SteelSeries Rival 710 review | TechRadar
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TechRadar Verdict
While the SteelSeries Rival 710 is expensive, the sheer amount of features – not to mention the awesome performance – make the high price completely justified. There are some gimmicks here, but nothing that takes away from the experience.
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When it comes to the best gaming mice, we would ordinarily try to find one that manages to reach a golden balance between price and performance. However, with the SteelSeries Rival 710, a marriage of high-end performance and customizability make it worth your attention, even if it’s more expensive than most high-end gaming mice in 2019.
At $99 (£99, AU$140), the SteelSeries Rival 710 is a very expensive gaming mouse, and will automatically put it out of the reach of most users, making it a niche product – especially compared with its predecessor, the Rival 600 at $79 (£79, AU$139). However, its list of features make the high price feel justified.
SteelSeries makes a point of marketing the OLED display and haptic feedback within the mouse, but those gimmicky features play second fiddle to the sheer amount of modular support on display.
- SteelSeries Rival 710 (Black) at Best Buy for $64.99
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Right out of the gate, the SteelSeries Rival 710 is a large mouse. Now, typically we prefer larger mice, because they’re simply more comfortable. But, because of the OLED display, haptic engine and all the swappable components, SteelSeries was kind of stuck with making a larger mouse.
However, to balance it out, it’s actually extremely comfortable in hand. Rather than the hard plastic of many other mice, the SteelSeries Rival 710 has a soft touch material covering almost the entire unit.
This makes it one of the most comfortable mice we’ve used in a long time, especially for those long gaming sessions.
There aren’t many buttons here, though. Just eight – with three programmable buttons on the side and a CPI switch behind the mouse wheel.
You shouldn’t have to worry about the mouse getting worn out, either – not only are the mechanical split-trigger switches rated for 60 million clicks, but almost every piece of the mouse is swappable.
The cable, the back plate, the rear logo and even the sensor can be removed and replaced by the user. Not only does this mean that you can fully customize this mouse, but it also means if more powerful sensors get released in the future, you can upgrade the Rival 710. Plus, with replaceable cables, cable wear shouldn’t be an issue.
Out of the box, you’ll get two different cables, a 1 meter non-braided cable and a 2 meter non-braided cable – the latter of which we prefer.
Then there are the more ‘unique’ features of the SteelSeries Rival 710.
On the left hand side of the mouse, next to the three side buttons, is an OLED display. It’s not very large, but you can customize the image that appears, and you can even have it display a GIF. There’s no color support, but the customization options are endless.
There’s also a haptic engine in the back of the mouse. You can program it to go off on a timer or after a certain button press. This is especially useful in games like League of Legends or DOTA 2, where you have one ability that you need to keep track of. It’s not going to be compatible with normal rumble functionality, like with an Xbox One controller, but maybe that’s something that can be implemented through software in the future.
After messing around with these features, we really don’t see wide utility in them. They’re cool, and the vibration is potentially useful if you play cooldown-based esports. But, since we spent most of our time playing Metro 2033 and Resident Evil 2, we didn’t have much of a use for it.
Both of these fancy features, along with the two-zone RGB lighting, are controlled through the SteelSeries Engine software. Through this app, you can control every aspect of your mouse, from lighting to button assignments – you can even adjust advanced settings, like angle snapping and polling rate. Software this powerful can be intimidating if it’s not done well, but we’re happy to report that it works flawlessly.
The SteelSeries Rival 710 is an expensive mouse, sure, but it’s so full of features that the high price is justified for the right kind of user. This isn’t a mouse for anyone looking for prodigious value, but rather for the kind of person that likes having everything attached to their gaming rig be of comparable (and high) quality.
Performance
That quality bleeds over into the actual performance of the mouse, too – as you may expect from a mouse you’re dropping 100 bucks on. The sensor is limited to 12,000 counts per inch (CPI), which is lower than the 16,000 we’ve seen in many other high-end mice.
However, SteelSeries included the TrueMove 3 sensor, found in our favorite gaming mouse, the SteelSeries Rival 600. This is an incredibly accurate sensor, allowing for 1:1 tracking regardless of what you have the CPI set to.
In our time with the SteelSeries Rival 710, we’ve found that performance is spot on. This mouse is buttery smooth no matter what game we’re trying to play. Even on high-resolution displays – our gaming PC is attached to both a 3,440 x 1,440 and a 4K monitor – this mouse was frustration free.
There were no discernable micro-movements, either, which was especially useful when trying to play through Resident Evil 2 – we’re sure our hands were shaking a bit.
It would have been nice to have the same secondary sensor that the Rival 600 has to reduce mouse movement when it’s off the mousepad. However, we’re nitpicking here.
Final verdict
The SteelSeries Rival 710 is flat-out one of the best gaming mice on the market right now.
The price might make you flinch – $99 (£99, AU$149) is a lot to ask for a mouse – but you’re generally getting what you’re paying for here.
The OLED display and haptic feedback are a bit of a gimmick, but they’re not doing anything to actively detract from the experience. Even if they did, the modular nature of the mouse more than makes up for it.
There are mice that are more price-efficient out there. But, if you’re looking for the best of the best, you really can’t go wrong with the SteelSeries Rival 710.
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SteelSeries Rival 710: Price Comparison
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SteelSeries Rival 710 Gaming Mouse Review
Gaming mice always appear to follow some sort of trend every year. Right now, the popular new trend is to create a lightweight mouse with a decent sensor and call it a day. While lightweight mice are great, unfortunately, everyone has hopped onto the bandwagon. As such, quality control is starting to become a bit of an issue.
PRODUCT INFO Rival 710 Manufacture SteelSeries Available at View at Amazon
So, SteelSeries want to remain separate from all of that and do their own thing. The result is the SteelSeries Rival 710, an incredibly ambitious gaming mouse. SteelSeries is a company that has a lot of respect in the competitive scene. This is thanks to their great sensors, performance, and durability.
All of that continues with their Rival 710. We applaud SteelSeries for trying to add new features to this gaming mouse.
With that said, we are here to find out if they are worth the extra cost. This is an in-depth review of the SteelSeries Rival 710. By the end of it, you’ll hopefully be sure if this mouse is for you or not.
Packaging and Contents
The unboxing experience for SteelSeries products is quite simple at this point. They have the usual orange and white color scheme for all of their boxes. We always appreciate a good looking box to put on the shelf. As usual, the front of the box has a picture of the mouse and all of the main features. The left side has a picture of the mouse, while the other has all the specs.
Last but not least, the back of the box briefly breaks down all the features available with this mouse. The actual mouse is inside the usual black cardboard box that you can pull out from the sleeve. Finally, we are greeted by the Rival 710 which is tucked away nicely in soft packaging.
We get two cables inside of the box, one is braided and the other is rubberized.
Apart from that, we get a quick start guide and paperwork. For some reason, SteelSeries also provides a laser sensor if you order from their website. Surprisingly, the sensor on the Rival 710 is removable. We always appreciate extra accessories, but this is a bit strange.
Optical sensors are the norm, and the sensor on the Rival 710 is one of the best out there. So, we don’t see why anyone would want to switch to the laser sensor. We can’t really call this a flaw, but it is quite bizarre.
Design and Closer Look
While other manufacturers are moving towards the trend of creating small and lightweight mice, SteelSeries is going a different route. They know that there is still a huge audience that demands large gaming mice. And there’s no mistake about it, the Rival 710 truly is a large mouse.
Now, this is either by design or because of the number of features SteelSeries wanted to cram in here. This mouse has an OLED display on the side. This displays information depending on the game you’re playing.
You can customize images, or make it display a GIF. However, it is entirely black and white. The feature is there if you need it. We think it’s a novelty but an interesting thing to show off nonetheless.
Of course, you can use a screwdriver to entirely remove the excellent optical sensor from this mouse. Maybe SteelSeries plans to release new sensors, and you can upgrade to those. However, none of that is confirmed, so take it with a grain of salt.
While this is a large mouse, it is surprisingly comfortable in the hand. Instead of hard plastic, the Rival 710 uses a soft-touch material that covers almost the entire body. For longer sessions, this is one of the best gaming mice we’ve tried. The entire mouse feels premium and screams of quality. It has two-zone RGB lighting as well, which further adds to the futuristic look of the mouse.
Comfort And Grip
The Rival 710 is a large and heavy gaming mouse. It weighs in at 135g, which is much more than your average medium-sized mouse.
However, we know that many people are fans of this style, and we have to agree with them. If you don’t mind the size or the weight, this is an excellent gaming mouse.
The front of the mouse is flat enough that you can comfortably palm grip it. Even if you have larger than average hands, this mouse will fit you perfectly. You can’t quite fingertip grip it, since the entire surface is so large. Some people might be able to claw grip as well. It’s not a safe shape, that’s for sure.
However, it’s not intended to be. People who are looking for lightweight mice are not going to stumble across this one in the first place. The flat front, the subtle slopes, and the rubberized coating all help with the grip. All in all, we can’t complain too much when it comes to comfort.
Haptic Feedback
We’re willing to bet you never thought of seeing a haptic engine inside of a gaming mouse. Well, SteelSeries has managed to accomplish just that. A haptic engine is located at the back of this mouse.
It can be programmed so that it starts vibrating after a certain button press. This could be helpful in MOBA games where you need to keep track of one certain ability.
However, it’s quite different than the rumble feature we’ve seen in most controllers till now. And if you’re wondering, no, it is not compatible with games that have rumble either. It is a cool feature to have, and it could be useful to some folks. However, it’s not really a must-have and doesn’t have wide utility.
Sensor and Gaming Performance
The SteelSeries Rival 710 uses the same sensor found in the popular Rival 600. We are of course talking about the TrueMove 3 sensor. It is by far one of the most accurate and precise sensors on the market. It features one-to-one tracking throughout the entire CPI range. Rest assured performance is spot on.
The sensor is limited to 12,000 CPI. Sure, this is lower than the usual 16,000 CPI seen in other high-end mice, but that’s not practical is it? Regardless, the gameplay is buttery smooth with this mouse in any game we tried.
You don’t have to tweak the mouse for every game either, as the onboard memory and CPI button will handle that for you.
Compared to the Rival 600, it lacks the secondary sensor used for liftoff distance tracking. While it works well on the Rival 600, we don’t feel like many people will notice this omission. Overall, we’re quite pleased and impressed with the gaming experience provided by this excellent mouse.
Software
The SteelSeries software experience is familiar and easy to use with the Rival 710 gaming mouse. However, since the Rival 710 has a few bonus features, customization opens up even more here. Apart from the usual friendly experience, there is a lot to like here.
Not only can you customize technical settings, but you can also change the look of the OLED display. It can save up to five onboard profiles. This includes visual customizations and button mapping. In the software itself, you can create as many profiles as you want. A fun fact: SteelSeries Engine 3 is one of the few mouse programs that work on both Mac and PC.
Customizing things like the sensitivity, button mapping, acceleration, angle snapping, and polling rate is straight forward. For the haptic feedback, you can set a tactile cooldown timer. This way you can configure it to any program and trigger it when you wish.
Even uploading an image to the Rival 710’s OLED screen is easy. It’s as easy as uploading an image to the app. The software will do all the work behind the scenes. You can go quite deep into this software. It even has several game and app integrations. While you may not use all the features here, it’s always great to have the option available.
Conclusion
Overall, using Rival 710 is a very enjoyable experience. Hidden beneath all those fun features is a solid gaming mouse. SteelSeries could have just installed their TrueMove 3 sensor inside of a large chassis, and we’d still be happy with it. However, they went the extra mile to include features that are fun to use.
However, there is a fine line between enjoyment and usefulness in this case.
When you get this mouse, you’ll feel like you are experiencing something new all over again. However, the novelty for features like haptic feedback and the OLED screen can wear off quickly for some people. Unfortunately, these features also drive up the price.
On the other hand, while this is an undeniably expensive gaming mouse, we feel like it’s worth the money for some folks. Just because it has some features not everyone will use, doesn’t mean we can deduct points from it.
It’s an excellent large gaming mouse, with one of the best sensors out there. The Rival 710 is severely underrated, and that’s probably due to the gimmicky features. However, give it a chance and you just might find an excellent gaming mouse for yourself.
SteelSeries Rival 710 Gaming Mouse Review
Fully Featured Large Gaming Mouse
Pros
- Unique OLED screen
- Perfect for fans of larger mice
- Built like a tank
- May surprise you with its comfort
Cons
- Might feel heavy to some
- Haptic feedback feels like a gimmick
- Expensive
876 Reviews
Sensor: TrueMove 3 Optical | No.
of Buttons: Seven | Resolution: 100 – 16000 CPI | Connection: Wired | Weight: 135g | Dimensions: 124.8 x 72.6 x 42 mm
VERDICT:The SteelSeries Rival 710 is by far one of the most unique gaming mice out there. It is also severely underrated. Those who are looking for a large and substantial mouse should consider this one.
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SteelSeries Rival 710 mouse review. Daredevil
The laurels of the most advanced and technically sophisticated mouse still remain with the SteelSeries Rival 700: there was a vibration motor, and an OLED display on which you could display a wide variety of information, and advanced customization options where you could change everything that your soul whatever. And adapt the rubber band on the back with your nickname, and change the top cap, and even put a different sensor. The good news is that all these extensive customization options have remained in the SteelSeries Rival 710, but the bad news is that in addition to the new optics, the mouse has hardly acquired anything new, so this model should be called only a systematic update, and not another revolution, as was the case with the Rival 700.
In addition, there is another fly in the ointment: all customizable parts were not delivered to us, and therefore they will have to be looked for and bought somewhere else.
But let’s not talk about the bad – do not forget that we still have a flagship model in front of us, which differs not only in some obscure technical characteristics, but also has a literally cheating feature with a vibration motor, which can crash in very important game moments. When a bomb fell on you, and the built-in motor tells you about this incident with a slight kick in the palm – why not a game assistant? And this idea with a vibration motor is still the prerogative of SteelSeries – no one has even tried to recreate something like that. Perhaps the technology is expensive, or perhaps not everyone has appreciated it. Alas, the big drawback here is a very short list of supported games, which, of course, includes popular eSports disciplines from Valve, but this will not be enough for the vast majority of gamers.
However, even in terms of conventional technical advances, which are formed by such concepts as sensor, switch reliability and other fundamental parameters, SteelSeries raises the bar to a level that few manufacturers can match with their flagship models. And yet SteelSeries is still a very user-friendly company – it has always been good here. Like all recent models, the Rival 710 looks powerful, brutal and very solid. Chopped body lines, textured materials, separate main button panels, various additional removable parts – all this forms an elegantly rough look of the novelty.
However, if the lines of the SteelSeries Rival 710’s body are brutal, then its appearance, in contrast, is characterized by a restrained visual performance. Of the really eye-catching parts, only the display and the RGB backlight can be noted here, which is very clearly visible on the back of the logo, and much less noticeable on the side of the wheel. When creating a mouse, SteelSeries used a real mix of different materials: the back is made of plastic, painted with a tenacious matte paint, which is very close to the touch to the soft-touch coating; the front buttons are made of soft velvety soft-touch plastic, reminiscent of a rubberized coating.
The side panels are made of hard, abrasion-resistant rubber, while the side buttons are made of slightly rough matte plastic. True, a clean mouse will not stay long – active use noticeably pollutes the case, and dust and fingerprints remain on it.
The shape of the SteelSeries Rival 710 is prominently shaped by the lateral right side, which deliberately bulges out as the widest part of the mouse, making it one of the few ergonomic mice that is comfortable to grip with a full palm grip. At the same time, the back part has a noticeable influx and practically does not protrude upwards, due to which the mouse lies confidently in the palm of your hand, and it is no less comfortable to hold it with a palm-finger or palm-claw grip, and it is in this case that the entire back part is ideal rests against the palm, due to it is very easy to control. Grabbing with your fingers is not the best idea, since the mouse is not one of the small ones, and the mass bites: 136 grams without a cable is not a big deal for you!
The SteelSeries Rival 710 has seven buttons, three of which are located under the thumb, and unlike many models, the sniper button is out of reach of the thumb unless you reach very hard for it.
So you don’t accidentally hit it. As for the main buttons, they are based on switches with 60 million. a resource of pressing, and the buttons are pressed quite easily, clearly and with a very noticeable tactile feedback, and sometimes it even seems that they seem to “pierce” to the very base of the case – they have such a clear pressing. The side buttons are pressed harder, have a slightly longer stroke and a clear elastic click. The wheel is based on a mechanical encoder with crisp and smooth scrolling with virtually no noise and crisp step cutoffs.
The scope of supply with a not bad price tag does not strike the imagination at all. In addition to the mouse, there are two detachable cables inside (two-meter braided and one-meter in a smooth sheath for connecting to a laptop) and documentation. All other, so to speak, DLC, are already attached to the mouse and there are no alternative options here. Therefore, additional DLCs are available only for money, and, unfortunately, you will have to pay not only for the parts themselves, but also for delivery, since these accessories are not sold in Russia.
In this regard, SteelSeries reminds me more and more of EA, who ask for a tidy sum in green crispy currency for each accessory. And I must say that the additions themselves from SteelSeries have never been cheap. So the whole idea will cost you a pretty penny, and the lack of any alternatives other than stock parts nullifies the entire modular mouse system.
But if this modular system is present here, then we will consider it in more detail. To connect the cable, the Micro-USB standard is used, and each cable for connecting at its end has an L-shaped plug with special pins for secure fastening in its socket, and for greater fixation, there is a lock next to the input so that the cable does not fly out of the socket even when random jerk. And here you don’t even know what is better: a removable cable or not, because if it is lost or broken, it will be very difficult to find an alternative, and a fixed cable would not have acquired such problems at all. But, apparently, in order to emphasize the flagship class, it was necessary to make the cable removable, even if in this situation it does not give any advantage.
Modular sensor – also questionable. Nothing has ever happened to a sensor in my life, and the TrueMove 3 installed inside is essentially a top-end optic, which, quite possibly, is based on the Pixart 3360 (or a similar technical solution) with the highest tracking parameters: 350 ips and 50 g. So this solution has no potential, since I don’t see what could be replaced with this sensor to get a real advantage, and secondly, if the sensor breaks, then it will be easier to buy a new mouse.
But a couple of other additions are worthy of attention. An OLED display is not a must-have feature, but every time it feels like a new trend among gaming mice. There will be no time to be distracted in the middle of the game on the display, but while waiting until the next round, you can get interesting and important information there. About your game (how K / A / D are switched), some other capacious but useful information, and also just display some funny picture (*.
png and *.gif formats are supported in monochrome). Or, even better, display a clan tag or team logo if you are involved in the field of eSports. In addition, when you hold down the dpi switch button, an on-screen menu will open where you can fine-tune the mouse and even entire profiles! One of the most important functions, for example, is the lift-off distance setting, and it only takes a little digging through the menus to understand how it all works. And more about the control of functions in the on-screen menu is written in the complete instructions.
The second expansion is much smaller, but it continues the good old SteelSeries tradition. I’m talking about the removable rubber band on the back of the SteelSeries Rival 710, where you can also add your nickname and otherwise personalize your mouse. Moreover, the 3D model is available on the company’s website, so it will not be difficult to download it and make your own version of the gum if you have a little time and desire.
A trifle, but nice. It is a pity that two rubber bands are not included in the kit, as before – now there is only one inside.
The SteelSeries Engine 3 software is a powerful tool for customizing your mouse, and we’ve seen it many times before. Little has changed in the past months, so the mouse can be completely reconfigured to your liking, create multiple profiles, store them in memory, switch if necessary, set up various macros, call up programs, multimedia functions, and so on. The mouse sensitivity is set in values from 100 to 12,000 dpi in 100 dpi increments, but the tear-off distance is configured only through the OLED display. The backlighting is also powerfully customizable, and in a separate Prism library module, you can sync your mouse with any device you like, and it even has backlight syncing with your motherboard! However, this is only part of the capabilities of the device.
The second part lies in setting the backlight and vibration of the device, and this is a whole separate section, which is located in the “Library” tab.
There you can set the backlight as you like (using Prism or, for example, Audiovisualizer – a program that plays the backlight to the beat of the music of the player on the PC), set the backlight for game events (CS: GO and Dota 2 are available), but the most important thing is to set vibration feedback. This is the one that deserves the most attention. It’s simple: we open a section related to a specific game (for example, CS:GO) and add vibration settings for a specific event. I agree – on the one hand, you cannot create something unique and you will have to choose from what is at hand, but there are many settings, and there are even more possibilities for a vibration motor for tactile response. Therefore, this feature can really help you out in a game situation!
And despite its weight and dimensions, the SteelSeries Rival 710 mouse moves very briskly due to the hard and slippery Teflon glide, and its shape is so comfortable and well thought out that it absolutely does not require getting used to.
Yes, and the cable also does not pull the mouse along: perhaps it is not the most flexible, but it is certainly thin and light. However, it should be said that its mass does not allow us to talk about the mouse as a perfect cybersport weapon, because due to its mass, the mouse has a noticeable inertia, which does not allow making sharp jerks and making equally precise and abrupt stops – this is the lot of lightweight models. Part of the weight of the mouse is offset by a comfortable shape, so for most games it will be more than enough, even if we are talking about shooters, but in eSports like CS: GO, Overwatch and CoD, especially if you are applying for more than amateur titles, it would be better to find the mouse is lighter.
There is no need to talk about the sensor: it is sharp, accurate, hassle-free, and, moreover, with the lowest separation distance. Simply put – a modern top that is not inferior to all other flagship mice. I can’t say that he is at least in some way better, and it is quite possible that in some critical situations, when you rush at full speed around the map, smearing your opponents on the walls and briskly spinning around yourself, he it will help you out, but .
.. To be honest, I don’t remember a situation where at least one sensor from the top segment failed, so it also has no advantages over the best optical models. Therefore, when choosing a model, it will be most correct to focus only on the shape of the mouse. And if she came in, she would serve faithfully for many years.
The SteelSeries Rival 710 is a small update to the once-revolutionary mouse that made a splash in device building a couple of years ago. However, since then there has been no significant progress in this area, and therefore SteelSeries lacked the goal and motivation to create an even higher class device. And so it happened: in a couple of years, no one presented anything as innovative, and SteelSeries decided to limit itself to only a minor update, which came down to improving the reliability of the device, changing materials on the mouse, and slightly more advanced optics.
But don’t forget that the SteelSeries Rival 710 is currently one of the top-of-the-line mice that outperforms many of its competitors due to its comfortable ergonomic shape, practical materials and comprehensive support, from reliable switches to software.
, having in its arsenal a decent set of unique features that change the usual idea of what a real advanced device should be. Perhaps some things, like a modular system, are not justified by anything now, but features like OSD and vibration feedback will make the gameplay more comfortable, and besides, they can be considered as nice additions to the flagship device, which already has something to please the user.
SteelSeries Rival 710 gaming mouse review / Overclockers.ua
A little over a year ago, we reviewed the SteelSeries Rival 700 mouse, which was the top solution in the company’s range at that time. Even then it was clear that the manufacturer endowed the Rival 700 with a lot of interesting, but largely useless features in order to strengthen the position of the leader of this product in the line and justify its recommended price of $100. When, a couple of months later, the updated Rival 310 and Sensei 310 appeared on the arena with the TrueMove 3 sensor brought to the peak of its capabilities, the purchase of the Rival 700 began to look inappropriate.
And in the early spring of 2018, SteelSeries also released the Rival 600, which, in terms of its capabilities, is a real flagship in the SteelSeries line, if only because all its functions are more than in demand by players. And what did the company do with the long-suffering 700 as a result? Yes, nothing special. A year later, she received several cosmetic updates and a new index – Rival 710. We will tell you about what has changed in the “new” manipulator in this review.
Specifications
| Model | SteelSeries Rival 710 |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer website | steelseries.com |
| Interface | Wired (USB) |
| Type | Gaming (FPS/MMO/RTS games) |
| Sensor type | Optical |
| Sensor model | SteelSeries TrueMove 3 |
| Resolution cpi | 100 – 16,000 |
| Number of buttons | 7 buttons + scroll (left, middle, right, resolution key, three side buttons) |
| Maximum acceleration, g | 50 |
| Lift-off height (LOD), mm | 1. 5 |
| Maximum speed, m/s | 8.89 |
| USB port polling rate, Hz | 125 / 250 / 500 / 1000 |
| Frame rate, fps | – |
| Internal memory KB | + (five profiles) |
| Scroll | 1 |
| Scroll vertical/horizontal | +/- |
| Cord length, m | 2 / 1 |
| Variable weight | – |
| Adjustable body shape | – |
| Cable material | Nylon braided / Unbraided |
| Housing surface material | Plastic / Soft touch |
| Color | Black |
| Backlight | + (16.8 million colors) |
| Illumination zones | Scroll wheel, stern logo |
| Leg material | Teflon (PTFE) |
| Software | + (SteelSeries Engine 3) |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) mm | 125 x 68 x 42 |
| Weight, g | 137 |
| Compatible with OS | Windows / Mac OS / Linux |
| Optional | Built-in OLED display, replaceable back panel, replaceable name plate, replaceable sensor, built-in vibration motor, two detachable cables |
| Average cost, $ | 100 |
Delivery and packaging
The first thing that has clearly changed in the Rival 710 compared to its predecessor is the packaging.
It has become a little larger in size and somewhat simpler in design. Nevertheless, all the necessary information, both marketing and technical, is present here.
The main box is hidden under the outer cover. It has become easier in terms of opening, a text motivating players has appeared on the front. Inside, a plastic form is compactly arranged, which contains a mouse, a box with wires is located under it, and the documentation is hidden in a pocket on the back of the lid.
There are no differences in the scope of delivery. In addition to the mouse itself, there are still two detachable signal cables without braid and braided, one and two meters long, respectively, and instructions.
Appearance and design
There are no significant differences in the shape and size of the mouse between the Rival 710 and 700. Both of them have an asymmetrical body design, which has kept the overall dimensions and weight intact. By the way, the weight, although normally distributed along the axes, is still 137 grams according to our measurements, which makes this gaming mouse one of the heaviest in its class.
The only difference that can be seen upon visual inspection of the manipulator lies in the material of the back of the top panel. In the Rival 710, this soft-touch coating is more velvety to the touch when compared to the soft-touch on the main buttons. And in the Rival 700, the back panel was made of matte plastic, stylized as carbon. In the center, behind the scroll wheel, there is a narrow resolution key. It is pressed clearly and responsively, with a short stroke and a quiet click.
No difference is noticeable on the left sidewall. Ahead, there is still a translucent glossy insert, behind which lies an OLED screen tilted at a slight degree. The vertical triangular button remained in its place, and two additional side keys, which have a characteristic relief and a gap in the middle, have not changed, which make it easier to search for them by touch and distinguish between them. The same can be said about the sidewall coating, which is usually held by the thumb – this is the same plastic with pimples, reminiscent of hard rubber.
And even the two orange tactile marks remained exactly where they were.
The third difference is hidden under the main button panels. Now there are switches designed for 60 million activations, and not 30, as it was in the Rival 700. Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to disassemble this sample to see for ourselves, so you have to take the manufacturer’s word for it. By the nature of the operation of LMB and RMB, it can be described as clear and quiet, without backlash and free play. The pressing force is selected at an average comfortable level. Clicks are registered when you click anywhere on the panels. The scroll wheel is rubberized, with well-defined locking positions. When rotated, it emits a dry plastic creak, which was not previously observed. It is pressed with medium effort, with a click of medium volume. The cord enters the mouse body in the middle, at a low height. Curved-up anti-kink protection keeps it from rubbing against the surface. By default, the cable is disconnected from the mouse.
The cable is something that I really wanted to change in the Rival 700. Unfortunately, this part does not have any differences in the Rival 710. The longer two-meter braided wire is still as thin and stiff as wire. The second, a meter long and without a braid, is softer, but not by much. It is designed for use with laptops. There are no ferrite rings on the wires, the contact connectors have a specific shape.
The right side of the mouse is covered with “rubber” plastic with pimples at the point of contact with the fingers to improve grip.
The rear of the mouse, upgraded with soft-touch plastic instead of carbon fiber, features the SteelSeries logo. A little lower is a rubber plug with the inscription Rival.
Once upon a time, this stub not only served to mask the hook of the top panel, but it could also be printed on a 3D printer, putting any name or name on it. Now they forgot about it and do not even serve as an advantage.
The back of the top panel can be removed to reveal the LED window and hidden mouse serial number.
There are no magnets here, everything is held on by a few plastic latches. Other types and colors of panels in reserve can be ordered on the official website.
Based on the mouse, I don’t see any fundamental changes either. The shape and position of the three Teflon feet, equipped with hooks to facilitate dismantling, have not changed. In its place, there was a removable optical sensor module with infrared illumination, held by four screws. And although it used to be Pixart 3360, and now it’s TrueMove 3, the difference between them can only be fixed instrumentally, since the second is only a slight modification of the first. And then, basically, on the part of the firmware.
The cable, as before, is fastened to its rightful place and has a push lever that simplifies its removal if necessary.
The ergonomics of the Rival 710 remain the same. This is a long, large and heavy mouse, designed for the right hand of a large or medium size. On it we can implement any type of grip, but ideally it fits only in the “palm” grip.
The distribution of weight along the axes of symmetry is normal, but not ideal. If the grip point of the thumb and ring fingers is shifted even slightly forward, the mouse body will fall back when lifted off the surface.
The mouse has two traditional lighting zones – the logo and the wheel. RGB lighting, color reproduction looks correct, zones are controlled separately. The screen has a light orange tint, turns off automatically after some time of idle time of the manipulator.
Software
The SteelSeries Rival 710 mouse uses the SteelSeries Engine 3 universal multilingual driver (current version 3.13.0). It is always available for download from the official website.
In the driver settings, you can select one of the 12 available interface languages, choose the option to download updates – automatically or with a prompt, choose to turn off messages and the autorun option. In addition, it is possible to ignore Windows mouse settings, as well as disable important settings such as increased pointer precision and pointer speed multiplier, which can cause sensor malfunctions.
Moreover, if the driver determines that these options are enabled, it will offer to disable them automatically.
SteelSeries Engine 3, unlike, for example, Razer Synapse, works without registration, but if you create your account in the program, you can get some nice “goodies”, such as synchronizing device settings via CloudSync, improved technical support and the ability to participate in competitions and sweepstakes.
The main start screen displays a list of all connected SteelSeries devices, each of which can be quickly assigned a specific profile in the configuration tab. If there are problems with connecting or detecting peripherals, you can open the tab on the left, where you will be prompted to select a connection option and see answers to frequently asked questions. In the upper right corner there are keys for accessing notifications, settings and authorization in the program. If the device is not in use, it can be hidden by clicking on the orange gear at the top right.
There you can also check the firmware version of the mouse, in our case it was listed under the number 0.114.0.0. In addition, a suggestion to update the firmware may appear at the bottom of the device icon, which was immediately done in our case.
In Engine applications, you can select a compatible application variant to which you can link lighting functions to the display by linking them to specific events in the program. At the moment, PrismSync, Discord, Audio Visualizer, ImageSync, Tidal, CS GO, DOTA 2, Minecraft, Utopia 9 and iFeelPixel applications are available here. You can also make your own version of a compatible program using the developer tools for this.
The “Library” contains all configuration profiles for all devices. They can be turned on manually, or set to start automatically when a certain program starts.
All available mouse settings are collected on one screen. In the left panel there is a list of five offline configurations that are stored in the on-board memory of the mouse, and below there is a list of profiles stored on the PC.
There are seven buttons and two scroll directions available for reassigning commands. You can assign mouse and keyboard buttons, macros, or media commands. In addition, you can use the key to switch configurations, launch an application, use OS hotkeys, or quickly record a macro. You can also disable the button completely. The sensor is adjusted to two preset sensitivity levels in the range from 100 to 16,000 cpi in increments of 100 cpi. Despite changing the sensor from the PMW 3360 to TrueMove 3, the native resolution is still 12,000 cpi, because everything above is a software doubling of the values \u200b\u200b(designated as DCPI), and they are already selected in steps of 200 cpi. For the sensor, the level of acceleration and deacceleration, the linearity of the trajectory, and the polling rate within 125/250/500 or 1000 Hz are set. The lift height is not adjustable. It is possible to fine-tune the tactile feedback of the built-in vibration motor, linking it to a specific event.
The two RGB lighting zones are individually adjustable.
They have a palette of 16.8 million possible color combinations and lighting effects. Among the effects are a constant glow, a sequential change in the color spectrum, breathing, triggering (color change when pressed for a certain time) and completely turning off the backlight.
The OLED display has its own mini-editor to customize the picture. Here you can draw a 128×36 pixels pixel image in black or white. Or upload a ready-made image. All changes with a slight delay are displayed on the mouse screen.
The macro editor is quite simple. After the start of recording, it records the mouse or keyboard commands and remembers them sequentially, taking into account time intervals. At the end of the recording, all this can be edited and saved under an individual name. Scroll wheel directions and mouse cursor movements are not registered.
Ergonomics and testing
To test the SteelSeries Rival 710 mouse, we used the monotone black Mionix Alioth M cloth mousepad.
a large or medium-sized hand, and will appeal to those who prefer bulky mice. The weight balance is slightly shifted towards the stern, but this is compensated by the tenacity of the sidewalls. Changing the cover of the top panel to soft-touch had a positive effect on tactile sensations from use, although such a cover gets dirty very intensively. What can not be said about the sidewalls, which remain clean for a very, very long time. I did not have any complaints about the work of the main and additional keys, everything is sufficiently clear and understandable. However, reaching for the third button located near the screen is still inconvenient. Also, the scroll wheel now has a plastic squeak when pushed to the left by accident. The glide of the mouse is pleasant and controlled, it does not cling to anything, and the other side does not have excessive inertia, which, however, is not surprising with a mass of 137 grams. It’s bad that both cables, as they were, are still very rigid and require a holder for comfortable use.
The backlight looks good, but the built-in display and vibration motor are still superfluous. On the other hand, if tactile feedback is required, then you can turn it on without fear, the cursor position does not go astray when the vibration motor is running.
Replacing the sensor from a Pixart PMW 3360 to a TrueMove 3 did not significantly change the feel of the manipulator. Both sensors are very good, although TrueMove 3 has significantly improved accuracy, and the optimal operating range for it is in the range from 100 to 3500 cpi, where it is possible to position the cursor by pixels with an accuracy of 1:1. All other differences can be found only instrumentally. In general, TrueMove 3 is very good, it has no noticeable anti-aliasing, acceleration or corner snapping, it is almost impossible to break the cursor. The separation height, although not adjustable, is set in the optimal range of 1.5–2 mm.
Summary
Let’s try to summarize all the changes that have happened to the SteelSeries Rival 710 from the 700 model.
Most importantly, the sensor has changed to TrueMove 3, which is very good, since it has increased accuracy in the range most often used by players. More durable switches for 60 million clicks have been added to the mouse. We changed the cover of the back panel, changed the packaging design.
Inherited the new mouse and the shortcomings that the Rival 700 had. In particular, it’s quite a lot of weight (although this parameter is more for an amateur), rigid signal cables, inconvenient location of the third side button. The creak of the scroll wheel was added to everything. Well, the price, unfortunately, remained quite high.
In fact, the Rival 710 has become largely a cosmetic update for the 700 model, and there is no reason for the owners of the latter to change it to a new version. With the Rival 600 being the best mouse in the SteelSeries range by far, by any measure, the 710 is more of a curiosity, or even a testament to the taste preferences of the gaming audience.