I enjoyed using the Rival 3 in my usual rotation of first-person shooters ( Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Apex Legends and Overwatch) and didn’t experience any tracking-related issues with the CPI set to 1,600 or 2,000. Most people don't need that large a range, however, and it's not surprising for an entry-level mouse to have a sensor like this. That pales in comparison to higher-end mice Razer's Focus+ optical sensor supports up to 20,000 CPI. SteelSeries built the Rival 3 around its TrueMove Core sensor, which supports CPI settings between 100 and 8,500 in 100 CPI increments. Unlike the DeathAdder V2's sandpaper-like side texture, the Rival 3's casing didn’t irritate me during longer gaming sessions. The mouse fit my smaller hand well (more so than the DeathAdder V2), and my palm grip always felt good. The Rival 3 is light enough to use for extended periods but not so light that it's easy to accidentally fling it across your mouse pad. However, particularly sweaty gamers might benefit from the additional traction found in mice like the DeathAdder V2. I like that the Rival 3's case isn't as textured as other gaming mice, such as like with the sides of the Razer DeathAdder V2. And that's fine by me.Īll of these features live in a dull, matte case with slight texturing for an improved grip. Besides the RGB lighting, the Rival 3's chassis is unremarkable. However, you can see the RGB in the itty-bitty gap between the side buttons. Surprisingly, the mouse doesn't feature any lighting for the scroll wheel, which is common. The illuminated SteelSeries logo will match the bottom zone.

The Rival 3 features three-zone RGB lighting (customizable via SteelSeries Engine 3) on the strip running along the bottom, meaning you can program each section to shine a different color or effect.

Steelseries rival 3