (optical)
- Buttons: Omron Mechanical (50M)
- DPI: 100-12000 (increments of 50)
- Polling Rate: 125 / 250 / 500 / 1000Hz
- Connection: Wired
- Cable Length: 2 m
- Cable: Non-Braided
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What’s in the box
The box as you expect from SteelSeries is simple but stylish and it advertises the product nicely with the features and specifications easy to find and read. The mouse is housed in a foam-like mould in a plain black box.
Inside we have:
- Rival 310 Mouse
- User Guide
Size & Weight
With the average dimensions of the Rival 310 (12.6 x 7 x 4.2 cm), it’s a mouse that can accommodate most hand sizes. The 310 is a medium-sized mouse and very similar in size to the G403 apart from being slightly longer. It felt natural to palm or claw grip this mouse but it’s narrow enough to have a comfortable finger grip as well. If I had to nit-pick id say its slightly too long but the length didn’t negatively impact my experience. Being 7 cm wide the 310 is a chunky mouse, which I prefer as it helps raise more of my hand off the desk. The size is great and it fits my 18 x 11 cm hands almost as good as the Razer Deathadder.
Just like its size the weight is sort of in the middle ground also. Weighing in at 88 grams the Rival 310 is the same weight as the Roccat Kone Pure and glides effortlessly over the pad without losing any control. It’s a massive 42 grams lighter than the Rival 300 which makes the 310 feel lighter than air in comparison. You can’t customise the weight like you can in the Rival 600 which is a negative if you feel this would be too light for you but I always preferred mice over 100 grams until I tried the 310.
Shape & Texture
The shape of the 310 is designed to fit your right-hand comfortably and it doesn’t disappoint. The design almost appears contorted but when you hold it the shape fits nicely. It’s curved like you’d expect with the left side of the mouse being slightly higher than the right side due to its ergonomic shape. The left side of the mouse appears straighter but it has a slight indentation for your thumb to sit nicely on the grip making the mouse easier to hold. It’s wide enough for my Ring finger and pinky to sit comfortably on the downward slope and the hump in the middle feels more balanced compared to the Rival 710. The main buttons seem to break away from the body with a nice gentle downward curve making the mouse easy to click regardless of grip. The primary buttons are separated from each other as well as the main shell and between them sits a very low profile mouse wheel.
The mouse shell is made from a semi-rough matte plastic that has been engineered to ward off fingerprints. The plastic is fibre reinforced keeping the weight off while staying robust and strong. The material is hard to the touch like the Rival 110 and doesn’t give you that premium feeling like the finish on the Rival 600. On both sides of the mouse, it features silicone rubber grips with a textured pattern to keep the 310 firmly in your grasp. Now the grips on the 310 are a million times better than the ones we saw on the Rival 110 but the textured pattern made the grips feel slightly more abrasive than id like. I didn’t notice my grip being compromised by sweat while playing a few hours or while using it extensively at work, so even if you have swimming pools for palms the extra grip you get from the sides would cement this mouse to your hand.
Buttons
The main buttons feature what SteelSeries call their split trigger design which is just buttons separated from the rest of the shell. Underneath the buttons are 2 Omron mechanical switches that can handle 50 million clicks. They feel very good and make it easy to click without accidentally pressing them every 5 minutes. The audible click noise is satisfying enough and they have a low actuation force. The mouse has 2 thumb buttons (back & forward) and they are really good for a mouse under £50/$50. The thumb buttons don’t wobble or move too much when you nudge them and the click feels solid and precise. I won’t lie they aren’t the easiest to hit in a stressful situation but the overall quality is very good. The Rival 310 features a tactile scroll wheel and like previous Rival models, the wheel sits quite deep in the shell giving it a low profile. I like how low the wheel sits as it doesn’t really affect anything in functionality but follows the simple understated design. The wheel is clickable giving you another programmable button. Finally, there is a dpi button located on the top which will change your DPI on the fly if you ever needed the option.
Cable
The cable on the Rival 310 is a smooth, Non-Braided, rubber-like one and it’s welcomed from me. I’ve had my fair share of braided mice over the last few years and it doesn’t make much of a difference really partly due to having a bungee. They perform similarly in terms of drag and resistance but the Braided cables pick up dirt very easily and will almost always fray eventually (without bungee). The cable on the 310 is slim and fits easily into my Zowie Camade. The texture is smooth but it didn’t lose grip in the bungee even while giving the 310 some serious swipes across the desk. I think you could get away without the need for a bungee though as the cable barely seemed to snag on my desk or pad. A bungee is my preference and unless you tuck your wire under your keyboard or have some sort or paper clip rig set up I would definitely get one.
Sensor & Performance
The overall performance of the mouse was excellent, it has a really precise and natural feel to it. It features the TrueMove3 optical sensor. Now the TrueMove3 sensor is brilliant and I’ve enjoyed every mouse with it in (most noticeably with the wireless Rival 650) but it’s worth noting its essentially an upgraded PMW 3366 without creating any lag or affecting the jitter reduction. It boasts 1 to 1 tracking up to 3,500 cpi, which means whatever distance you move on the mouse pad results in the same amount of movement you see on your monitor. I can’t personally tell the difference between these 2 sensors but the TrueMove3 has been a joy to use with a DPI range of 100- 12,000 and an IPS speed of 350.
Overall the 310 delivered in terms of performance, you’ve got a great sensor in a comfortable right-handed mouse but it was quite light for me. I opened up my FPS titles and once used to the weight of the Rival 310 I began to see the TrueMove3 sensor come into its own. Mostly testing in CSGO and PUBG the sensor felt really precise when making small micro-adjustments and correcting aim. The accuracy of the TrueMove3 made snapping to targets quite simple and spray control patterns were easily managed. General movement from the mouse was smooth across various applications all without losing grip or becoming fatigued from extensive usage.
Software
You can customise the performance settings of the mouse in SteelSeries Engine 3, The software overall is fine and relatively easy to use but there are a couple of things that let the software down. A big one for some of you might be DPI shifting, In SteelSeries Engine you can only set 2 different DPI options. You can switch in-game between the 2 options using the DPI shifting buttons but this may pose issues for players looking for a bit more customisation in games like Overwatch. There is no profile button or option to create profiles in SteelSeries mice/ software so again if you are a player that likes to have a few different settings for different titles then maybe go for a more suited mouse like the Logitech G403. It’s worth mentioning you can still do a lot of the stuff you would expect from software like switching the polling rate between 125 and 1000 or programming buttons. The software allows you to customise the different RGB zones of the mouse and you can take advantage of the angle snapping tool (or not if you’re a gamer).
Our Verdict
The Rival 310 is a definite contender sitting at under £50/$50. Despite the main drawbacks of the software being under par compared to others and its lack of customisable buttons, it’s still an excellent mouse. If you’re considering a right-handed mouse that has some great value then the comfortable shape of the 310 paired with its high performing sensor makes it a viable option for anyone. For me, the Rival 600 beats it in terms of shape and performance but that comes with a higher price and it is always down to preference. Left-handed gamers would more likely opt for the ambidextrous Sensei 310 which also has 2 extra buttons! The Rival 310’s design is a bit plain so it could push me towards a more polished feeling Razer Deathadder for a similar price. All that said the value is decent and it makes this an easy mouse to recommend, with its highly reliable performance the Rival 310 is a mouse that casual and professionals gamers alike can make great use of.