HARDWARE REVIEW

SteelSeries Rival 700 Review

by Luke Walsh, July 6th, 2016

It is fair to say that SteelSeries have upped their game with the their latest gaming mouse. The Rival 700 includes a monochrome OLED screen and tactile feedback into a mouse. From the get go, the Rival 700 continues to bring what gaming professionals expect, such as high dpi and customisable buttons. In this review we look to see if the additional features will add to your game, or if they fall short of the mark.

Straight out of the box, you are given two cables to choose from, the longer braided cable (2m) or the shorter standard coated cable (1m). It is not clear why they decided to make two different lengths of cables, as most will likely opt for the braided cable, but the choice has been provided none the less. The Pixart 3360 optical sensor is included as standard which provides 16,000 dpi, with an acceleration force of 50g and no hardware acceleration. In terms of a sensor within a mouse, this is probably the nicest and smoothest experience I have ever come across. While using the mouse in game or during normal PC activities, it always performed at its greatest. Like with most gaming mice, there is no lag, but more than that it glides like butter across your screen, feeling every minor tweak without issue. If you are not one for optical sensors, there is the option to buy the modular Pixart 9800 laser sensor separately for £29.99, which features 8600 CPI, 30g acceleration force and zero hardware acceleration. Why you would change this sensor though is beyond me, as it is of phenomenal quality.

Coming to the tactile feedback, the SteelSeries Rival 700’s first flagship feature allows you to set alerts with the mouse in the form of vibrations. These can be used to set different combinations of long and short sequences of feedback to alert you when your health is low, ammo is depleted or you have scored a head shot. Outside of FPS games, it can also alert you about your mana or when you’re cool downs are ready to be rolled again. It is a feature which could be extremely useful to gamers, who are looking for that additional feedback in their game. The only issue is that the game has to be GameSense compatible, and at the time of writing there are only 3 games that allow it; CS:GO, DOTA 2 and Minecraft. Unless you play these 3 games competitively, you will never use the feature, nor care about it. More so, gamers have to wait for developers to adopt GameSense into their software, meaning there is no guarantee that it will expand past those 3 games.

The second Flagship feature on the Rival 700 is the OLED screen. This screen is a monocolor OLED, allowing you to see in-game stats and on-the-fly customisation. As cool as it is to have a mouse with an OLED screen, the usability is brought into question. Again, GameSense needs to be a thing, for any real information to be displayed. Without it, you will have a screen that allows you to show off your logo, a GIF or an image you choose. More importantly though, as it is being aimed at professional gamers such as CS:GO and DOTA 2, I found it hard to believe that anyone would ever be looking at their mouse at the angle needed to see the screen on the mouse. As a vanity addition, the OLED screen is a cool little feature to have such as your team logo or a gif of Nicolas Cage’s head. Apart from that, it does not have any added benefit for a serious gamer who will be looking at their screen, not the top corner of their mouse whilst engaged in gameplay.

A cool little feature but not necessary for professional gamers.

Extra features aside, the Rival 700 is a great gaming mouse. Outside CS:GO and DOTA 2, the mouse works flawlessly in any other game I tried. As a Battlefield player, all the mice that I review gets tested in a few rounds of Battlefield 4. In game, it did not let me down, my K/D ratio was in the plus and gaming with the Rival 700 is just a fun experience. As mentioned before, the sensor is flawless and extremely accurate being reason enough to purchase it.

In terms of comfort, it is up there with the best gaming mice available. The matte finish allows decent grip, choosing to avoid gloss always seems fairly ‘sticky’. This is coupled with the additional side grips, so you won’t see the mouse going anywhere you don’t want it to. Weighing in at 135g, it is on the lighter side for some gaming mice, and has a set of reinforced left and right mouse buttons which are meant to improve their life expectancy. In terms of size, it fitted quite comfortably in the palm of my hand, but it does feel to be on the slightly smaller than average side. If you are moving over from a bulky mouse like a Naga or G602 as a palm grip gamer, it may feel strange at first, (but hey, size is not everything). Claw and fingertip grippers will feel quite at home, although the mouse does have a nice finish and connects well with your hand.

Finally, like with many premium gaming mice, you have the option to change the colours of the scroll wheel and SteelSeries logo by using the SteelSeries 3 Engine. If you do plan on playing GameSense powered games, you can also programme illumination options into the Rival 700 for low health and other variables. If you do also happen to have a 3D printer handy, you can also opt to print your own nameplate for the back of the mouse, further personalising it to your tastes.

Overall, the SteelSeries Rival 700 is a wicked device, if you are looking for a precise and comfortable gaming mouse which works well across multiple games. Sadly, the optional features are let down by their lack of uptake by developers, and the LCD screen is not really well thought out in terms of the needs from professionals. Those two options though should not stop you from buying a mouse which works flawlessly on a technical level.