SteelSeries Rival 100 Gaming Mouse Sports Custom PixArt Sensor

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SteelSeries announced the release of its latest gaming mouse, the Rival 100. The company said that when it started designing the Rival 100, it set a goal to offer more features and better performance than its competitors at the same price point. The company claimed that the new mouse delivers as much as 40 percent higher tracking accuracy and up to 33 percent faster movement tracking speed compared to competing mice.

SteelSeries worked with sensor manufacturer PixArt to create a custom optical sensor specifically engineered for the Rival 100 mouse. The 3059-SS optical gaming sensor is capable of adjusting between 8 CPI and 4000 CPI (counts per inch), reads 143 inputs per second, and detects acceleration as fast as 20g.

The sensor itself is not accelerated in any way, and it's capable of true 1:1 precision tracking. SteelSeries said it doesn't matter how fast you move the mouse; it will always stop tracking when it stops moving. The company also said the Rival 100 is able to offer a low lift-off distance without sacrificing tracking accuracy.

Despite carrying a low price tag, the Rival 100 from SteelSeries still offers customization and promises quality construction. The mouse is equipped with RGB lighting that can be customized to the user’s preference using the included GameSense software. In addition to adjusting between 16 million different color options, the software enables remapping of all six buttons and adjustments to the optical sensor's CPI settings. SteelSeries said profiles can be associated with specific games, and they will automatically deploy when a game associated to a profile is started.

SteelSeries designed the Rival 100 for right-handed gamers, but it is otherwise engineered for anyone to use. The company said the Rival 100's universal design can accommodate any grip style. Both sides of the mouse feature textured side grips for added control, and the mouse face features the company's Soft-Touch texture, also found on the Rival 300.

The SteelSeries Rival 100 is available now for $39.99. It is only available in black.

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Kevin Carbotte

 Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years. 

3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • turkey3_scratch
    Finally, a good mouse that doesn't cost $80.
    Reply
  • nukemaster
    Looks good without all those gimmicks that most users will not use anyway.

    For the price grab an extra just in case :)

    I am still using my 8 year old G9. It is not perfect, but it gets the job done and is not too flashy.
    Reply
  • ufasas
    As an entry level mouse, pretty good, non-rattling parts, doesn't collect dust, or very little, compared to g502 (a dust magnet 3000), 30mln omron clicks are softer than zowie fk/za line, harder than kana v2, rubber cable is flexible and reminds zowie cable a little bit, isolated m1 & m2 buttons are blessing for me! Feels good in CS GO, no accel, not talking about everyday use, shame that it works best @ 500 dpi only. Sensor is weak compared to Rival 2013, and DA 2013 (Logitech G line too), zowie lines, but for this price is good, not excellent, but good.
    Reply