SteelSeries Rival 110 Review: Lightweight Gaming

When it comes to SteelSeries we’ve only talked about its overly popular headsets, the arctics 9x and the arctics pro. Today we will deviate and focus on an undervalued great gaming mouse by them. The SteelSeries Rival 110 is a bit overshadowed by its rivalries such as Logitech G402 and razer deathadder. It was manufactured as an answer to the public demands, demands that rose due to the predecessor Rival 100. Let’s proceed to the SteelSeries Rival 110 Review and analyze how well they have fulfilled these demands and how it competes with the rest of the dominators of the gaming arena.

SteelSeries Rival 110 Specs

• TrueMove1’s 1 to 1 tracking, 7,200 CPI, 240 IPS sensor 
• TrueMove1 sensor
• Left/right buttons are guaranteed for 30 million clicks
• Ergonomic Design
• Prism RGB Lighting
• 87.5g
• 125 – 1000 Hz polling rate
• SteelSeries Engine 3 Software
• Dimensions: 120.6 mm x 58 mm x 38.1 mm
• 6 programmable buttons
• 2 m long, non-braided cable

Unlike some of the high end gaming mice out there in the market, this mouse was solely fixated on delivering the maximum performance strictly for gaming. Hence the lower number of programming buttons. This mouse is definitely built for the gamer who doesn’t care about RGB, exclusive looks and only wants good performance to compete with his mates.

SteelSeries Rival 110 Design And Quality

The signature colors of course remain as they are on other SteelSeries products, therefore gray, orange and white are seen here too. The shape is identical to that of the Rival 100 and all its buttons are edged on the left side. Mostly suitable for claw and fingertip grips and not palm grips. Also might not be the ideal mouse for left hand users because of the button positioning.

The manufacturing material is plastic and it weighs almost 90g. The side buttons have a dotted grooved texture while the main buttons don’t. And as you can already tell by its weight and dimensions, the Rival 100 is more of a medium sized mouse. The surface is slightly rough which of course enhances and strengthens the grip, however it is not complete rubber. Meaning your grip should grow firm when your hand starts to sweat.

The overall build quality of the mouse is definitely appreciable. No unnecessary “rattles” are heard when shaking the mouse and works in good cooperation with the mouse pad. The main buttons aren’t that great as of a Corsair Nightsword or some high end gaming mouse, and being a bit more tactile might help. The rubber texture of the scroll wheel is a good idea and it has better tactility. The buttons on the left side are a bit louder and aren’t that tactile.

The mouse cable has enough length for any gaming setup and is flexible and durable with the rubber coating. The mouse feet move very well without any traction issues. This is it as far as design and quality goes. Nothing fancy, no removable or additional parts, hence no customization. Nonetheless the overall build and design is undoubtedly well matched for the price.

Performance

Performance wise the SteelSeries Rival 110 will not let you down for the price you paid. Sure there’s no fancy programmable buttons to assign different operations in games. But the TrueMove1 sensor and TrueMove1’s 1 to 1 tracking offer tremendous value to your gaming.

The buttons are solid and have a good feel because of the mechanical switches and are great in FPS games. The Rival 110 actually fixed the problem of the sensor of the The Rival 100. You are less likely to go wrong with this sensor with its higher perfect controlled speeds and reduced jitters.

The CPI sensitivity ranges from 100-7,200 as we mentioned before and is adjusted in 100 increments. And this is done by the button behind the scroll wheel. The polling rates are as high as 1000Hz. Experts recommend that 1600CPI is the sweet spot. Because going beyond that in the Rival 110 initiates the unwanted mouse jitters and malfunctions that affect performance. If you aim higher then you truly have to be an ultra professional gamer.

Aesthetics and Software

When it comes to aesthetics the Prism RGB Lighting and PrismSync Lighting are the features that the Rival 110 offers. GameSense reactive illumination responds to in-game events like low ammo, health, kills, and many other features. On the mouse the logo and scroll wheel are the RGB zones.

Using the SteelSeries Engine apps you can sync the RGB with a variety of programs. As far as the SteelSeries Engine 3 software goes, you can tweak your mouse to suit your gaming needs and to bring out the optimum performance. These include re-programing the buttons, adjusting the speed and sensitivity according to your preference. There is also a macro editor. You can also adjust the settings without the mouse being connected to the PC. 

Steelseries Rival 110 vs Steelseries Sensei 310-Bonus

This is a much debated comparison for most gamers. Interestingly both the mice were manufactured in 2017, hence much controversial in terms of price to performance offered. As you can very well see the Sensei 310 is much upgraded and contains more features to uplift performance while the cost being only $44. And the Rival 110 was $71 which is highly unusual.

Enhanced sensor for rapid-response tracking, ultra-low latency, higher CPI, more buttons and advanced jitter reduction in the Sensei 310 all point towards one direction. And that is a higher price tag, which surprisingly is the opposite. The only difference is the weight where the Rival 110 is lighter due to the reduced features. The cable length and RGB remain the same in both the mice.

Conclusion

No doubt that the SteelSeries Rival 110 is a great gaming mouse securing an average price to performance ratio. The mechanical switches in the mouse have a nice feel, RGB is on point, good sensor and easy to learn software. However it isn’t the mouse for large palm owners. For budget gamers the Steelseries Rival 110 and the Sensei 310 are both pretty wise options in terms of durability, performance and price. The 310 however is a bit further ahead of the 110.