SteelSeries Rival 600 Mouse Review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing and First Look3. Testing4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

Considering its feature set and £80 price, I had high hopes for the SteelSeries Rival 600. However, it has a few significant issues which really hampered my time with the mouse.

The biggest issue for me was the fact that the mouse is imbalanced – it is bottom-heavy, which meant by putting pressure on the bottom end of the mouse, the front of the mouse would pop up from my mouse pad. This is a fundamental issue with the Rival 600 and I'm not sure how it didn't get flagged before mass-production.

Elsewhere, the RMB on my sample felt quite mushy and really unsatisfying to press, despite the LMB being really crisp and tight. The DPI button is also raised far too high from the body of the mouse, resulting in plenty of accidental clicks when reaching for the scroll wheel.

The best part of the Rival 600 is undoubtedly the TrueMove 3+ sensor – it performs excellently and gives very close control over the LOD of the mouse, something we haven't seen from SteelSeries mice until now. If this same dual-sensor system is implemented in more SteelSeries mice, that can only be a good thing.

Lastly, the weight adjustment system is an effective way to broaden the appeal of the Rival 600. It's base weight of 96g might alienate those who prefer lighter mice – myself included – but its 96-128g weight range lines up almost perfectly with our general findings.

On the whole, though, the Rival 600 is a flawed mouse. I would expect significantly better build quality for its £79.99 asking price, and there are definitely some design flaws which are very questionable. Unless you really like the idea of the TrueMove 3+ sensor, both the Rival 310 and Sensei 310 offer better designs at lower prices.

You can buy one from Overclockers UK for £79.99 HERE.

Pros

• Excellent sensor.
• Weight adjustment system.
• 8-zone RGB.

Cons

• Imbalanced weight distribution.
• Mushy RMB.
• DPI button is too tall.
• Expensive.

KitGuru says: While the TrueMove 3+ may be a very exciting sensor, the Rival 600 as a whole is a poor implementation of that sensor, and is very expensive for a gaming mouse.

Become a Patron!