In 2001, a Danish company with the name of “Soft Trading” released the ICEMAT - a simple, yet effective mousepad. Six years later, the company became what we know today as SteelSeries. SteelSeries is now known for a variety of gaming peripherals, such as the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless — a headset known for its fantastic noise cancellation for gaming and media — but its roots are in the best gaming mice (or, well, mouse-related things).

The SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 is the company's latest gaming mouse to go on those mouse pads. The Aerox 3 is a lightweight mouse, with bright colors and loud yet satisfying switches. It's also one of the few lightweight mice that still sports the perforated design that was trendy a few years back but has since been mostly abandoned in favor of ultra-lightweight plastic. The Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 is available in three colors — Magenta Haze (pink), Shadow (black), and Ghost (white), for an MSRP of $110. That $110 price tag makes it a little competitive — competitive enough to take a deeper look at, anyway.

Design and Comfort of the Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2

The SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 is a lightweight, colorful, honeycomb-style gaming mouse with lots of RGB, a semi-translucent shell, up to a 4,000 Hz polling rate, a 26,000 DPI sensor, mechanical switches, and PTFE skates for $110.

First things first, I want to discuss the color of the SteelSeries Aerox 3, because it’s truly my favorite part of this mouse. We received the Magenta Haze version and it took me back to the days of translucent controllers and consoles in the late ‘90s. Even with the RGB disabled, the mouse looks great and just makes you feel good.

Despite having a honeycomb construction, the Aerox 3 features an IPS4-rated design called “AquaBarrier,” which will protect the mouse against spills and dust. Honeycomb mice have never really been my favorite — I feel like the design has been beaten to death, and is more of a gimmick than anything given how light non-perforated mice are these days.The brand-new Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike, for example, has no holes and weighs just 61g — 7g less than the Aerox 3's 68g weight. But while I personally don't see the appeal of the design, I know some people love it.

Aesthetics aside, I found the SteelSeries Aerox 3 to be a very comfortable mouse. The Aerox 3’s dimensions are as follows: 2.64 inches (67mm) wide, 4.74 inches (120.5mm) tall and 1.49 (37.8mm) deep. Not the largest mouse on the market, but on the larger side in general. For perspective, I have pretty large hands, so if you do as well then you’ll probably find this mouse to be pretty comfortable.

Underneath the colorful shell are the loudest switches I have used in any gaming mouse before — and I love it. The clicks aren't obnoxiously loud, but they’re certainly audible — and very satisfying. They're rated for up to 80 million clicks, so you should be set for many years.

What I didn't like about this mouse was its sensor. I didn't hate it, but I found the TRUEMOVE 26K optical sensor to be sluggish and a little awkward-feeling. This was surprising, because the Aerox 3 Wireless' software is full of features to help you fine-tune the mouse, yet I just couldn't get it to feel right. When I was using the 2.4GHz connection, I noticed my cursor would almost lock up just before I went to click on something. Needless to say, this was very frustrating. Fortunately (sort of), this wasn't an issue over the Bluetooth connection.

As you might expect, the bright, awesome-looking RGB means a lower battery life. SteelSeries rates the Aerox 3 Wireless' battery life at 120 hours over a 2.4GHz wireless connection and 200 hours over Bluetooth. Of course, this decreases as you add lighting and up the polling rate. When I had RGB and Bluetooth enabled, I noticed the battery dropped about 10% every three hours, which wasn't too bad. The mouse also charges quite fast, so you shouldn't have too much trouble keeping this mouse working wirelessly.

Specs

Performance & Software of the Aerox 3 Wireless

The SteelSeries Aerox 3 is powered by SteelSeries' “GG” software (which is named after the classic text chat slang for "good game," I assume). The GG software is good, but frustrating. Upon booting up the software, you’re asked to enter your email address to utilize its unique features, such as Sonar, Moments and 3D Aim Trainer. Sonar is basically an audio mixer for your headset to make it easier to identify enemies in-game, Moments is for capturing clips, and 3D Aim Trainer does what you think — it helps you improve your accuracy.

As mentioned earlier, the Aerox 3's sensor is a bit sluggish. I usually set my DPI to 1,900 but with the SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2, I had to bump it up to 2,000 — which is a pretty significant increase. I also had tracking issues when I was utilizing the 2.4GHz wireless connection. It was almost like the cursor was locked to only horizontal and vertical movements. Fortunately, this issue didn't happen when I was connected via Bluetooth or USB-C, but it's definitely concerning given that 2.4GHz wireless is going to be most people's primary connection with this mouse.

During my testing I racked up a few hours on Ready or Not, which is a tactical, SWAT-style FPS that calls for strategic movements, quick reaction, and every button on the mouse. Despite my issues with tracking, I never experienced any issues in-game — I had no issues snapping to targets and calling for my squad mates to secure the perimeter.

The Bottom Line

The SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 is a nice-looking mouse — even though I'm not a fan of the honeycomb design, the semi-translucent bright magenta shell makes this mouse pop, especially if you have the RGB lighting enabled.

But looks aren't everything, and the mouse's sluggish performance over the 2.4GHz wireless connection was frustrating. I hope this was just an issue with my review sample, and if not, it's probably something that SteelSeries could fix with a firmware update, but it's something to be on the lookout for if you're considering this mouse.

While I did genuinely enjoy the Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2, it's not my first choice for a lightweight mouse. While lighter mice, such as the 56g Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro, tend to be stripped down and less exciting-looking, mice like the Glorious Model O 2 Wireless weighs the same as the Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 and also comes with holes and RGB lighting (and costs $10 less). The Aerox 3 Wireless Gen 2 is a solid mouse, but even at its $110 price point... I'd still recommend waiting until it goes on sale.

If you've been anywhere near a PC in the last 20 years, especially if you've used one for gaming, then SteelSeries is a brand name that you no doubt will have come across. They've been making peripherals for a long time, with their mice, keyboards, and especially headphones being a very popular choice for PC gamers. With Amazon's Spring Deals Days sales event in full swing, we've spotted this money-off deal on SteelSeries' flagship gaming headset, the recently released Arctis Nove Elite, now priced at £559.49. A saving of £40.50 from the original £599.99 launch price. This headset was only released within the last five months, so it's nice to see a discount so early. However, this headset still commands a high price, as it flexes its audiophile-grade Hi-Res audio muscles. If you care not for the quality of your soundscapes, then avoid, as you can get a much cheaper headset for your needs.

• Grab this deal at Amazon

So what's so special about this version of the Arctis Nova? Well, the Arctis Nova Elite has Hi-Res audio certification. This Hi-Res audio gives you ultra-fidelity over a wireless connection for 96kHz/24bit audio. SteelSeries states this as a world first.

The headset looks very pretty, especially in the sage and gold colour scheme, which also happens to be the model that is discounted. Carbon fiber drivers power the sounds with brass surrounds for a "pistonic" motion. The headset also features powerful active noise cancelling (ANC), which can be a blessing for gaming in noisier environments. Plus, the retractable microphone uses AI to remove background noise, along with an additional discreet onboard mic to help keep comms clear during the heat of battle, or while chatting with friends over Discord.

The Arctis Nova Elite comes with the same premium features that you would find on the Nova Pro, including seamless multi-source mixing with OmniPlay to connect and mix up to four sources at once, handy for switching between various audio sources on the fly.

As with other SteelSeries headsets, the Arctis Nova Elite uses a ski-band design for the headband to make the headset feel lighter on your head and not add pressure and discomfort after hours of use. And speaking of use-time, the Nova Elite uses an infinite power system with two batteries for no downtime, always have a battery charging, so you can swap in a freshly charged battery before the headset dies on you.

The flagship SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is an audiophile-grade gaming headset for those with a significant disposable income. It's certainly not a cheap or budget headsest and is in the price range of some serious audiophile competition.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

I'm pretty careful with all my tech and treat it well. But, no matter how much care and attention I pay to my mouse pad, it inevitably gets filthy from skin oils or the occasional slight drink spill. To extend the life of my mouse pads, I've washed them by hand, letting them soak and then hanging them outside to dry. This works well for a while, but eventually they succumb to the stains and the cloth wearing out, especially where your mouse wrist is placed. When I spot a deal like today's, it's a great chance to refresh my desk space with a shiny new mouse pad.

You can find today's excellent mouse pad deal at Amazon, where the SteelSeries QcK gaming XL cloth mouse pad is available for only $12, a 50% price reduction from the original $24 list price. This is the lowest price ever for this extra-large mouse pad. The XL SteelSeries pad measures 900 x 300mm (35.43 inches x 11.81 inches), more than ample to accommodate a full-sized gaming keyboard and mouse, while still providing plenty of room to maneuver.

Apart from the SteelSeries logo in the corner, this is an otherwise plain black cloth-topped mouse pad that will get the job done. The cloth top features a low surface friction micro-weave cloth, finely textured for high-DPI gaming, compatible with both laser and optical mouse sensors.

The pad is naturally water-repellent due to its rubber and cloth construction, which gives you time to mop up any accidental spills. The edges of the pad feature braided stitching to prevent the layers from peeling and fraying. The underside of the pad is constructed from a non-slip, rubberized base that prevents sliding. So if you're looking to refresh your setup, you can't go wrong with a new mouse pad from a premium brand for just $12.

Happy Valentine's Day! Today, we have some great gift ideas for couples that come with unique Valentine's Day discounts from some of your favorite PC peripheral manufacturers. Although you should treat your significant other every day, today is a lovely commercial excuse to do so. We've found a nice mix of peripherals that include a mouse, headset, and keyboard and a chance to save money on an upgrade.

From Razer, you can grab a powerful pink gaming headset - the Razer BlackShark V2 X for just $39 -- reduced from $59 in Razer's Valentine's Day promotion. This wired headset comes in a Quartz pink with Razer Triforce 50mm drivers for listening to your favorite music and playing the latest PC games. Communicate with your partner when playing co-op games with the clear cardioid microphone packed in a lightweight 240g package for less strain in long gaming sessions.

Or how about a nice shiny new keyboard from Glorious? You can choose a prebuilt keeb or configure your own. The GMMK 3 Pro Prebuilt Wireless Keyboard is $299, and you could even add some GPBT Potion Pink Basics Keycaps for $29, whatever you choose, you can save 15% off of the total if you use the Valentine's Day code LOVE15 at the checkout.

If you play games together, or maybe even meet whilst playing games like the MMO World of Warcraft, then this deal from SteelSeries lets you buy one - get one half-price, so both of you win. How about a 12-side-button wireless MMO mouse like the SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless MMO Mouse? When you buy two of them, the price works out to be $164 for both or $82 each.

SteelSeries' Arctis Nova 7 Wireless is significantly more affordable than its $350 flagship, the Arctis Nova Pro — but at $180, the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless is still pretty pricey. So it's no surprise that SteelSeries recently came out with a less expensive wireless option to fill the empty seat between its (wired) Arctis Nova 3 and the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless. The Arctis Nova 5 Wireless is a wireless, over-ear gaming headset trying to snag a spot on our list of best gaming headsets (or perhaps best wireless gaming headsets) by compromising just enough to get a winning combo of comfort, features, and price. 

The Arctis Nova 5 Wireless features a lightweight, comfortable build, dual wireless connectivity — not simultaneous, but with quick-switch — and a fairly impressive 50 - 60 hour battery life. It also comes with a fully-retractable boom mic, a cross-platform-compatible USB-C 2.4GHz dongle, and the Arctis Nova 5 Companion app, which lets you change audio settings and switch presets without connecting to a PC. The Arctis Nova 5 is available now in black for $129.99.

Design and Comfort of the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless

The Arctis Nova 5 Wireless is a lightweight, over-ear (circumaural), closed-back wireless gaming headset. It features the same overall design concept as the rest of SteelSeries' Arctis Nova line, though its build is much closer to the lower-end Arctis Nova 1 and 3.

The Arctis Nova 5 Wireless sports an all-plastic build in simple matte black, with oval-shaped earcups that swivel, tilt, and are height-adjustable. The earcups have a stepped design, with SteelSeries' logo printed in silver on the round, slightly soft-touch speaker plates. The headset's memory foam earpads are covered in a soft, breathable athletic weave-type of fabric that won't make you sweat too much — though it does allow for a moderate amount of sound leakage.

An elastic, ski band-style strap is attached to the inside of the headset's plastic headband — designed to keep the actual headband away from your head for the sake of comfort. This entire design works very well, so long as your head isn't too big — the inside of the headband measures approximately 11 inches (280mm) long, and each earcup can extend an additional inch, for a total length of 13 inches (330mm). There are two pins on each side of the headband, and the ski band has three adjustment holes, allowing for four different symmetrical adjustments (or 16 asymmetrical permutations). The ski band is pretty stretchy, so as long as you're not pushing up against the plastic there's some leeway.

As you might suspect, given its all-plastic design, the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless is a fairly lightweight headset: it weighs just 9.5 ounces (265g), which is around the same weight as the very lightweight Logitech G735 (9.6oz / 273g). I found the headset to be very comfortable and had no problem wearing it for hours at a time — though I'll admit it wasn't the type of transcendent comfort where I forgot I was even wearing a headset. I was always aware of its presence, it just didn't bother me. The headset's clamping force is slightly heavier than that of the G735 (neither headset's clamping force presents an issue, but I could tilt my head back while wearing the Arctis Nova 5 — something I can't do while wearing the G735 without the headset falling straight off my head).

There are controls on both of the headset's earcups. On the right earcup there'a a power button and a quick switch button (separated by a status LED), a ChatMix dial, and a USB-C charging port. The left earcup houses the retractable boom mic and a physical mic mute button, as well as a volume dial.

While the number of buttons are pretty manageable, media controls do get a little confusing as they're spread between the power button and the quick switch button: the power button controls music and the quick switch button controls phone calls, because the power button adjusts phone call volume (not sure why we can't use volume for this) during a call.

The Arctis Nova 5 Wireless comes with two cables: a 5-foot (1.5m) USB-C to USB-A charging cable and a 5-foot (1.5m) USB-C to USB-A dongle extension. It also comes with an unnecessarily wide 2.4GHz wireless USB-C dongle, instructions, and some stickers. I'm sure there's a reason the dongle needs to take up this much space, but it seems SteelSeries could have designed it so it doesn't block other ports if you plug it into something directly (yes, you can use the dongle extender, but... still).

Specs

Audio Performance of the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless

The Arctis Nova 5 Wireless features the same drivers as the rest of the Arctis Nova line (except the Arctis Nova Pro). The custom-built 40mm neodymium drivers have a frequency response of 20 - 22,000 Hz, an impedance of 36Ω, and a sensitivity of 95dBSPL. These drivers have a slightly wider frequency response than the typical 20 - 20,000 Hz frequency response of many headsets, but they've got some issues that I pointed out in my review of the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless (and not much has changed in the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless). 

Music sounds decent, for the most part, on the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless, with moderately powerful lows and slightly turned-up mids and highs, with some noticeable distortion in the lower mid-range. The headset's drivers seem to have the most trouble with tracks that have a lot of layered details — especially crisp, layered details — and tracks such as Beyonce's Single Ladies sound messy and jumbled. Even Enya's Orinoco Flow has its midrange sort of smashed together instead of separately layered, and it ends up sounding somewhat dull. The headset also struggled with tracks that slide between ranges, especially from mid-to-high in a single, uninterrupted note; I heard popping and crackling noises as the notes slid into the higher ranges in both David Guetta's Titanium and Gesaffelstein's Hellifornia.  

Luckily, these auditory issues don't carry over significantly to other types of media: Gaming, movies, and voices all sounded pretty good on the Arctis Nova 5. The headset handled most layered game audio — such as the city streets of Baldur's Gate 3 and the jungle atmosphere of Uncharted 4 — pretty well, and I didn't hear any of the popping or crackling sounds in my testing. Scenes that were both loud and layered (e.g. big explosions) sounded a slightly compressed but were otherwise fine. The headset also managed directional auditory cues, such as footsteps and gunfire, fairly well. Voices, both in media and over chat, sounded good on the Arctis Nova 5 — crisp and clear, and full without being too heavy.

Microphone of the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless

The Nova 5 Wireless has a bidirectional noise-canceling boom microphone that retracts seamlessly into the earcup — the same design seen on the rest of the Arctis Nova lineup. The mic pulls out easily from the bottom of the left earcup and sits at the end of a flexible, four-inch arm that bends easily toward your mouth. The mic can be muted via a physical mute button on the back of the right earcup; when the mic is muted a red light along the top lights up to alert you (this can be turned off in the app).

The microphone sounds fine — vocals are clear and loud, but you'll sound like you're talking on a headset mic. Noise cancelation is moderate — people will still be able to hear most background noises but typing on a linear keyboard won't overwhelm your voice to the point where they can't understand you (you can turn on AI noise cancelation in the company's Sonar app, but aggressive noise cancelation just makes your voice sound thinner and more robotic).

Features and Software of the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless

The Arctis Nova 5 works with both SteelSeries GG (and Sonar) as well as the new Arctis Nova 5 Companion mobile app. While the Sonar app is useful for its virtual channel routing and 10-band parametric EQ, I preferred the Arctis Nova 5 Companion app because it was just... much easier to use.

The Nova 5 Companion app is a mobile app that lets you change the headset's EQ settings on the fly. It also lets you adjust the headset's mic volume, sidetone, mic mute LED brightness, and toggle the audio limiter and extended range mode. It does have some limitations — you can only change the EQ settings to a different preset; if you want to create your own presets you'll need to do that in Sonar on your PC (however, you can create your own presets and save them to the app). But there are over 166 presets preloaded into the app — most are for individual games, but there are presets for music and movies as well.

While you do need to connect to the app initially in Bluetooth mode, once connected you can use the app to change the audio settings over either the Bluetooth or the 2.4GHz wireless connection. The change happens in real time and saves directly to the headset. The app gives you control over the headset's settings without having to plug into a PC, so it's especially nice for console players.

Battery Life of the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless

The Arctis Nova 5 Wireless has the longest battery life found in any SteelSeries headset to date — it's rated at up to 60 hours (over Bluetooth) or up to 50 hours (over 2.4GHz wireless). While this is definitely not the most impressive battery life we've seen in a gaming headset, it's a solid enough showing for a headset this lightweight. Fifty hours over 2.4GHz will get you at least a week's worth of moderately heavy gaming before you need to recharge, and once a week is on par with how often you'd have to recharge headsets such as the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro (2023) or the Audeze Maxwell.

While the Arctis Nova 5's 2.4GHz wireless connection is generally pretty solid, I did have some issues with switching between 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth. Specifically, the headset occasionally ended up unpaired from its 2.4GHz wireless receiver when I switched between devices. This didn't happen consistently, but it happened enough in my testing that it needed to be pointed out. Re-pairing the headset with the wireless receiver was easy — there's a button right on the receiver to do so — but I don't want to have to re-pair my headset and wireless receiver multiple times a week. I'll point out that it does have quick-switch wireless, so it switches pretty quickly between the two connections... but sometimes it doesn't quite get there.

Bottom Line

The Arctis Nova 5 Wireless is a decent budget-friendly wireless headset option, though it's not that budget-friendly. It does have a sleeker look than most cheap wireless gaming headsets, however — and in combination with the Arctis Nova 5 Companion app, this makes it a nice option for something you want to double as a lifestyle headset. It has the same drivers as the pricier Arctis Nova 7 Wireless, but those drivers unfortunately have the same limitations we saw in the Arctis Nova 7. However, if you're looking at the Arctis Nova 7 and you don't need simultaneous 2.4GHz wireless/Bluetooth, the Arctis Nova 5 is worth a look.

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SteelSeries’ Arena 3 is the brand’s entry-level 2.0 system in its ambitious Arena speaker lineup. With a retail price of just $129.99, the Arena 3 might seem competitively-priced — especially considering Razer’s Nommo V2 X starts at $149.99 — but of course there are desktop speakers outside of the gaming peripheral sphere.

⋇ Check out our Best PC Speakers for more options.

The Arena 3 speakers feature 4-inch full-range drivers with organic fiber cones and front-firing bass ports. They’re well-built and situated on tilt-adjustable desktop stands, with a volume knob and multi-function button for switching inputs easily accessible. 

They’re wired and offer analog connectivity (PC and AUX), as well as Bluetooth 5.0 — no USB or optical connection. The Arena 3 is a 2.0 system — no subwoofer, so its bass response is understandably underwhelming. But if you’re not looking for an impressive bass response, there are plenty of 2.0 systems with lackluster lows that cost a lot less than $130.

Design of the Arena 3

The Arena 3 is a wired, two-speaker stereo system with a left channel and a right channel. The speakers look similar to the oval-shaped front left/right speakers in SteelSeries’ higher-end Arena 7 and Arena 9 systems, but they’re larger and more... avocado-shaped. Each of the Arena 3’s speakers features a 4-inch premium organic fiber full-range driver, a front port for improved bass response, and is perched on a tilt-adjustable desktop stand.

The Arena 3’s speakers are housed in matte black plastic chassis with black and dark gray drivers. I won’t say the chassis is fingerprint-proof (it’s not), but it doesn’t attract fingerprints the way Razer’s Nommo V2 Pro speakers did. SteelSeries’ logo is printed in black on the frame under each driver. The speakers are somewhat bulky and oddly-shaped, but they’re very well-built and hefty — together, they weigh a little under five pounds (4.72lbs / 2139g). The right speaker is slightly heavier at 2.44 pounds (1105g), while the left weighs 2.28 pounds (1034g).

Both speakers have built-in tilt-adjustable stands. The stands feature round bases measuring 4.35 inches (110.6mm) in diameter by 0.39 inches (10.1mm) thick, and are lined with a circle of rubbery anti-slip material. The neck of each stand is around 0.75 inches (19.1mm) tall and allows the speaker to tilt backward approximately 20 degrees.

SteelSeries lists the Arena 3’s measurements as 7.72 x 4.97 x 4.13 inches (196.1 x 126.2 x 104.9mm), but these are definitely... off. I measured each of the speakers at about 8 inches (203.2mm) tall by 6 inches (152.4mm) wide by 5 inches (127mm) deep standing “straight.” Fully tilting the speakers adds about 1 inch (25.4mm) of depth and half an inch (12.7mm) of height. So each speaker will take up 8.5 x 6 x 6 inches (215.9 x 152.4 x 152.4mm) of space at most when fully-tilted.

It’s worth pointing out that the speakers do not sit perfectly perpendicular to your desk when they’re standing “straight” — they start out with an upward tilt of approximately 5 degrees, and can be manually tilted back an additional 15 degrees or so. The resulting 20-degree speaker tilt is about the same as the (non-adjustable) tilt of the Razer Nommo V2 Pro.

The system’s inputs, ports, and controls are all located on the right speaker. The base of the right speaker stand has a multi-function button and a volume knob. Pressing the multi-function button once switches between audio input — specifically, between the speaker’s audio and a headset plugged into the speaker’s rear headset port. Long-pressing the multi-function button puts the system in Bluetooth pairing mode.

There’s a bright indicator LED under the SteelSeries logo on the right speaker. The LED blinks blue when the system is in pairing mode, and turns solid blue when successfully paired to a device. The LED is solid green when you’re connected to a wired audio source (AUX or PC), and is solid orange when you plug a headset in. You can turn the indicator LED off completely by double-pressing the multi-function button.

On the back of the right speaker there’s a DC-in for power and three 3.5mm analog input ports: headset, auxiliary, and PC. You’ll want to use the PC port to connect the speakers to your PC, auxiliary to connect to other devices, and the headset port for plugging in a headset. Also on the back of the right channel is a hardwired 6.5-foot (2m) speaker cable that plugs into the left channel. This is way more cable than anyone needs between the right and left channels, but it’s nice to see that SteelSeries erred on the longer, rather than shorter, side.

In the box, the Arena 3 is packaged with a 6.5-foot (2m) speaker cable for connecting to your PC (or other device), as well as a 7-foot (2.13m) power cable with a 30W power adapter. The power adapter features an interchangeable plug — you can order the Arena 3 with the regional plug type of your choice: U.S., U.K., EU, Korean, Australian, or Chinese.

Audio Performance of the Arena 3

The Arena 3 is a 2.0 (stereo) system with a left channel and a right channel, each of which sports a 4-inch full-range driver and a front ported bass reflex system. The speakers have a frequency response of 50 Hz - 20,000 Hz with 91dB sensitivity and an impressive max SPL of 100dB.

The Arena 3 will easily fill a medium-sized room if you crank up the volume — and it sounds pretty good so long as you’re not expecting a desk-shaking bass response. When connected via the 3.5mm PC input, the Arena 3 managed to hit a maximum of 83.3dBA (A-weighted decibels) at 50% volume, measured via handheld sound level meter at 3.3 feet (1m), and a maximum of 94.1dBA at 100% volume. Volume was slightly lower over Bluetooth, with the Arena 3 hitting a maximum of 82.6dbA at 50%, and a maximum of 92.1dbA at 100%. 

We use K-391’s Lonely World, which is a very midrange-heavy track, for our volume test. This was a good thing for the Arena 3, because the system has very strong mids — which are boosted all around, but are especially robust on the lower end to compensate for the lack of bass. This doesn’t really work: while the lower mids are pretty full-bodied, actual lows are noticeably absent. The bass drum at the beginning of Lorde’s Royals, for example, truncates prematurely where it would normally roll off, and the first minute of Hans Zimmer’s Time is barely present. 

The Arena 3 has no subwoofer, nor does it have a port for plugging in a third-party subwoofer. Instead, the system relies on two small front ports — one above each driver — for enhanced bass response. While the front port location is handy because it means you can place the speakers next to a wall (face it — most desks are probably next to a wall), I think the ports are just too small and too close to the drivers to do much in the way of bass enhancement. It seems like SteelSeries probably should have gone with a larger rear port — especially as the Arena 3 has no RGB lighting (both the Arena 7 and the Arena 9 have rear-projection RGB lighting on the front left/right channels).

The Arena 3 doesn’t just lack a low end — its highs are also a little restrained. The lack of detail is most apparent in tracks that slide in and out of the high range, such as Gesaffelstein’s Hellifornia and David Guetta’s Titanium, but I didn’t mind it too much — there wasn’t too much detail lost, and I definitely prefer restrained highs to painfully bright. 

While the Arena 3’s aggressive midrange isn’t ideal for music listening, it’s actually pretty good for gaming (as well as other types of media, such as movies and TV shows). Voices sound especially good with the speakers’ boosted mids — warm, crisp, and clear, even at lower volumes. Auditory cues in games, such as footsteps and gunshots, were also very clear. Ambient environmental noises, such as chirping birds and dripping water, were also present — there was still plenty of audible detail in God of War: Ragnarok and Subnautica: Below Zero.

Features and Software of the Arena 3

The Arena 3 only connects via analog (or Bluetooth), and therefore doesn’t really have any direct software, but it does work with SteelSeries’ Sonar app, which is part of the SteelSeries GG software. Of course, all speakers and headsets (not just SteelSeries’) technically work with the Sonar app, so this isn’t an Arena 3- (or even an Arena-) specific feature. The Sonar app features a 10-band parametric EQ as well as SteelSeries’ virtual surround sound, but of course there’s only so much “surround” you can really get from a 2.0 system.  

Bottom Line

The SteelSeries Arena 3 speakers aren’t bad — they produce nicely balanced, albeit midrange-heavy, audio out of the box, and there’s no question they can fill a room with music. These speakers get impressively loud, and they sound just as good at full volume as they do at more reasonable levels.

But pure volume aside, the Arena 3 lacks detail and power in both the low and high ends, and only offers analog connectivity in addition to Bluetooth. For $130 you can pick up the Creative T100s, which sound great and feature analog, optical, and Bluetooth connectivity, and still have $40 to spend on the extra portable Creative Pebble V3s.

I only recently discovered the life-changing properties of a glass mouse pad — specifically, the Razer Atlas —  but glass mouse pads are not a new phenomenon. 

In fact, they’ve been around for about as long as gaming-specific PC peripherals have been around. Back in 2001 — when mice still had rollerballs on the bottom — the world’s first (according to the company) frosted glass mouse pad, aka the Icemat, debuted. It featured an acid-treated surface to better grip the mouse’s rollerball, and it was made of glass because glass attracted less dust and was also easier to clean than traditional cloth mouse pads. The company eventually moved away from glass to other materials (including steel) and away from making just mouse pads to making other peripherals, and in 2007 changed its name to SteelSeries. 

SteelSeries doesn’t currently make a glass mouse pad, but the market wasn’t empty prior to Razer’s Atlas. If you search for glass mouse pads, one company tops the results: Skypad, an eSports gaming peripherals maker from Denmark. Skypad has been making glass mouse pads — it’s currently on the third iteration, Mousepad 3.0 — and accessories for glass mouse pads since 2017.

Design and Size of the Mousepad 3.0

Skypad’s Mousepad 3.0 comes in two sizes: regular, which measures 13.78 x 11.81 x 0.14 inches (350 x 300 x 3.6mm), and XL, which measures 19.69 x 15.75 x 0.14 inches (500 x 400 x 3.6mm). If you’re wondering, Razer’s Atlas is in between these two sizes — it measures 17.72 x 15.75 x 0.19 inches (450 x 400 x 5mm) — and I thought it was just a little too big. Likewise, I found Skypad’s XL Mousepad 3.0 too large to fit on the average desk — especially since it’s too small to fit under both your mouse and your keyboard. While I absolutely understand the appeal of having more surface area for mouse movement, one of the benefits of using a smooth glass surface is that you won’t have to move your mouse as much (though I suppose you can — this will, obviously, vary based on your play style).

The Mousepad 3.0 comes in black and white colorways, and the XL Mousepad 3.0 can be purchased with Skypad’s cloud or text logo printed in the bottom right corner. These are the only options that are currently available (Razer’s Atlas also comes in black or white), but the company does occasionally do limited edition drops of its XL mouse pad, such as this black-and-white design featuring an original character named Sora.

Skypad’s regular Mousepad 3.0 is a much more manageable size. It’s quite a bit smaller than the Atlas, and is what most people would probably consider a “standard” or medium-sized mouse pad. Because it’s glass, it doesn’t feel quite as small as a similarly-sized cloth mouse pad, since smaller swipes go further. It’s also not quite as smooth as the Atlas, so I did find myself moving my mouse over a larger area than I did with the Atlas (but still smaller than with a non-glass mouse pad). What I’m trying to say is that if you’re used to larger mouse pads, you’ll probably still have an adjustment period if you move down — the Mousepad 3.0’s glass surface doesn’t completely negate the size. 

The Mousepad 3.0 is slimmer than the Atlas, at 0.14 inches (3.6mm) thick versus the Atlas’s 0.19 inches (5mm). That extra 1/20th of an inch (1.4mm) might not sound like it would make a noticeable difference, but it does. When I swapped out the Atlas for the Mousepad 3.0 for testing, the Mousepad 3.0’s slimness was immediately apparent. This might be partly due to the fact that my other mouse pad, which is currently under just my keyboard, is the Razer Strider Chroma, which is a hybrid pad that’s 0.16 inches (4mm) thick and feels much closer in height to the Mousepad 3.0 than it did to the Atlas. I didn’t find the Atlas’s thickness to be uncomfortable — and I still don’t — but after having tested both, I prefer the slimness of the Mousepad 3.0, especially for a smaller mouse pad that I wouldn’t be resting my entire arm on.

The bottom of the Mousepad 3.0 has four small circular anti-slip feet, which work very well. I had no issues with this mouse pad slipping or sliding — even slightly — in my testing. In fact, deliberately trying to push the mouse pad across my desk required a surprising amount of force (not a lot, just a surprising amount). This is, obviously, a good thing - the last thing you want a glass mouse pad to do is accidentally slip off your desk. The Atlas’s entire bottom is covered in textured anti-slip material, which doesn’t seem to work any better (or worse) at preventing slippage — but does seem to provide some very slight cushioning.

Specs

Durability of the Mousepad 3.0

The Mousepad 3.0 is made of tempered glass, but is “incredibly durable,” according to the company (which also told me to go ahead and drop it on the floor from varying heights). I happen to live in a factory-converted-loft with polished concrete floors, however, so I decided against haphazardly tossing it onto my floor... just in case it happened to break. I did consider taking it outside and dropping it on the street, but that didn’t seem very environmentally-friendly (even if I do live in downtown Los Angeles where the streets are full of broken glass anyway). 

But also, I don’t think throwing a mouse pad — glass or not — against solid concrete is a very realistic use case. What’s the most that’s really going to happen to this mouse pad? It might slip out of your hands as you’re unpacking it to put it on your desk, or maybe you’ll get frustrated during a game and slam your mouse down, but that’s about it. 

I did end up dropping it from various low heights (of between six inches and around three feet) onto an area rug in my apartment, and it’s still intact. Anyway, as you can see from this video, it’s possible that the Mousepad 3.0 would have survived me frisbee-ing it across the streets of Los Angeles, so it seems likely that it will also survive most realistic drop scenarios.  

The Mousepad 3.0’s surface also seems fairly durable: the lightly-textured matte-finished glass is relatively scratch-resistant (it is glass, however, so it will scratch if you make an effort to scratch it). It doesn’t have any sort of special coating like the Atlas’s oleophobic coating, so it doesn’t require any special care — you can clean it with regular glass cleaner. What’s less durable is the stick-on backing, which can be pretty easily scratched off. Scratching the back of the pad won’t affect performance, of course, but it won’t look as pretty.

Tracking and Performance

The Mousepad 3.0 has a slightly textured, matte-finish surface designed for speed — specifically, Skypad says the surface is the “ideal roughness for achieving speed” as a mouse will essentially travel across microscopic peaks, limiting friction. The surface offers a smooth glide with a small amount of resistance from the glass’s texture — it’s not as slick as the Atlas’s oleophobic-coated surface, but the texture does make precise stopping easier to adapt to. Like other glass mouse pads, the Mousepad 3.0 has micro patterning etched into its surface for tracking accuracy. 

I went ahead and tested the Mousepad 3.0 using all the mice I had within reach, including Razer’s Basilisk V3 Pro and Naga V2 Pro, Logitech’s G 502X Plus, Asus’s ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition, Mountain’s Makalu Max, HyperX’s Pulsefire Haste 2, Redragon’s M601 and M901, and even some $3 mouse I picked up years ago at Fry’s, back when Fry’s was still in business. None of the mice I tried had any issues with tracking accurately on the Mousepad 3.0 (on either colorway), except for the $3 mouse which has had some trouble tracking on every surface I’ve ever tried it on and probably has a polling rate of, like, 5 Hz.

While the Mousepad 3.0 does offer a very smooth, consistent surface, it didn’t quite give me the same dream-like awakening I had with the Atlas. The Atlas’s oleophobic coating — and perhaps the cushioning from the full rubber lining on the back — made for a slightly more comfortable experience overall. That’s not to say that the Mousepad 3.0 was uncomfortable, because it wasn’t (also, the difference wasn’t really that significant), but the Atlas somehow feels a little softer, as incongruous as that sounds. I did like the Mousepad 3.0’s slimmer profile, however. The Atlas was just thick enough to be noticeable, while the Mousepad 3.0 immediately felt like it was just part of my desk.

I also liked the Mousepad 3.0’s slightly textured surface for certain activities, such as pixel-precise actions in programs like Photoshop. But I still prefer a rougher hybrid (or cloth) mouse pad for that kind of detail or precision work, by a large margin — all hard mouse pads, glass or not, are much too slippery. The Mousepad 3.0’s textured surface also gave it a slight edge over the Atlas when it came to stopping power, because the Atlas is really slick.

The Pros and Cons of Glass

It seems glass mouse pads are the perfect hard surface mouse pads for performance-oriented gamers who need speed above all else: it’s hard to beat the glasstop combination of ultra-low friction and impressive tracking accuracy and precision. 

But there are a couple of caveats I’ve discovered while testing the Skypad Mousepad 3.0 and the Razer Atlas. First, it’s a good thing they’re easy to clean, because they do need to be cleaned more frequently than other mouse pads. Dust buildup, especially, messes with glide on a glass mouse pad — and, since it has nowhere to go (unlike a cloth mouse pad, where it just kind of...works its way into the surface, I guess) quickly accumulates around your mouse’s feet and sensor, which will mess with tracking. 

Second, while glass feels great under a mouse, it feels less great under your skin. Glass mouse pads are harder and colder than soft mouse pads, and I definitely started to miss the relative cushion and warmth of my hybrid mouse pad after weeks of using only glass. Also, sweat — while not an issue for me, but definitely an issue for many gamers — is definitely not fantastic on a glass mouse pad. Of course, you can always just wear long sleeves and gloves, but that might seem like overkill when you could also just get a different mouse pad. That said, Skypad does acknowledge these glass-specific issues, and even sells arm sleeve accessories to go with its pads. 

Finally, if you’re the kind of gamer who picks up your mouse a lot, glass mouse pads are noisy — and that’s even if you’re not slamming your mouse down in frustration or rage. Razer claims the surface of its Atlas is “specially treated” to allow for quieter mouse swipes (quieter than other glass mouse pads, that is), but it’s not the swiping that’s noisy. Swiping on the Mousepad 3.0 was slightly louder than swiping on the Atlas, but it wasn’t excessively loud on either. Dropping a mouse on both pads was like dropping a mouse on a piece of glass, however — though the Mousepad 3.0 did have a little more reverb from being perched on non-slip feet (and not entirely lined with rubber). 

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a glass mouse pad, Skypad’s Mousepad 3.0 is an excellent option. You already know I’m inexplicably in love with the Razer Atlas, and the Mousepad 3.0 is, frankly, very, very similar in feel and performance. My two main concerns with the Atlas were its size, because it felt just a little too large to be easily incorporated in most desk setups, and its durability — mostly because Razer warns against using soap or harsh cleaning agents to clean the Atlas’s surface, likely to prevent removal of the oleophobic coating. 

Skypad addresses both of these concerns with the Mousepad 3.0. The Mousepad 3.0 comes in a smaller size (as well as an XL size, so you have options) that is much more manageable for those of us who don’t have expansive desk real estate. The Mousepad 3.0 also does not have an oleophobic coating — and while that does make it slightly less dreamy to glide across, it also means you can spray it down with Windex, worry-free.

Ultimately, the best gaming mouse pad is a very personal choice that depends on everything from what mouse you have to what games you play to how big your desk is. Glass mouse pads are good for super-speedy frictionless glide that doesn’t dramatically sacrifice precision, but that doesn’t mean they’re good for tasks that require extreme precision (they’re not). But if you’re an eSports competitor looking for that extra edge, a glass mouse pad might just be the answer. The good news is that these $100+ slabs of glass have — so far — lived up to their promises of smooth, sexy swipes and etched optical sensor-friendly tracking wizardry.

The Skypad Mousepad 3.0 regular size starts at $99, while the Skypad Mousepad 3.0 XL costs $119 (both ship free to the U.S.).

Updated June 19, 2023, 7:12 a.m. PT - An earlier version of this article mistakenly cited the Sora character as being from an existing anime; however this character is an original character created by Skypad. 

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A couple of months ago, SteelSeries launched the Apex Pro Mini — an ultra-compact, highly-customizable gaming keyboard. And while it may be one of the best gaming keyboards on the market, it’s also, frankly, more than a little too compact and too customizable for the majority of gamers. The brand dials it back a little (but just a little) with the launch of its Apex 9 series.

The Apex 9 series comes in two layouts — TKL (tenkeyless) and Mini (60 percent); this review will focus on the Apex 9 TKL, but the keyboards are largely identical (minus layout). The Apex 9 TKL and Apex 9 Mini are both wired keyboards sporting SteelSeries’ new hot-swappable OptiPoint linear optical switches. These switches have 2-point actuation, which means they have two points of actuation (1mm and 1.5mm) — like the Apex Pro Mini’s adjustable actuation, only with two preset points that you can toggle between, instead of per-key adjustability to the nearest 0.1mm.

The SteelSeries Apex 9 TKL and Apex 9 Mini are available now, for $140 and $130, respectively; these keyboards aren’t nearly as customizable as the Apex Pro Mini, but they’re also not nearly as expensive. At the moment, the Apex 9 TKL and Apex 9 Mini are only available with linear switches; SteelSeries plans to offer both clicky and tactile versions of its OptiPoint switches in the future as accessory packs, but at the moment we have no information on how much these will cost or whether the company will offer the keyboards with clicky/tactile switches included in the future.

Specs

Design and Construction of the Apex 9 TKL

The Apex 9 TKL sports a tenkeyless layout, with navigation keys and arrow keys but no number pad (the Apex 9 Mini has a 60 percent layout — no number pad, navigation keys, or arrow keys). The keyboard is sturdily built, with a “Series 5000” aircraft-grade aluminum metal frame and top plate (though the chassis itself is plastic) and double-shot PBT keycaps.

The Apex 9 series has the same minimal, elegant chassis design we first saw on the Apex Pro Mini. In fact, the Apex 9 Mini is visually identical to the Apex Pro Mini.

The Apex 9 TKL has slightly more room and includes a multifunction media button and a textured, clickable metal volume roller in the upper right corner.

On the back of the Apex 9 TKL, you’ll find two pairs of flip-out feet for height adjustment, as well as an orange plastic SteelSeries keycap puller stored under a silicone flap. The keyboard is wired via detachable USB-C cable (it comes with a 7-foot braided USB-C to USB-A cable) and has a USB-C port in the upper left corner. I know SteelSeries is trying to keep the chassis streamlined, but it would be nice to see a passthrough port or two (or even multiple USB-C input ports for cable management).

Typing and Gaming Experience on the Apex 9 TKL

The Apex 9 comes with SteelSeries’ new OptiPoint optical switches, which are hot-swappable and feature 2-point actuation (not to be confused with dual-actuation, which is a feature that currently only exists on the Apex Pro Mini).

While the Apex 9 does have hot-swappable switches, it’s only compatible with optical — not mechanical — switches. The company also says the keyboard only officially supports its own OptiPoint switches; while third-party optical switches will fit in the board, those with black bottom housings absorb too much light to operate accurately (OptiPoint switches have white bottom housings).

The Apex 9’s switches feature 2-point actuation, which means they have adjustable actuation with two levels — 1mm (“gaming mode”) and 1.5mm (“typing mode”). You can toggle between these two modes using SteelSeries’ GG software or with a keyboard shortcut (the SteelSeries key + I/O). I was initially concerned that these two actuation points didn’t vary enough in distance, but using the keyboard in both modes (for both typing and gaming) put that to rest.

Typing on the Apex 9 feels pretty good, considering it has linear optical switches instead of my preferred clicky mechanical switches. The Apex 9’s switches have both a lighter actuation force (35g) and a shorter travel distance (3.4mm) compared to the standard Cherry MX Red mechanical switches, so typing on the Apex 9 does feel a little too fluttery, and will take some getting used to — especially if you’re coming from a heavier, non-linear, mechanical switch background.

Gaming on the Apex 9 felt better than typing — unsurprisingly, since linear switches, optical or not, usually offer a better gaming experience than typing experience. According to SteelSeries, the switches have a response time of 0.2ms and zero debounce, and they certainly felt very speedy, especially in gaming mode, which allows for very light, quick keypresses.

Features and Software of the Apex 9 TKL

The Apex 9 TKL works with SteelSeries Engine, which is part of the SteelSeries GG software suite. The keyboard comes with preset shortcuts, however, for switching between gaming and typing mode (SS key + I/O), switching between on-board profiles (SS key + F9), recording macros (SS key + F10) and adjusting the brightness of the per-key RGB (SS key + F11/F12), so the software isn’t critical.

Using SteelSeries Engine, you can remap the keyboard’s primary and secondary (SS key) bindings, and set up the keyboard’s five on-board profiles. Almost every key can be remapped, including the SteelSeries function key, except for — curiously — the multi-function media key and clickable volume roller. Also, you can’t adjust each key’s actuation point individually (like you can on the Apex Pro Mini);you can only toggle the entire keyboard between gaming mode and typing mode.

You can also change up the Apex 9’s lighting in SteelSeries Engine. Each key can be customized individually with different colors and effects, for three different layers (active, reactive, and idle). While you can save different lighting profiles in SteelSeries Engine, you can’t link them to onboard profiles.

The Bottom Line

The SteelSeries Apex 9 TKL is actually a pretty attractive offering for anyone interested in optical switches with adjustable actuation — but who doesn’t need the over-the-top 0.1mm per-key adjustment offered by the Apex Pro Mini. The Apex 9 TKL’s larger layout is definitely a plus for anyone who finds a 60 percent layout too small — for those who don’t, the Apex 9 Mini is also available. The keyboard’s hot-swappable PCB is interesting but not nearly as versatile as it sounds, given that it’s only truly compatible with SteelSeries’ own yet-to-be-released optical switches.

Both the Apex 9 TKL and the Apex 9 Mini are significantly cheaper than the Apex Pro Mini, but that doesn’t mean they’re cheap. If you don’t need the Apex 9’s 2-point actuation hot-swappable optical switches, you may want to look for something cheaper, such as the TKL Redragon Vishnu K596 or the 60 percent Corsair K65 RGB Mini.

 SteelSeries dropped its wildly impressive (and wildly expensive) redesigned flagship Arctis Nova Pro Wireless headset earlier this year, and now it’s bringing that redesign to the rest of its lineup — starting with the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless. 

The Arctis Nova 7 Wireless looks like SteelSeries ran out of machined steel and leatherette in an Arctis Nova Pro factory — the Nova 7 and Nova Pro are practically identical in design; the Nova 7 just swaps in cheaper materials for its speaker plates and ear cushions. The Nova 7 Wireless is the brand’s new top-of-the-line non-audiophile headset (the Arctis 9 was not included in the redesign), and features simultaneous dual wireless connectivity (2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.0), 38 hours of battery life with USB-C fast charging, and “custom high fidelity drivers tuned for gaming.” 

Actually, all three new headsets — Nova 1, Nova 3, and Nova 7 Wireless — have the same custom drivers (the Nova Pro has different drivers). Also, there’s no wired version of the Nova 7 Wireless, so I’m just going to call it the Nova 7 from here on. 

The Arctis Nova 7 costs $180 and comes in three versions for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox — the versions are very similar, with a couple of small tweaks for the platforms; we tested the PC version.

Design and Comfort of the Arctis Nova 7

The Arctis Nova 7 looks like the Arctis Nova Pro, currently our pick for best gaming headset, but it feels less high-end. The Nova 7 has a rigid steel headband with an adjustable elastic headband strap and plastic earcups with fabric-covered memory foam cushions. The headband strap attaches to fixed points inside the headband, and the rotating earcups are also height-adjustable. The headset is pretty lightweight at 0.72 pounds (325g) — and is ever-so-slightly lighter than the Nova Pro Wireless’ 0.75 pounds (339g).  

The Nova 7 has roomy, over-ear memory foam earcup cushions covered in SteelSeries’ “AirWeave” fabric, which is a lightweight nylon. AirWeave is more breathable than the leatherette on the Nova Pro and offers slightly less passive noise-cancellation — only slightly, though. The Nova 7’s ear cushions were large enough to fully surround my ears without pressing on them, and SteelSeries seems to have found the perfect clamping force — I have two upper-cartilage piercings that are less than a week old, and I was able to wear this headset for hours without even a hint of discomfort.  

The right earcup has the power button, a Bluetooth button, and a ChatMix wheel on the PC/Xbox versions (this wheel adjusts Sidetone on the PlayStation version). There’s also a USB-C port for charging. The left earcup has a microphone mute switch, a volume wheel, and a 3.5mm audio jack for wired use. In the box, the Nova 7 comes with a 2.4-GHz wireless USB-C dongle, a 5-foot (1.5m) USB-C to USB-A charging cable, a 5-foot (1.5m) USB-C to USB-A converter, and a 4-foot (1.2m) 3.5mm audio cable.  

The Nova 7 has magnetic speaker plates in a soft-touch matte black finish. The speaker plates, as well as the headband strap and the ear cushions, are replaceable — SteelSeries is already selling “booster packs” with speaker plates and headband straps in different colors for the Nova Pro and Nova Pro Wireless, which will also fit the Nova 7. (You can also buy replacement ear cushions in leatherette, if you end up not liking the Nova 7’s default AirWeave.)

Specs

Audio Performance of the Arctis Nova 7

The Arctis Nova 7 has “custom high fidelity drivers tuned for gaming” (whatever that means), with a frequency response of 20 - 22,000 Hz, an impedance of 36Ω, and a sensitivity of 93dBSPL. The new Arctis Nova 1 and Nova 3 have the same drivers; the Arctis Nova Pro and Arctis Nova Pro Wireless have different, higher-fidelity drivers.

Music on the Nova 7 sounds good — just good, not great. Lows are present but a little underwhelming, and the bass was both too restrained and muddy-sounding in Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown” and Kaskade’s “POW POW POW.” Mids and highs, by contrast, are pumped a little too high; the lower mid-range had a lot of distortion in David Guetta’s “Titanium,” and details were a blended mess in the normally-crisp layers of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” 

I tested the Nova 7’s audio over both a wireless (2.4 GHz) and wired (3.5mm analog, plugged into SteelSeries’ own GameDAC) connection. Audio quality is  much better over a wired connection (though there was still some mid-range distortion and fuzziness in the bass). But you’re not buying a $180 headset with simultaneous dual wireless for the analog connection.

Good news: Gaming sounds much better than music on the Nova 7 — pretty good with the headset’s default, out-of-the-box settings, and there’s plenty to play around in SteelSeries’ Sonar audio software suite. Sonar has a gaming-oriented parametric EQ, as well as features like 360-degree spatial audio, which is implemented pretty well. The Nova 7 actually performed best on calls and voice chat — thanks in part to features like ChatMix, adjustable sidetone, and Sonar’s mic EQ, but also just in general — everyone I talked to using this headset sounded great. 

Microphone on the Arctis Nova 7

The Arctis Nova 7 has a bidirectional ClearCast Gen 2 noise-canceling microphone, which has a wireless frequency response of 100 - 6,500 Hz and a sensitivity of -38dBV/Pa. It performs well for a headset mic, easily picking up your voice thanks to the flexible arm that allows you to adjust its position. It does have a bidirectional — not cardioid — polar pattern, so it doesn’t do a great job of noise-canceling/noise-isolation without the help of SteelSeries’ Sonar audio software.

All of SteelSeries new Arctis Nova headsets have the same microphone design, which is fully-retractable and blends seamlessly into the earcup when retracted. The mic still picks up sound when retracted — to mute the Nova 7, you’ll need to use the physical mute button on the left earcup. The mic has a bright red LED that lights up when muted (this can be adjusted or turned off in the software).

Software for the Arctis Nova 7

The Arctis Nova 7 works fine out of the box, without software, but there are a handful of settings you can only access in SteelSeries GG (SteelSeries’ one-stop peripheral companion software suite). Also, SteelSeries GG is where you can access the Sonar audio software, which offers a decent improvement in audio quality if you take the time to play with it. 

The Nova 7’s main settings menu is in the Engine section of SteelSeries GG — this is where you can adjust hardware settings, such as standby time, the brightness of the mic mute LED, and whether Bluetooth powers on with the headset. You can also tweak some audio settings, such as mic volume and sidetone, and create different profiles (this is a standard feature in the Engine — I don’t know that you’ll need multiple profiles for a headset that doesn’t even have RGB). 

You can also turn on SteelSeries’ Sonar audio software, which features individual EQs for gaming and chat channels, as well as the microphone. Sonar also houses features such as virtual surround-sound, ChatMix, and several noise-reduction/noise-isolation/noise-cancellation features for the microphone. 

Battery Life on the Arctis Nova 7

The Arctis Nova 7 has 38 hours of battery life using just the 2.4 GHz wireless connection (this drops to 26 hours with simultaneous Bluetooth). Well over a day’s worth of playtime is pretty good, if not particularly uncommon these days (especially in recent flagship models). Both the Razer Barracuda Pro and the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 MAX boast 40+ hours of battery life; Sony’s new Inzone 7 and 9 claim 40 and 32 hours, respectively.  The Nova 7 has fast-charging via USB-C — a 15 minute charge will give you a six-hour boost.  

Bottom Line

The Arctis Nova 7 Wireless looks and feels a lot like the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, but it doesn’t sound like the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. It might seem like an unfair comparison, but a headset doesn’t need ultra-hi-fi drivers for great audio quality — the Nova 7’s sound signature was just off, for me, and somehow seemed tuned to highlight the headset’s weak spots. The Nova 7 is not a bad-sounding headset, but now that I know what SteelSeries can do with hi-fi audio...I expected more. 

I’m a big fan of the Arctis Nova line’s redesign, in general — the Nova 7 is lightweight and very comfortable, and the retractable mic, sleek profile, and 38-hour battery life make it a good multi-purpose headset (and, at $180, it’s still cheaper than other do-it-all headsets, such as the Razer Barracuda Pro Wireless). The Arctis Nova 7 sounds better over a wired connection, and it’s a pretty good headset if you’re not tied to wireless connectivity — but if you are, you’ll find better options on our list of best wireless gaming headsets. 

I have a soft spot for analog headsets — especially when I’m testing headsets, and I have so many things connected to my PC (via Bluetooth/dongle/Wi-Fi/sorcery) that nothing works. Analog headsets just work; all you have to do is plug them in — and they don’t even take up a USB port. 

Maybe that’s why I’m so into the Arctis Nova 1 — SteelSeries’ fully-redesigned update to its entry-level analog headset. Among the best gaming headsets in its price range, the $60 Arctis Nova 1 is slimmer, lighter, and much, much more comfortable than its predecessor, the Arctis 1. It has the same four-point adjustment system, fully-retractable mic, and 40mm custom drivers as the rest of the lineup, packaged in a stripped-down, lightweight analog-only body. And it won’t spontaneously unpair from its wireless dongle, connect to a phantom device via Bluetooth, or run out of juice in the middle of a Twitch stream or business call. It will just work — and work well — with any device you can plug it into. 

The Arctis Nova 1 comes in three versions — PC, PlayStation, and XBox (which are mostly the same with some small tweaks for different platforms) — and two colors (black and white), and costs $60. 

Design and Comfort of the Arctis Nova 1 

The Arctis Nova 1 is the cheapest headset in the Arctis Nova lineup, and it definitely feels less premium than its pricier siblings. The Nova 1 has a plastic headband with an adjustable elastic headband strap and height-adjustable rotating earcups. The headband strap attaches to fixed points inside the headband and is stretchier than the strap found in the Nova Pro and the Nova 7 — it’s reminiscent of SteelSeries’ older “ski goggle” straps, which are comfortable but have a tendency to stretch out over time.  

The Nova 1 is the lightest headset in the series, weighing just 8.3 ounces (235g). It also has the slimmest earcups (there’s no battery, RGB, or removable speaker plates). It doesn’t feel flimsy or poorly-made, nor does it feel like a tank — it seems like it would do okay in a backpack, though the large, flat swaths of plastic might be susceptible to scratches. The Nova 1 looks a little generic, and doesn’t feel particularly inspired, design-wise. That’s probably the most criticism I have, though — it’s not like there are a ton of sexy, eye-catching budget-priced gaming headsets, and the Nova 1’s slim earcups do cut a pretty sleek profile.

The earcups have memory foam cushions covered in a breathable mesh fabric SteelSeries calls “AirWeave,” and are roomy enough to surround your ears without pressing on them. I momentarily forgot that my job involves testing headsets and got my right ear flat pierced . . . twice — and nothing exposes a headset’s pain points quicker than two-day-old cartilage piercings. But I had no problems wearing the Nova 1, which honestly weighs so little I kept forgetting I had it on.

The Nova 1’s slimmed-down, lightweight profile still allows for on-ear controls, all of which are located on the left earcup. Here, you’ll find a microphone mute button, a volume wheel, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a built-in microphone — which has the same seamlessly-integrated, fully-retractable design seen on all of the Arctis Nova headsets. In the box, the Nova 1 comes with a 4-foot (1.2m) 3.5mm audio cable, as well as a 5-foot (1.5m) dual-3.5mm extension cable (for plugging into a PC with separate 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks). The extra-long extension cable is a nice touch — my PC is under my desk, too far for any reasonable-length cable to reach; the extension cable adds plenty of extra length, and I still have a regular, 4-foot cable that can be used with other devices.

Specs

Audio Performance of the Arctis Nova 1 

The Arctis Nova 1 features “custom high fidelity drivers tuned for gaming,” which have a frequency response of 20 - 22,000 Hz, an impedance of 36Ω, and a sensitivity of 93 dBSPL. The Arctis Nova 3 and the Nova 7 have the same drivers as the Nova 1, but I still tested all three headsets individually. The Arctis Nova Pro and Arctis Nova Pro Wireless have different, higher-fidelity drivers.

Music sounds good on the Nova 1 — very good, considering the headset’s sub-$100 price point. The bass was pretty restrained (too restrained) in Kaskade’s “POW POW POW,” and was present but fuzzy in Kanye’s “Love Lockdown.” Mids and highs sounded better — and more balanced — in David Guetta’s “Titanium” and Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” There was some distortion in the lower mid-ranges — not a lot, but it was noticeable. The headset also struggled with separating out details and layers in Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” but I enjoyed listening to “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish. 

I wasn’t particularly impressed with audio quality on the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless — and this headset has the same custom 40mm drivers. But the Nova 1 is an analog headset — the Nova 7 also sounded better using a wired connection, but we can’t ignore its wireless performance. The Nova 1 also costs one-third of what the Nova 7 costs. 

Gaming sounds much better on the Nova 1 (as does voice chat), especially when paired with SteelSeries’ Sonar audio software suite, which has features like 360-degree spatial audio and a gaming-oriented parametric EQ. You don’t need to use Sonar (or any software) with the Nova 1 — games and voice chat still sound very good without it, but it offers a decent amount of control and customization if you spend some time playing around with it.  

Microphone on the Arctis Nova 1

The Arctis Nova 1 has a bidirectional ClearCast Gen 2 noise-canceling microphone, which has a frequency response of 100 - 10,000 Hz and a sensitivity of -38dBV/Pa. All of the new Arctis Nova headsets have the same fully-retractable microphone design — the mic is on a flexible arm for easy positioning, and blends seamlessly into the left earcup when retracted.

Audio quality is very good on the Nova 1’s mic, especially for a headset mic. It picks up your voice easily and delivers loud, clear audio. It’s a bidirectional, not cardioid, mic, and it struggles with noise isolation. SteelSeries’ Sonar audio suite has a mic section with an EQ and a handful of noise-reduction features, including AI-powered noise-cancellation, which is still in early-access but works pretty well. The Nova 1 is analog-only, though, so it can only access Sonar’s features when it’s plugged into a PC.

Software for the Arctis Nova 1

The Arctis Nova 1 works perfectly well out of the box and doesn’t come with companion software — unless you count SteelSeries GG, SteelSeries’ universal peripheral software, which includes the company’s gaming-oriented Sonar audio suite. The Nova 1 works with Sonar the same way any analog headset plugged into your PC would work with Sonar (the software isn’t brand-locked, or anything). 

Sonar offers separate EQs for gaming, chat, and microphone audio — including the “first pro-grade parametric EQ for gamers” (the gaming EQ is preloaded with presets for popular games such as Apex Legends, COD Warzone, and Minecraft, etc). Sonar also gives you access to gaming audio features, including ChatMix, 360-degree spatial audio (SteelSeries’ virtual surround-sound), as well gain adjustment and smart audio. On the microphone side, Sonar features a 10-band microphone EQ with a handful of presets, and a few features to help reduce noise, including AI-powered noise reduction (still in early-access).

Bottom Line

The Arctis Nova 1 is an excellent analog headset for gaming, chatting, streaming, getting cartilage piercings — and yes, listening to music. The Nova 1 costs $60, which puts it solidly in the budget range — though there are cheaper gaming headsets, such as the Asus TUF Gaming H3 and the Razer BlackShark V2 X. 

The Nova 1’s ultra-lightweight comfort, fully-retractable mic, and slim, sleek, sort of generic-looking profile also make it a good lifestyle option — this is something you can wear on the street (without looking like you’ve lost your LAN party), which is a quality you won’t find in most budget gaming headsets.  The Nova 1 is a great headset, but it is analog-only, which is not for everybody — some people just need a wireless gaming headset. 

SteelSeries just launched its first line of gaming-oriented desktop speakers — the Arena 3 (2.0), 7 (2.1), and 9 (5.1). But the problem with desktop speakers is that they’re generally more suited to home entertainment, and they don’t make a ton of sense in a lot of online gaming and streaming setups where you need both audio output and input. 

But...maybe they could, with the Arena Wireless Mic — a noise-canceling on-ear microphone designed to work with speakers (and launched alongside the Arena lineup). Thanks to a supercardioid polar pattern and a boost from SteelSeries AI-powered noise-cancellation software, the Arena Wireless Mic lets you have the best of both worlds: Immersive, surround-sound speaker audio and noise-free, crystal-clear team chat. 

The Arena Wireless Mic features 2.4-GHz wireless connectivity, 4.5 hours of battery life, has a lightweight, comfortable design, and works as advertised — picking up the wearer’s voice without picking up everything that’s coming out of their speakers. The Arena Wireless Mic is available now, and costs $100, which is around mid-range when it comes to the best gaming microphones. But this isn’t really a gaming microphone; it’s more of a niche product — and I’m not totally sure it has a niche. 

Design and Comfort of the Arena Wireless Mic 

The Arena Wireless Mic is an on-ear wireless microphone designed to work with speakers. Specifically, SteelSeries’ new Arena speakers, but it’ll work with any speakers — it doesn’t have any sort of special interaction with the Arena line. 

The Arena Wireless Mic consists of a supercardioid microphone at the end of a flexible arm, which is attached to a battery pack that sits behind your ear. The battery pack is held in place by a flexible earhook, which can be swapped out for a better fit based on your ear size.  

On the back of the battery pack, there’s a USB-C charging port, a small indicator LED, and a multi-function power/pairing/mute button. Holding the button down for one second turns the microphone on; tapping the button while the microphone is turned on toggles mute/unmute. When the microphone is muted, you’ll see a red light on the mic itself — the light is bright enough to see out of the corner of your eye when you’re wearing the mic, even with the pop filter in place.  

The Arena Wireless mic comes with three flexible earhooks in different sizes (small, medium, large), a 2.4-GHz wireless USB-C dongle, a USB-C to USB-A converter, a pop filter, and a USB-C to USB-A charging cable. The earhooks attach to the microphone with a simple twist, and are easy to switch out.

Wearing the Arena Wireless Mic is fine — it’s comfortable, mostly because it’s so lightweight you’ll forget it’s even there. But the way the earhook fits — it wraps around the front of your ear and tucks under the antihelix — doesn’t feel super secure (and this will also vary based on ear anatomy). I found the medium-sized earhook gave me the best fit (and I would say I have medium-sized ears), and even when I had the mic properly secured, it still seemed a little shaky. It didn’t fall off during my testing, but I definitely had a couple of close calls when I turned my head quickly.  

Specs

Performance of the Arena Wireless Mic

The Arena Wireless Mic has a supercardioid (unidirectional) polar pattern, with a 150-degree acceptance angle — narrower than the 180-degree acceptance angle of a standard cardioid mic. This allows it to pick up your voice and nothing else — even if music, gunshots, and teammate chatter is blasting through a surround-sound speaker setup. 

I tested the Arena Wireless Mic over the course of a week in a variety of situations — work conference calls, group video chats with friends, online gaming with strangers — and it performed shockingly well. When my speakers were set to a reasonable volume, none of my colleagues, friends, or randomly-assigned teammates could audibly tell I wasn’t wearing headphones. This was the case regardless of what was coming out of my speakers — music, explosions, voices, or any combination thereof. 

It wasn’t until I cranked my speakers up to an uncomfortably high volume that others started mentioning the background noise on my end. Even at this point, the background noise wasn’t an issue when I was talking — the mic still picked up my voice, loud and clear — it was only when I wasn’t talking that listeners started hearing my music. 

The Arena Wireless Mic is a supercardioid mic, which means it basically needs to be aimed directly at your mouth to work. The mic’s four-inch flexible arm is easy to position correctly, and when positioned correctly, the mic is very visible (“you sort of look like an air traffic controller,” is what my colleagues said). This might not seem like a big deal, but one of the big reasons to upgrade your microphone is so you can hide it — and broadcast/stream/create content without the encumbrance of a headset. 

Software for the Arena Wireless Mic

The Arena Wireless Mic doesn’t need software to work, and, in fact, doesn’t actually come bundled with software — it doesn’t have a profile or settings in the SteelSeries GG Engine, though it shows up in Sonar, SteelSeries’ relatively robust companion software for its audio products (headsets, speakers, mics), as a standard input. 

Sonar has an independent 10-band microphone EQ, which you can use to tweak how your voice sounds (a handful of presets with names such as “less nasal” and “broadcast high pitch” are supplied, if you’re not sure where to begin). There are also several noise-reduction settings that you may or may not need, including AI-powered noise-cancellation (still in early access). These settings do a good job of helping improve noisy environments on headset mics (albeit, at the expense of audio quality), but weren’t as necessary with the Arena Wireless Mic, which already isolates noise well.

Battery Life on the Arena Wireless Mic

The Arena Wireless Mic gets 4.5 hours of battery life, which probably seems somewhat dismal compared to the best wireless headsets, which last anywhere from 24 to 300 hours. But this isn’t a headset, it’s a mic — and it’s much, much smaller and lighter than any gaming headset. There aren’t a ton of (or any) wearable wireless gaming mics on the market; lavalier mics can last anywhere from six to 10 hours, but they also have larger, heavier hidden battery packs. 

Considering how lightweight the Arena Wireless Mic is, 4.5 hours of battery life still isn’t particularly impressive, but it’s reasonable. Of course, this won’t necessarily make you feel better when your mic cuts out during a marathon streaming session. Luckily the Arena Wireless Mic has a fast-charging feature (15 minutes nets one hour of use), and can also be used while it’s charging. The status LED on the mic’s battery pack flashes different colors to indicate remaining battery life (green, yellow, red); when the battery is extremely low, the red mute LED on the microphone will blink rapidly.

Bottom Line

The Arena Wireless Mic is...interesting. It’s got plenty going for it — it’s lightweight and comfortable, and it works flawlessly with speakers. But that’s what it seems like — an accessory for speakers, not an additional $100 purchase on top of a $550 speaker system. 

The Arena Wireless Mic is very good at one thing — voice-isolation for chatting, video conferencing, and casual streaming. But it’s not very versatile; it doesn’t have multiple polar patterns like the HyperX QuadCast, it can’t record in hi-res 24-bit/96 kHz like the Beyerdynamic Fox USB Studio Microphone, and it can’t be mounted on a boom (or even switchers to the right side of your face). If you’re dead-set on listening to all audio loudly, through surround-sound speakers, the Arena Wireless Mic might work for you — otherwise, you may just want to put that $100 toward one of the best gaming headsets.  

SteelSeries recently introduced its first ultra-compact, 60-percent form factor keyboards, the Apex Pro Mini and the Apex Pro Mini Wireless. 

SteelSeries’ Apex Pro line notably features the brand’s OmniPoint adjustable actuation switches, and these new mini keyboards are the first to sport the next generation, OmniPoint 2.0. In addition to adjustable actuation, OmniPoint 2.0 introduces dual actuation — a feature that lets you set two actions, triggered at different actuation points, in a single keystroke. 

As innovative as this all might sound, switches with adjustable actuation and dual actuation aren’t unique to SteelSeries. Razer’s Analog Huntsman keyboards, including both the full-size Huntsman V2 Analog and the 60-percent Huntsman Mini Analog (which dropped in March 2022) have switches with adjustable actuation points and dual-step actuation. 

Still, since the Analog Huntsman keyboards are, well…analog, the Apex Pro Mini Wireless seems to be the first wireless keyboard with dual actuation. But it doesn’t come cheap: SteelSeries’ Apex Pro Mini costs $180, while the Apex Pro Mini Wireless costs $240 — more expensive than almost every keyboard on our list of best gaming keyboards. 

Specifications

Design and  Construction of SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini 

The Apex Pro Mini is a 60-percent keyboard, which is the smallest standard keyboard layout you’ll commonly encounter (smaller layouts, such as 40-percent aren’t mainstream). The 60-percent layout is actually fairly popular, despite lacking a number pad, navigation keys, a function row, and arrow keys. This ultra-compact layout leaves you just enough keys for basic typing, and is great for traveling as well as reclaiming desk space. 

The Apex Pro Mini has a simple, elegant design — maybe it’s a little too simple, but, hey, there’s not a lot of room for creativity on a 60-percent board. It has a dark gray (or maybe “light black”) chassis, plastic with an aluminum alloy backplate, and black double shot PBT keycaps. On the back are two sets of flip-out feet for adjusting tilt; each set adds approximately 4mm (0.16 inches) in height, though, so it’s not a large adjustment. 

The keyboard is 11.53 inches wide, 4.02 inches deep, and 1.59 inches tall (at its tallest), which makes it a little taller than, but otherwise almost identical in size to, Razer’s Huntsman Mini.

SteelSeries’ branding is nicely understated as usual, with the full logo on the back of the board in dark silver, and just a small SteelSeries logo on the front left corner (well, and the logo on the dedicated SS function key).

Both the wired and wireless versions have a USB-C port in the back left corner and come with a seven-foot-long detachable, braided USB-C to USB-A cable. The wireless version has a power switch that toggles between 2.4 GHz wireless and Bluetooth, and comes with a 2.4-GHz wireless USB-C dongle as well as a USB-C to USB-C adapter.

The back of the wired version features a silicone flap that lifts up to reveal an orange keycap puller. The wireless version also comes with a keycap puller — just no place to store it thanks to the 30-hour battery. Both versions of the keyboards are the same size, but the wired version is a touch heavier — 1.34 pounds versus 1.2 pounds.

Both the Apex Pro Mini and the Apex Pro Mini Wireless will come in US English, French, German, Japanese, Nordic, and UK English layouts, but the US English layout is the only layout available at launch.

Typing Experience on the Apex Pro Mini

The Apex Pro Mini is the first keyboard outfitted with the company’s new OmniPoint 2.0 switches, which — like the original OmniPoint switches — have a linear feel. Pressing a key is smooth and seamless, with no tactile bump or resistance. 

Although the switches themselves are silent, typing on this keyboard produces some pretty loud clacking, as well as some slightly hollow-sounding thunks as you bottom out against the aluminum backplate. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — I kind of liked the way this keyboard sounded. Like many writers, I prefer switches with tactile feedback for typing. But what I really like are clicky switches. The Apex Pro Mini is nowhere near as loud as a keyboard with clicky switches, such as my current daily driver, the Razer BlackWidow v3 with Razer Green switches, but it’s loud enough and clicky enough that the sound alone nearly made up for the lack of tactile feedback (nearly). 

The switches’ adjustable actuation doesn’t change how the keys feel, but it does change the overall typing experience. You can adjust the actuation from 0.2mm, which is so shallow that a stiff wind will trigger a keypress (seriously — at 0.2mm, I was able to type with some well-aimed blasts of canned air), all the way up to 3.8mm. If you really want to get into customizing the experience, you can adjust each key’s actuation point individually. 

I liked typing on the Apex Pro Mini, but I didn’t love it. I liked the way the double shot PBT keycaps felt — their slight texture helped keep my fingers from stray too far from the keys. That said, linear switches will always feel a little spongy to me, and the lack of tactile feedback did affect my typing speed and accuracy.

For reference, I tend to average around 120 words per minute (wpm), with around 98% accuracy, on a keyboard with tactile feedback. On the Apex Pro Mini, my fastest typing speed was 106 wpm with 96.3% accuracy — slower than my norm, though not by a lot. These results were achieved when I had the actuation set to the lowest (0.2mm). 

I also tested the keyboard with the actuation set to 1mm (103 wpm, 97.1% accuracy), 2mm (104 wpm, 96.8% accuracy), and 3.8mm (92 wpm, 89% accuracy). As you can see, my speed and accuracy dropped at the highest actuation setting — it appears I don’t usually type with full, 3.8mm-deep keypresses, and so I kept missing letters when the actuation was set higher.

Gaming Experience on the Apex Pro Mini

The Apex Pro Mini might not be my first pick for typing, but it’s much more attractive for gaming — which is what it’s made for, anyway. Both the Apex Pro Mini and the Apex Pro Mini Wireless are compatible with Windows, PlayStation, Xbox, and Mac OSX (though not all software features are supported on OSX). 

I had trouble getting used to secondary keybinds while I was using the Apex Pro Mini for writing, because they just didn’t feel intuitive to me (and the legends on the sides of the keys were hard to read, especially with the board’s bright RGB). When I’m typing, I expect the arrow keys to be…roughly where the arrow keys are on a full-size keyboard, not as secondary keybinds on W, A, S, D. 

Gaming, however, was a totally different story. The secondary keybinds were much more intuitive-feeling to me when I was gaming. And it didn’t matter which game — I went through my Steam library and played everything from Subnautica: Below Zero to Euro Truck Simulator 2 to Elden Ring (though I personally think Elden Ring is still best played with a controller). As a keyboard for typing, the 60-percent layout of the Apex Pro Mini is, honestly, just a little too small. But as a keyboard for gaming, it’s pretty good — I even adapted pretty quickly while playing Elder Scrolls Online, and I basically need two full keyboards’ worth of keys to feel satisfied in an MMO.

SteelSeries is really pushing the dual actuation on its new OmniPoint 2.0 switches. And it’s an interesting feature, once you figure out…what it is. 

It sounds relatively simple: Dual actuation — or, rather, dual action keypresses — lets you set two different actions, which are activated at different actuation points, for a single keypress. SteelSeries says this will let you do things like “walk and then run” or “pull out a grenade and then throw it.” 

It’s not quite as intuitive as it sounds, though. Dual action keypresses are not the same as function keys/secondary keybinds — you can’t activate the second action without activating the first. They’re also not just macros (though you can assign macros to either — or both — actions), because they work in a very specific order and the actions influence each other. 

Basically, there will definitely be a bit of a learning curve as you try to figure out exactly how to best implement dual actuation. I tried implementing the feature using SteelSeries’ example: Walk and then run. In Elder Scrolls Online, you walk (okay, default speed is more of a jog) using W, A, S, D, and you sprint by holding down Shift at the same time. I first attempted to put a second action (Left Shift) on the W key, thinking I could lightly press W to ‘walk’ and then hold it down to ‘run.’ This didn’t work, though, because the two actions are separate — the first action (W) doesn’t stay pressed when the second action actuates.

SteelSeries does give you some options for how the second action works, though — instead of just a single keypress, you can set the second action to play several times, repeat while pressed, toggle auto-repeat, or toggle hold. I first tried “repeat while pressed,” which didn’t work because repeating a key isn’t the same as holding a key (and pressing Shift five times in a row tries to activate Sticky Keys). But it also didn’t work because the first action also actuates on key release. This makes sense now that I think about it, but it wasn’t intuitive. You can choose whether the second action actuates on the key press or the key release, but because you’re passing the first actuation point twice, you’ll always get two actions. 

This is probably a little confusing, so here’s a straightforward example: Let’s say I bind a second action (‘K’) to the ‘O’ key, with the default action type (play once, on key press). If I press the ‘O’ key lightly and only actuate the first action, I will type ‘o.’ If I press the ‘O’ key harder, activating both actions, I will type ‘oko.’ This is because I actuate the first action twice, once on the way down and again on the way back up. I can change the second action type to play once, on key release, and now if I press the ‘O’ key hard, I’ll type ‘ook’ — the first action still actuates twice. 

The good news is that SteelSeries’ dual actuation feature is extremely customizable — in addition to keypresses, you can also assign device functions, media buttons, mouse buttons, and macros as the second action on a dual actuation key. I appreciate that SteelSeries allows you to create macros using numpad keys, which work even without a numpad (this is surprisingly difficult to find on TKLs). The OmniPoint 2.0 switches are also precise enough that I was able to press lightly and only actuate the top action with decent accuracy.

Features and Software on the Apex Pro Mini

To customize and configure the Apex Pro Mini, you’ll use SteelSeries GG, the brand’s software suite for all of its products. was able to test out an official update to the software, which is robust — though not perfect — and allows for extremely detailed fine-tuning of the keyboard. 

The Apex Pro Mini has onboard memory that allows up to five different onboard profiles in which you can customize all 61 primary keybindings, 60 secondary keybindings, adjust the actuation and dual actuation of all 61 keys individually, and program dual actuation keybinds — of which a maximum of eight are permitted. The GG platform makes this all pretty easy, and even lets you live-preview things like actuation level (which works…most of the time). 

The 60-percent layout means that just about every key does double-duty, and most of the Apex Pro Mini’s keys have preset secondary (or “Meta”) keybinds that are printed on the side of the keycaps that faces the user. They’re printed in white but do not allow for shine-through, which probably looks better overall but makes it difficult to see the functions. All keys except for the dedicated SS function key can be assigned a custom secondary keybind. 

Pressing the SS function key causes the keys with assigned secondary keybinds to light up in SteelSeries’ signature orange — a nice touch…even if it’s less useful in practice, when almost all of the keys have secondary keybinds.

You can adjust the actuation point of each key individually in SteelSeries GG using a slider or by typing in your desired actuation level. There are 37 levels, from 0.2mm to 3.8mm. The Apex Pro Mini’s keys have a total travel distance of 4mm, so 3.8mm is basically a full keypress. For reference, all Cherry MX and Kailh switches (except low-profile versions) have an actuation point of 2mm. SteelSeries helpfully points out that the switches on Razer’s Huntsman Mini Analog keyboard only have an adjustable actuation range of 1.5 - 3.6mm.

The Apex Pro Mini’s wider range does allow for more flexible customization when it comes to dual actuation, however. You can adjust the second actuation level of each individual key in the SteelSeries GG software as well, although this isn’t that useful, because you can only program a maximum of eight dual actuation keybindings at once. You can program these dual actuation keybinds on any key except for the SS function key.

Actuation point can also be adjusted manually using the keyboard (the default secondary keybinds are I and O; I increases actuation distance, O decreases it). You can set 10 different actuation levels, which you’ll see on the keyboard — numbers 1 through 0 will light up to indicate actuation level (1 is the shortest, 0 is the longest). This method trumps custom per-key actuation levels and adjusts all keys at once.

SteelSeries GG also lets you customize the keyboard’s per-key RGB. The software allows you to adjust each key’s lighting individually, with custom effects using multiple colors and different animation patterns. The software includes several presets with names such as “Prism” (rainbow), “West Coast” (blue-yellow-orange), and my favorite “Vapor Dreams” (pink-purple-blue-teal). I’m a sucker for the vaporwave aesthetic.

Okay, what I should say is that the software will allow you to do all that…hopefully, in the future. The illumination section of SteelSeries GG is sort of broken at the moment — I was able to adjust some of the per-key RGB on the Apex Pro Mini Wireless before it froze and left me with a blank screen, and I wasn’t able to do anything except cycle through presets on the Apex Pro Mini. SteelSeries also says it will allow you to set reactive lighting in addition to active lighting, but this feature isn’t yet available.

Bottom Line

SteelSeries’ Apex Pro Mini packs a lot into a tiny package. A lot. Maybe too much. Do you really need to be able to adjust the dual actuation point for each individual key, especially when you can only program eight dual-action keypresses at a time? 

While I’m not a big fan of the 60-percent layout, I’ll be the first to admit that this keyboard surprised me with how relatively intuitive and easy-to-use it was to use for certain activities, such as gaming. Gaming on the Apex Pro Mini was so seamless, I didn’t miss my function keys or navigation keys at all. (I did miss the numpad — though not while gaming — because I have an unhealthy dependency on the Alt code for the em-dash.) 

The Apex Pro Mini definitely feels like a bigger keyboard than it is, and that’s pretty impressive considering it is very, very small. It’s not my favorite keyboard for typing, but that wasn’t a surprise — linear switches are never going to be the writer’s favorite switch — and the clacky sound and lightly-textured keycaps do make it feel better. 

But if you’re not feeling all of the Apex Pro Mini’s many, many features, there are some very similar small form-factor keyboards that are much cheaper. Razer’s Analog Huntsman Mini even has adjustable actuation switches with dual-action keypresses — and if you don’t care about changing your actuation point, the HyperX Alloy Origins 60 has a very similar look and build for less than half of what the Apex Pro Mini costs. If you want something customizable — but on the hardware end, the Mountain Everest 60 has hot-swappable switches and can be purchased with a detachable numpad.

All that said, my biggest criticism about the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini is that it gives you too many options and too many layers of customization…and that doesn’t really seem all that bad on such a limited layout.

The SteelSeries Apex 3 RGB gaming keyboard offers plenty of options for gamers who like customizable features and multi-platform compatibility. This wired gaming keyboard has a variety of specs to take advantage of ranging from customizable LEDs to the ability to program and save custom macros into separate profiles. The going rate for this keyboard is $49, but right now it’s listed at just $34.

According to SteelSeries, the Apex 3 is an IP32 water-resistant keyboard which also gives it an extra level of protection against dust. The Apex 3 is full-sized with a numeric pad off to the side. While its keys aren't mechanical, they are rated to 20 million keypresses.

The Apex 3 gaming keyboard is capable of saving custom macro combinations to individual profiles and has a key dedicated to swapping between these profiles on the keyboard. There is also a dedicated multimedia button alongside a volume rotary encoder for media.

Rather than per-key lighting, the SteelSeries Apex 3 has 10-Zone RGB LED support. These zones can be programmed with custom colors or effects and saved to individual profiles. The brightness of the backlight LEDs can also be adjusted. It has a magnetic wrist rest that can be easily removed and reattached.

Visit the SteelSeries Apex 3 gaming keyboard product page at Amazon for more details and purchase options and remember to take a look at our list of Amazon promo codes. If you’d like to see what else the market has to offer right now, check out our list of Memorial Day deals and other various tech deals. We’ll be updating these lists as the day progresses so be sure to check back regularly to get an idea of what else is available throughout the holiday sale.

Gaming headsets are designed around a lot of factors — comfort, connectivity, latency, battery life, price. Audio quality is usually sidelined, if not completely overlooked, in favor of epic explosions and booming bass beats. SteelSeries’ Arctis lineup of gaming headsets is already unique in this regard, with its focus on natural-sounding, balanced audio and understated aesthetics. 

The latest addition to the Arctis lineup, however, hardly looks like a gaming headset at all. The Arctis Nova Pro comes in two iterations, wired and wireless, and sports a brand-new aesthetic, hi-fi-capable custom-built 40mm speaker drivers, and debuts alongside the “official” launch of the company’s Sonar audio software. The wired Arctis Nova Pro is hi-fi ready and is packaged with SteelSeries GameDAC Gen 2. The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless doesn’t come with the GameDAC Gen 2, but is instead packed with convenient features such as a swappable battery system that allows for essentially infinite battery life, simultaneous game and mobile audio (via 2.4-GHz wireless and Bluetooth), and active noise cancellation (ANC) with an optional transparency mode.

It seems like SteelSeries is trying to do it all with the Arctis Nova Pro/Wireless: Hi-fi audio, travel-friendly comfort and convenience, multi-platform connectivity. The Arctis Nova Pro/Wireless is for gamers, audiophiles, work calls…anyone with a commute? This kind of ambitious multi-tasking usually doesn’t turn out very well, but I spent a couple of days with the $349 Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and I might just be convinced. This premium pair of cans is among the best gaming headsets you can buy.

Specs for SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro

Design and Comfort of SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro

I’ll be honest — and I realize I’m probably in the minority here — I’ve never been a big fan of the way SteelSeries’ Arctis lineup looks. The flat, uniform aesthetic of the oval earcups just isn’t my style. 

Perhaps the company is just trying to make its new headset stand out, or perhaps someone on SteelSeries’ design team agrees with me, because the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless definitely deviates from the well-known Arctis silhouette. The new headset cuts a sleek, understated profile in matte black and gunmetal gray, and has plenty of luxe accents — a textured headband strap, leatherette-covered earcups, machined metal speaker plates bearing a refined, tonal SteelSeries logo. Thanks to the totally seamless design of the retractable microphone, this headset could easily be mistaken for a pair of Apple-backed luxury lifestyle headphones. 

Don’t let the new look scare you, though — it’s not too different. The Nova Pro Wireless is built from the same general template as the rest of the Arctis lineup, and it retains the lightweight, comfortable form-factor and fit that makes the series so popular.

Like other Arctis headsets, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless has a sturdy, rigid headband (steel, apropos of its high-end status) paired with an adjustable suspension strap for a customized, comfortable fit. In past headsets, the ‘ski-goggle strap’ suspension style has been both praised for comfort and criticized for its tendency to stretch out over time. In the Nova Pro Wireless, the strap is no longer elastic adjustable with velcro; instead, it’s a “flexible tension band” that attaches to fixed attachment points inside the headband. This new band seems like it will probably hold its shape better than the elastic style (if only because it’s not being stretched back on itself). 

In addition to the flexible tension band, the headset has height-adjustable, rotating earcups on pivoting hangers — this rounds out the four points in what SteelSeries calls its “ComfortMAX” system. Marketing nicknames aside, the company has definitely done something right, because this is one of the most comfortable headsets I’ve ever worn.

The earcups are large with deep padding covered in premium-looking faux leather — they fit snugly around my ears and formed such a fantastic seal that, in the relative quiet of my home office, I was unable to tell whether I had ANC turned on. The left earcup houses most of the controls, including the power button, a microphone mute button, and the volume/control wheel, as well as the retractable microphone and a 3.5mm audio jack. The right earcup has the Bluetooth button. 

In the box, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless headset comes with a wireless base station, two USB-C (to USB-A) cables, a 3.5mm audio cable, a microphone pop filter, two rechargeable batteries, and a drawstring bag/carrying case.  

Audio Performance of SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro

The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless boasts 40mm custom drivers with a dual diaphragm design, a wireless frequency response of 10Hz to 22,000Hz, and a wired frequency response of 10Hz to 40,000Hz. Audio quality on the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is very good — spectacular for a gaming headset and excellent for a pair of lifestyle headphones. Is it on par with audiophile-grade gear, though? Not…quite, but that’s partly because of its wireless limitations. 

The wired Arctis Nova Pro is just like the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, except it’s, well, wired. It also comes with SteelSeries GameDAC Gen2 instead of a wireless base station. The GameDAC Gen2 acts as both a base station, where you can toggle between input sources and adjust EQ and other audio settings, and also as an ESS Sabre Quad-DAC, supplying the wired headset with a purer signal (with lower levels of noise/distortion), and boosting its audio resolution. In other words — the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is hi-fi capable, but you won’t get there without a wired connection and SteelSeries GameDAC Gen2. (Well, I suppose you could also use a different DAC. Still, it feels like SteelSeries could have bundled both the wired and wireless headsets with the GameDAC Gen2.)

The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless’ hi-fi capabilities aren’t overly important, especially when the headset produces excellent audio by most standards. The headset did especially well in my game testing, with detailed, multi-layered audio that quickly reminded me why I don’t play games like Alien: Isolation while wearing noise-canceling headphones. The headset's ANC has a couple of kinks to work out — it didn't perform nearly as well on the streets of DTLA as any of my headphones from Bose's QuietComfort line — but it did an excellent job of mimicking the terrifying vacuum of space in the relative quiet of my home office. In-game audio was impressively immersive, even without tweaking the EQ.

The headset also sounded very good as I played through my audio testing playlist, keeping with the more natural (and less bass-heavy) profile we’re used to seeing from SteelSeries’ Arctis line. It’s still a gaming headset and it’s not perfectly flat; the lower-mids got a little cramped in Lorde’s Royals, and the bass kick was slightly muddied in Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy. This isn’t really as much of a ding as it might sound like, though — I’m comparing these to my reference headphones, Sennheiser’s HD 800 S. 

Microphone on SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro

The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless has a fully-retractable bidirectional “ClearCast Gen 2” microphone, which features noise canceling and has a frequency response of 100 - 6,500Hz and a sensitivity of -38dBV/Pa.

The microphone’s performance is excellent: It picks up crisp, clear vocals and does a pretty good job of minimizing background noise. It doesn’t make you sound overly breathy, harsh, or nasal, and you also have the option of tweaking the mic’s EQ in the accompanying Sonar software. In my testing the mic was able to consistently filter out my aggressively clicky keyboard, but only managed to do the same with my erratically barking Pomeranian about 70% of the time. 

The mic attaches to the headset with a thin, flexible wire that’s easy to pull out but can be a little tricky to push back in. There's a mute button on the left earcup so your teammates don’t have to hear you fumbling to put it away.

Features and Software of SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro

The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is made with multi-platform gamers in mind. The headset comes with a wireless base station, which can connect to two audio sources (such as a PC and a PS5) via dual USB-C ports. You can then use the base station as a “command center” to switch between sources and adjust EQ and other audio settings. The base station can be controlled from the base station (using the multi-function volume/scroll knob and touch button), or from the headset using the volume wheel. 

The base station also has line-in and line-out ports, and doubles as a charging dock for the second battery — so you’ll always have a fully-charged backup battery easily accessible. The base station is not the same as the GameDAC Gen2, which comes with the wired Arctis Nova Pro. 

SteelSeries’ Sonar Audio Software Suite officially supports the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. Sonar is part of the SteelSeries GG software suite, and has been in Early Access mode since it debuted last year with the Arctis 7+ and Arctis 7P+. Sonar features a gamer-oriented parametric EQ with up to 10 frequency bands, virtual 7.1 surround sound/360-degree spatial audio, and separate EQ settings for game audio, team chat, and your microphone. 

Sonar is pretty robust for gaming audio software, and I can definitely see it overwhelming the average user. The software does come loaded with presets for several popular titles — including Apex Legends, Dota 2, League of Legends, Fortnite, GTA V, Halo Infinite, Minecraft, etc. — but the list is hardly exhaustive. Given how much SteelSeries has talked this software up, I’d like to see more instruction on both the gaming side and the music/listening side.  

Battery Life of SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro

The Arctis Nova Pro retains the game-changing swappable battery system we’ve seen in a handful of previous SteelSeries headsets, including the Arctis Pro and the Siberia 800. The headset comes with two rechargeable batteries, each of which carries a 22-hour charge (18 hours if you’re also running Bluetooth). One battery powers the headset while the other charges in the base station — when the headset runs low, just pop off the magnetic speaker plate on the right earcup and swap the batteries.

This battery system is incredibly convenient, as it gives you essentially unlimited untethered uptime, so long as you’re near the base station. But what if you’re not near the base station? No problem — lift up the magnetic plate on the left earcup and you’ll find a convenient USB-C charging port.

Bottom Line

SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is, according to the company, a brand-new product, built from the ground-up. But… it isn’t, not really — and that’s not a bad thing. The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is more like the culmination of all the things that we love about the Arctis line — a commitment to high-quality audio; comfortable, customized fit; and a design that lets gamers game without blasting a rainbow of LEDs in every direction. With the addition of travel-friendly features such as ANC and a USB-C charging port, SteelSeries really does seem to be making a play for “the only headset you’ll ever need,” and… it’s working?

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless retails for $349, which is pretty steep for a gaming headset — but much more palatable if they’re also your go-to headphones. (The only situation I don’t see these faring well in is a sweaty workout, but that’s why we have Airpods.)

Steelseries continues its streak of producing some of the best gaming mice with the Prime Mini, which will be a breath of fresh air for gamers with larger hands who have felt left out by other small-footprint mice. The shape of the Prime Mini allows it to sit comfortably in hands of various sizes – which isn't always the case in ultralight offerings. 

The Prime Mini is aimed directly at competitive gamers with an extemely light, detachable cable to aid portability and super-smooth mouse feet for nearly friction-free movement. Button placement also feels just right – everything is within reach, regardless of the size of your hands, and it feels like care was taken to ensure accidental clicks don’t occur.

While not a true “one size fits all” mouse, the Prime Mini does come very close. Some gamers with very large hands may need to make some adjustments to their preferred grip, and not all design choices present in the Prime Mini will be to everyone’s taste.  Read on to find out if the Prime Mini is a good fit for you.

Steelseries Prime Mini Specs

Design and Comfort of the Steelseries Prime Mini

The Steelseries Prime Mini is true to the Prime series mission of providing a professional-grade gaming mouse in a small, lightweight package, and it’s even smaller and lighter than previous models. The Prime Mini weighs in at 61 grams (0.13 pounds) versus the 69 g (0.15 pounds) of its larger sibling, and it’s a full 12 g lighter than its wireless counterpart. The design is understated, opting for sleek curvature over sharp angles, and the finish is an attractive matte black with the Steelseries logo in gray at the base of the mouse. The scroll wheel features the only RGB lighting on the entire mouse.

Ultralight gaming mice are primarily aimed at serious competitive gamers and esports pros, as the reduced weight and smaller footprint promote an economy of motion. This not only provides a direct competitive benefit, it can also reduce strain and fatigue.

The button layout is simple and should feel familiar to anyone who has used a Steelseries mouse before. There are two slightly offset primary right and left click buttons with a notched scroll wheel at the center and two side buttons on the left side of the mouse’s body. In place of a typical thumbrest is an indentation in the side of the body below the side buttons – not only was this comfortable, but it also helped me avoid accidentally clicking the side buttons. There is a button that governs DPI switching and polling rate adjustment is on the underside of the mouse above the sensor – short pressing this button cycles through DPI settings and long pressing cycles through polling rates. The five readily accessible buttons (including scroll wheel click) are programmable, which can make up for the lack of an accessible DPI toggle button.

The underside of the mouse features what Steelseries refers to as “100% pure virgin PTFE” glide skates, and they do a great job of keeping the mouse stable while adding minimal friction to movement. The feel of the skates does take some getting used to, as they cause the mouse to glide so smoothly that it seems like things could go off the rails at any moment. After a short adjustment period, the movement felt natural.

The Prime Mini’s buttons are very responsive, backed by the Prime Prestige Optical Magnetic switches. The mechanism is quite different from the more common switch types in that the spring is held in place with a magnet so each application of force and release is consistent. The click registers when the spring breaks a beam of infrared light. I did not notice a significant difference in actuation speed but the action did feel more consistent. The trade off is that the more common Omron switches feel less stiff and "snappier", more tactile.

The overall design of the Prime Mini emphasizes simplicity and solves some common problems with small footprint mice in that the front of the mouse sits a bit higher than most mice of similar, diminutive stature. The backside of the mouse slopes downward at a more gradual angle than you’ll normally see elsewhere, making the Prime Mini more comfortable for larger hands. As a gamer with sizable paws, I was pleasantly surprised by this; here was a small mouse I could use comfortably for long periods of time. The Prime Mini is still too small for me to comfortably use my preferred palm grip, witha finger grip being much more suitable, but I suspect only gamers with larger mitts will face similar issues. 

The cabling is lengthy (2m / 6.6ft ), braided and detachable.  Despite its length, the microfiber material keeps the cable light.

Gaming Performance with the Steelseries Prime Mini

The Prime Mini performs admirably in games, and the Pixart-developed TrueMove Pro Gaming Sensor is on par with Logitech’s Hero sensor and Razer’s Focus+ Sensor in terms of accuracy. Movement felt about as close to one to one as you can get, and despite the adjustment period necessary to acclimate to the smooth gliding mouse feet, I never felt like I was overshooting my target. 

The Prime Mini is particularly well suited to competitive FPS titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, so that’s where I put it to use most. Despite my affinity for heavier pointers, I found that the Prime Mini’s accurate sensor and smooth action made me less apt to over-correct and stop short due to the dramatic difference in weight between it and my beloved G502. Before long, I was lining up and executing headshots with ease. 

The Prime Mini likewise fared well in MOBA titles like DOTA 2 – I was able to make moves with pinpoint accuracy and cover the map smoothly. Much of this freedom of movement is due to the extremely light, microfiber mesh cable Steelseries has employed for the Prime series. The light feel of the mouse is complimented by a cable that doesn’t weigh it down and create drag – a common issue with super lightweight gaming mice.

I found that the default DPI settings worked fine for these titles, though it would have been beneficial to have a DPI toggle button that was easily accessible during gameplay instead of on the underside of the mouse.  Remapping the side mouse buttons to accommodate these adjustments does resolve this issue, but some MOBA players are going to wish for more buttons.  I personally didn’t consider this much of an issue because I prefer traditional keyboard bindings for abilities. This ease of movement also benefited me in RTS titles like Total War: Warhammer.

As good as the Prime Mini is, I still missed having a dedicated DPI downshift or “Sniper” button for making precise aiming adjustments while it’s held down. This is a common gaming mouse feature that I’ve come to rely on over the years. Its omission is somewhat understandable, considering the limited real estate on offer on the Prime Mini and the desire to keep things light. Despite this, I didn’t notice significant performance degradation on my part while using the Prime Mini, and that is significant given my general aversion to ultra light gaming mice.

Features and Software with the Steelseries Prime Mini

The Prime Mini makes use of the Steelseries GG Suite, with the primary point of interest being the Steelseries Engine software. From within the software, you can remap the mouse’s button functions, build and assign macros, adjust acceleration, deceleration, angle snapping and sensitivity levels, change the polling rate and play with the lighting of the single RGB zone on the Prime Mini’s Scroll Wheel.

Angle snapping effectively “smoothes out” the line your mouse pointer travels at by predicting movement in a straight line.  This can be very useful for design and productivity tasks but it is best left alone for gaming applications.

Sensitivity adjustment can be edited in five increments, by default this is set to a minimum of 400 DPI and a maximum of 3,200 DPI.  The absolute minimum is 50 DPI and the absolute maximum is 18,000 DPI.

There aren’t a bevy of lighting options available, but the other customization tools at your disposal more than make up for that. It certainly helps that Engine is extremely easy to use, with a clean, clutter free UI.

Bottom Line

The Steelseries Prime Mini is a minimalist, thoughtfully designed, ultra light gaming mouse offered at a very attainable price ($59.99 at press time) that holds its own against pricier competitors like the Razer Viper. The Prime Mini also has a slight edge for having superior ergonomics – this is a rare tiny mouse that actually feels good in larger hands, though some compromises still need to be made to grip style (a palm grip is simply not going to work if you’ve got big hands). 

Thoughtful touches like super light, microfiber cabling and an indented thumb grip beneath the side buttons help make the Prime Mini comfortable and effective for long sessions by eliminating cable drag and making sure you don’t slip and misclick by accident. These may seem like small quality of life considerations, but in the context of heated, competitive play, they really matter.

While the Prime Mini is a great mouse, there are a few design choices that may not suit your taste. By default, DPI toggling is mapped to a button on the underside of the mouse, so accessibility during gameplay isn’t really possible without remapping the buttons.. The “Virgin” PTFE mouse skates can also take some time to acclimate to due to their smoothness if you’re used to movement with a touch more resistance. Lastly, the mouse buttons don’t feel quite as snappy as buttons backed by the more typical Omron mechanical switches found in many competing gaming mice. Most of these issues are a matter of taste, but since overall feel is extremely important, they are worth mentioning.

 Steelseries has created an ultralight gaming mouse that still feels comfortable in larger hands with very little by way of compromise. As a gamer with monster paws, this isn’t going to replace the larger, weightier mice I generally prefer, but it was a very pleasant surprise. Accurate, fast, comfortable, well designed and affordable, the Prime Mini has earned its place among the best ultralight gaming mice currently available.

If you’re in the market for a good PC gaming headset with a lot of versatility, the SteelSeries 7+ should be a contender. I reviewed the SteelSeries Arctis 7P+ not too long ago, and the 7+ is very similar to the 7P+. The two models are so similar, some bloggers and media outlets even decided to review them together as a pair. Meanwhile, we’ve opted for separate reviews, as we didn’t want to delay our 7P+ review until we could get a 7+ to accompany it, but we still wanted to give proper attention to the PC peripheral.

The most notable difference between the 7+ and the 7P+ is the color scheme, as the 7P+ is white and blue to match the PlayStation 5, while the 7+ looks more like a typical PC headset given its all-black color scheme. Overall, Arctis 7+ is optimized for PC, while the Arctis 7+ is better for PS5 gamers. If you’re a multi-platform gamer, you can get away with using just one or the other, though, and it’s not necessary to purchase both, given that either model has such broad compatibility.

The SteelSeries Arctis 7+ is made primarily for PC gamers, but you can also use it on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Android phones and tablets. A wired and wireless headset with 2.4 GHz lossless audio, SteelSeries Sonar, and a noise-canceling mic, this headset will easily fit into your gaming regimen regardless of your needs. When compared to other headsets in the same price category, like the Logitech G733, the 7+ holds its own as one of the best gaming headsets under $200.

Specifications

Design and Comfort

The SteelSeries Arctis 7+ is a durable and well-made headset. Whether it’s for a gamer who meticulously cares for their peripherals or someone who tends to be tougher on their devices during heated matches, it should hold up well over time. I have a teenage son who often accidentally breaks gaming peripherals, and the Arctis 7+ held up to his harsh treatment.

The headband frame is made of lightweight steel, and there are only two pivot points on each side, so there aren’t many weak points. Even with only two pivot points, you can still adjust the 7+’s earcups to get the perfect feel on your head. There’s one pivot point above the ear cups that allows the cups to swivel left and right, and another on the ear cups that lets you pivot the cups towards and away from the tops and bottoms of the ears. Each pivot point has ample support, so it’s quite difficult to break this headset.

The ski-goggle-style band also makes it possible to adjust the size without creating another weak point while still promoting optimal comfort. While some headband-style headsets slide up and down to adjust sizing, ski-goggle bands use an elastic band to create more or less tension against the head. The elastic band moves, but the steel frame itself stays in place, making the headset last longer because there are fewer weak points on the frame.

The buttons and controls are ideally positioned on the 7+ for easy access during gaming. The volume button is on the back of the left ear cup, and the mute button is right above that dial. On the right ear cup, there’s a chat mix dial to control chat/vocal volume against game volume. The retractable, bi-directional microphone pulls out of the left ear cup. The microphone is easy to grab and pull out when you’re in the middle of gaming, but since the microphone wire is flexible, it can be a bit difficult to put back into place when in the middle of heavy gameplay.

The elastic ski-goggle suspension band also sits so gently against my head that I can’t even feel it. Plus, the ear cups are tight enough to provide some passive noise cancellation, but they don’t cause any sort of aching or uncomfortable feeling.

The 7+ is one of the most comfortable headsets I’ve ever worn, and it’s one of the few headsets I can wear all day long without getting soreness somewhere on my head, ears or temple. If a gaming headset is uncomfortable (think pressing too hard on the ears, digging into the side of the head, not fitting properly), it can completely ruin the experience. Even if the headset sounds great, few people will want to wear a headset that causes pain or discomfort. I’m happy to report that the 7+ does not fall in that category.

Audio Performance

The Arctis 7+ boasts exceptional sound, with 40 mm neodymium drivers, a frequency response of 20 to 20,000 Hz to cover a range of lows, mids and highs, plus a high sensitivity rating of 98dB (meaning the headphones can get relatively loud with little power). Audio is vivid and clean, and when in-game, I can easily hear far-in-the-background noises like raindrops and footsteps and up-close sounds like speech and gunfire. I can even hear the direction from which a sound is approaching, given the clear audio and Sonar feature (more on that later).

Music never overpowered speech in-game, and the sound profile truly enhanced the gaming experience. In Call of Duty: Cold War on PC, I could easily hear where weapon fire was coming from, which helped me determine a shooter’s actual in-game location.

For music, the benchmark test songs I frequently use when evaluating headphones and headsets are “Titanium” by David Guetta featuring Sia, “Comedown” by Bush, and “Chains” by Nick Jonas. I choose these tracks because they have a variety of low, mid, and high tones. The Arctis 7+ sounded vivid and clean when playing each of these tracks. I could hear the lyrics, bass and mids, and nothing was overpowering. I was also able to use the equalizer to adjust the bass and treble up or down and make each track sound its best. However, one negative with the 7+ is that I consistently noticed a slight hiss sound when I played each music track on full blast. I had to lower the volume slightly to get the hiss sound to diminish.

Overall, I was rather impressed with the sound quality on the SteelSeries Arctis 7+, though, even more so than I was with the 7P+ a few months ago. This is likely due to recent software updates to the 7+ and SteelSeriesGG software that improved the sound landscape of this series, as I noticed when I added the Arctis 7+ to SteelSeriesGG, it prompted me to update the software. I also found the headset’s audio was clearer and louder on the default settings.

Microphone

The SteelSeries Arctis 7+ is a neat-looking headset, but the retractable microphone is a hit or miss feature that some people will like better than others. As mentioned before, pulling the mic out feels natural, but putting the mic back into place can be awkward because the wire is flexible and doesn’t always go back into place quickly and intuitively.

In terms of the mic’s audio performance, the 7+’s microphone has noise cancellation, a frequency response of 100 to 6500 Hz and a sensitivity rating of -38 dBV/Pa. When you game with friends or speak to someone on a Zoom call, they’ll have no problem hearing you clearly even when there’s background noise. The person on the other end of the mic won’t be able to hear keyboard clicks, quiet talking, or other subtle background noises. Given the sound quality on this mic, you could absolutely use this headset for work meetings. This can effectively serve as a multipurpose device—a headset for gaming, a headset for work, and headphones for music or streaming. I just wish it were easier to push back into the headset.

Software

The SteelSeriesGG software is quite comprehensive for a headset software suite, allowing you to adjust everything from equalizer settings to audio outputs. The equalizer has presets (like flat, bass boost, smiley or focus) or you can set your own custom settings, which I found especially useful when listening to music.

As you explore the different presets, you’ll find some are ideal for FPS games, while others are best for open-world games, etc. For instance, the smiley preset emphasizes in-game action noises like steps, fire, and approaching sounds, so it’s a good preset for battle royale games or FPS games, while bass boost is a good option to use when listening to music. You can also adjust the power options (changing the auto-off time), adjust the mic volume settings and preview what the microphone sounds like to make sure it’s what you want.

What really makes the 7+ is the Sonar feature, which completely takes gaming to the next level by allowing for directional sound, 7.1 virtual surround sound, and audio output control. There are Sonar presets for specific games too, like Rainbow Six Siege, COD Warzone, and Apex Legends. You can configure your chat presets for broadcasting, clarity, balance, and more. Designed specifically for in-game audio, I think SteelSeries Sonar sounds more realistic than other sound technologies like Dolby Atmos for gaming. For music or streaming, I prefer Atmos. However, this SteelSeries headset still sounds pleasant for music and streaming, enough so that it can serve as an all-purpose headset, and you won’t feel like you’re missing out in any one area. The Sonar feature truly makes it possible for you to fine-tune your mic and speaker just the way you want it. Plus, since it’s an early access feature, it might even gain additional features and perks with time.

Wireless Experience

The wireless connectivity on the SteelSeries Arctis 7+ is reliable and clear overall. You can connect just about any device that has a USB-C port. The 2.4 Ghz wireless allows for lossless, low-latency audio, with a range of around 40 feet. The Arctis 7+ does not have Bluetooth though.

The advertised 40-foot range is pretty accurate for the most part, but I did notice that when I went out into my garage (a room with thick walls), the range shortened significantly to around 20 feet. However, the 40-foot range maintained for the most part as long as I didn’t have any obstructions in the way. I tested the wireless range on a number of devices (a Samsung Android phone, an Amazon tablet, a gaming PC and a PlayStation 5). I had one computer that didn’t have a USB-C port, but the package included a USB-A to USB-C female adapter, which allowed me to wirelessly connect via a USB-A port. There’s also an included cable that allows you to have a wired connection via 3.5 mm.

SteelSeries advertises the battery lasts around 30 hours before needing a charge, and I found this to be accurate during testing. USB-C fast charging even allows for an extremely quick charge, where you get a few hours of battery from a quick 10 or 15-minute charge.

Bottom Line

The SteelSeries Arctis 7+ is an ideal all-purpose headset for PC gamers. Because it works so well across plenty of use cases, including chatting and listening to music, it’s also a good option for anyone who plays on console and PC, or for those who use the same headset for work and PC gaming.

Provided it fits your head well, this is one of the most comfortable headsets you’ll find, with excellent sound both in-game and while listening to music. I wish there were a few more sizing adjustment options, but few headsets offer as many perks as the 7+ for an affordable, $170 price point.

Update 8/25/2021 1:50 p.m. ET: A SteelSeries spokesperson told Tom's Hardware that SteelSeries is "aware of the issue identified" and "proactively disabled the launch of the SteelSeries installer that is triggered when a new SteelSeries device is plugged in."

"This immediately removes the opportunity for an exploit, and we are working on a software update that will address the issue permanently and be released soon," the spokesperson said. 

Original article 8/25/2021 10:45 p.m. ET: 

We have recently reported new vulnerabilities found with Razer devices. The Synapse software allows malicious actors to obtain admin rights in the Windows 10 operating system without any authentication. Today, a new report suggests that SteelSeries and its accompanying software for peripherals is also struck by the same type of exploit.

When security researchers found a vulnerability in Razer software, it seems to have opened Pandora's box. In fact, many peripheral makers like Razer and SteelSeries have been shipping software vulnerable to exploits that grant admin privileges to unauthorized users.

Lawrence Amer of 0xsp has discovered that Windows automatically downloads the accompanying software and installs it using admin rights when you plug a SteelSeries device into the computer. You have to agree to license rights during the install process, and that's where the exploit begins. There's a small "Learn more" button, leading to a link you open in Internet Explorer. In the upper right corner, there is a little cog that you can click for tools. From there, you can click File > Save and open the CMD window in admin mode from that file explorer. It's really just that simple. 

More concerning, another security researcher, an0n(@an0n_r0), has proven that it's possible to trigger the software download and installation of SteelSeries software even if you don't own a SteelSeries device. He just used his Android phone that mimicked the SteelSeries keyboard, all while using the USBgadget generator tool.

This is concerning, but it could be worse. This exploit requires physical access, so most users don't have to worry about it. A potential attacker would need an unlocked home screen, which is not easy if the user has protected the computer with a password or any sort of authentication.

Honeycomb-style mice are officially a trend. So many gaming vendors have started offering this type of pointing device that it’s hard to ignore when shopping for the best gaming mouse. But while the hole-filled chassis allows for a lighter weight that makes mouse control a breeze, the design isn’t for everyone.

The SteelSeries Aerox 3 ($60 as of writing, also available in wireless form for $100) does the honeycomb trend right. There’s exuberant RGB, a weight that’s impressive even among other honeycomb mice and a friendly shape. But that doesn’t mean I’m fully ready to commit to this trend yet. 

SteelSeries Aerox 3 Specs 

Design and Comfort of SteelSeries Aerox 3

At a mere 2.01 ounces, the Aerox 3 is for those who want something ultralight in their hands when gaming. Light doesn’t mean it feels cheap or breakable though, as the Aerox 3 feels surprisingly sturdy for something with a bunch of holes in it. In fact, the mouse’s ABS plastic chassis is IP54-certified, which means dust shouldn’t be able to enter in large enough quantities to damage the mouse, and it also won’t get damaged from splashes of water. 

Now let’s talk about the look of those holes. Personally, I was worried that the Aerox 3’s honeycomb pattern would trigger my trypophobia. But the amount of space between each holes saves the Aerox 3 from looking too creepy.

The holes also benefitted the feel of the mouse. During long gaming sessions the mouse’s porous design made it feel less sweaty. Plus, the holes provide a mode illuminating view of the Aerox 3’s three RGB elements (top third, middle third and bottom third). 

The Aerox 3’s shape is ambidextrous but the location of the side buttons favors right-handers. For a true ambidextrous mouse, look for something like the Logitech G Pro Wireless, which has swappable slide buttons. 

Of course, SteelSeries isn’t the only gaming vendor pushing hole-filled, lightweight mice. The Aerox 3 is similar in design to the Glorious Model O-, which also has an ambidextrous build spotted with holes. Our review focus is neglibly lighter (2.01 ounces versus 2.04 ounces). The honeycomb chassis saves the mouse 0.63 ounces in weight, according to SteelSeries, while the circuit board is said to be 50% thinner than standard. 

The light weight combined with mice’s four small, but effective, PTFE feet helping eliminate friction made it easy to glide gracefully across any surface, whether I put it on my best RGB mouse pad, a desk, fabric or skin. Thanks here is also due to the mouse’s optical sensor (more on that later).  

Contrastingly, I’m admittedly a heavy-handed user, which made adjusting to this mouse’s minimal weight more difficult. On the other hand, my dainty wrist appreciated what little work it had to do to get this mouse moving. 

SteelSeries’ Aerox 3 and Glorious’ Model O- have similar dimensions, although the Model O- has a taller hump. The Aerox 3 is 4.75 inches long, 2.28 inches wide in the front and 2.64 inches wide in the back, 0.85 inches tall by the click buttons with a 1.50-inch hump in the back. The Model O-is 4.72 inches long, 2.28 inches wide in the front, 63mm wide in the back, 2.48 inches tall by the left and right-clicks buttons and 1.42 tall at the hump. 

SteelSeries recommends this mouse for fingertip and claw grippers (sorry palm grippers), and with both grips I found the programmable buttons (left and right click, two side buttons, CPI switch south of the scroll wheel and scroll wheel up and down) easily accessible. 

As mentioned, SteelSeries has a version of this clicker competing in the best wireless mouse category, but the standard Aerox 3 we’re reviewing is wired. The cable is sufficiently long (6 feet) for connecting to a PC underneath or across a larger desk. It’s made of what SteelSeries calls Super Mesh, which is more flexible than the rubber cable you’ll find with cheaper wired gaming mice. More standout, however, is that this cable is detachable. That’s rarer among wired mice and allows you to swap in another cable should the original get damaged or you just want to personalize things a bit.

Gaming Performance of SteelSeries Aerox 3

SteelSeries gave the Aerox 3 the TrueMove Core optical sensor it debuted in the SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless mouse in September. The sensor is rated for a sensitivity of 200 - 8,500 counts per inch (CPI), can handle a max velocity of 350 inches per second (IPS) and up to 35g of acceleration. This should be ample for most gamers, but other gaming mice, including honeycomb rivals like the HyperX Pulsefire Haste and HK Gaming Mira-M, offer wider sensor specs, especially if you’re willing to pay more. But for the majority, the Aerox 3’s sensor specs will be sufficient.  

A superlight mouse like the Aerox 3 is especially fitting for FPS games, where being able to fling your mouse around easily is beneficial. Playing FPS titles with the Aerox 3’s TrueMove Core sensor was a breeze. The mouse allowed me to brush up on my timing and easily play with sensitivity settings for aiming, due to how easy it is to hit that CPI switch with a fingertip or claw grip. You can toggle through five different CPI levels, which are each customizable if you download SteelSeries Engine software (more on that in the next section).

Tracking was stellar, and I felt like I had great control over the mouse for more precision than I’ve experienced with other mice. The lightness of the Aerox 3 also made it easier for me to pinpoint a specific target. 

Playing point-and-click games like Among Us was great with the Aerox 3 because, in the midst of me being frantic either trying to win the game as the imposter or crew, I was easily able to turn up my CPI to the highest setting and maximize my player movement, all with minimal mouse motion. 

Playing CS:GO with Aerox 3 was the real test. Because the mouse weighs so little, I adjusted the CPI to a lower CPI setting of 2,400. I’m not the best CS:GO player, but spinning rapidly is not a good strategy. Turning off Windows Mouse Acceleration in the mouse’s software also helped improve my aiming. The easily accessible CPI switch is extra useful with this easy-gliding mouse, especially for the heavy-handed.

The Aerox 3’s left and right click buttons are supposed to last for 80 million clicks and are IP54-certified. Pressing them felt fast and quick to the point. I didn’t feel like I had to mash them very hard to register inputs either. 

Features and Software of SteelSeries Aerox 3

With the SteelSeries Engine 3 app you can customize the function of the Aerox 3’s programmable buttons, as well as the RGB.

Customizing the three RGB zones can get intricate, thanks to the numerous effects and customizations options available. Besides the usual options, like picking certain colors or effects and their speed and direction, you can also have the RGB  show your health and other game information in supported games, which include CS: GO, League of Legends and Mortal Kombat 11. With Engine you can also customize notifications for your Discord channels.  

Bottom Line

The SteelSeries Aerox 3 has a lot going for it. At 2.08 ounces it’s lighter than some other honeycomb-style mice, such as the Glorious Model O-, RGB customization looks on point and it even has a good grip that doesn’t get sweaty and is more accommodating to lefties than most gaming mice.

However, ultra lightweight mice aren’t for everyone. They’re popular for FPS games because of how easy they are to move around, but I prefer a heavier mouse because my movements can be very sporadic. Those looking for a little more weight or with bigger hands may prefer the Glorious Model O, which has the same ambidextrous-like shape as the Aerox 3 but weighs 2.36 or 2.40 ounces, depending on the finish, or the HK Gaming Mira-M at 2.22 ounces. Of course, there are plenty of heftier gaming mice without any holes in at all.

And if you want to go cable-free, the SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless is available for $30 more.

You can find mice with greater sensor capabilities, but most don’t need the highest CPI, and especially not with a mouse that’s so easy to fling around. The Aerox 3 will make a fine mouse for honeycomb fans satisfied with its specs.

In my SteelSeries Rival 3 review in January, I said the mouse was easy-to-recommend to anyone on a budget (you can find it for $29). In fact, the rat landed itself on our Best Gaming Mouse page as the standout budget option. My primary complaint about the mouse was its cable--a 6-foot-long rubber monstrosity that had a tendency to tangle and a texture that provided more traction than I’d like.

SteelSeries has addressed that complaint with the SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless (MSRP $50). It has some of the hallmarks of the best wireless mouse, like excellent battery life. But SteelSeries also changed a lot of what I liked about the original Rival 3.

SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless Specs

Design and Comfort

SteelSeries didn’t reinvent the wheel with Rival 3 Wireless. Its shape closely resembles that of its wired predecessor, with the exception of a detachable top plate, which houses the two AAA batteries used to power the mouse. (We’ll talk more about the wireless functionality in a bit.) The company describes the Rival 3 Wireless as a right-handed ergonomic mouse, but that’s only because it only has buttons on its left side. Otherwise, it’s shaped like an ambidextrous mouse, and SteelSeries targets it toward fingertip and claw grippers.

The Rival 3 Wireless is also ever-so-slightly smaller than the original Rival 3. It’s 4.74 inches long, 2.3 inches wide at the front, 2.64 inches wide at the back, 0.85 inches tall at the front and 1.49 inches tall at its peak. The wired Rival 3 measures 4.75 x 2.3-2.64 x 0.85-1.49 inches.

Unfortunately, the Rival 3 Wireless, which is mostly ABS plastic, is also quite a bit heavier than the Rival 3, weighing between 3.38 and 3.73 ounces, depending on if you opt to use one AAA battery or two for longer battery life. That’s up to 1.01 ounce heavier than its predecessor, which feels more significant than it sounds.

Some weight gain is to be expected when making a wired mouse wireless, however, because of the additional hardware requirements. The Rival 3 Wireless finds itself in good company at this weight: it’s similar to the Logitech G305 Lightspeed for example, as well as the Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless (3.49 ounces each). Lighter wireless mice, such as the Logitech G Pro Wireless (2.82 ounces) and Razer Viper Ultimate (2.56 ounces) cost significantly more than the Rival 3 Wireless.

Luckily, that added weight also makes the Rival 3 Wireless feel a bit sturdier than its predecessor. Other aspects of the mouse feel mighty familiar. The scroll wheel texturing is typical SteelSeries, the matte coating is grippy without being too rough and the buttons all feel satisfying to press. On the other hand, there is some wobble on the primary mouse buttons, as well as a bit of pre-travel. But in daily use, these issues weren’t distracting.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a mass-market gaming mouse without some form of RGB backlighting, but the approach here is a bit different. The Rival 3 had RGB backlighting along the bottom of its case and via the SteelSeries logo but not on the scroll wheel. The Rival 3 Wireless only features lighting on the scroll wheel, however, likely helping to keep cost and weight down.

Gaming Performance

I’ll be upfront: I would probably like the Rival 3 Wireless a lot more if I hadn’t started using the HK Gaming Mira-M a few months ago. I’ve grown so accustomed to using an ultra-lightweight mouse (the wired rat is only 2.22 ounces) that using a ‘normal’ mouse feels strange. I’ve started to adapt, and this won’t be a negative for people who have yet to hop on the ultra-lightweight bandwagon.

That said, the Rival 3 Wireless mostly performed as expected. It debuts the SteelSeries’ TrueMove Air optical sensor, an upgrade over the wired version’s 8,500-CPI TrueMove Core. The new sensor has a CPI range from 100 to 18,000 that feels like every other modern sensor, as well as a max velocity of up to over 400 IPS if you’re using one of SteelSeries’ best RGB mouse pads and 400 IPS otherwise. The sensor can handle up to 40g of acceleration.

I didn’t have any sensor-related problems flicking on to heads in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, cutting down guards in the demo for Ghostrunner or absently clicking my way through Divinity: Original Sin 2. This is a modern gaming mouse with modern gaming performance.

Going wireless also benefited my game. I appreciated the lack of a cable that can get caught on my desk -- or pounced upon by my cat -- which automatically gives the Rival 3 Wireless an advantage over the Rival 3.

Nothing else about the Rival 3 Wireless truly stood out.The mouse neither astounds nor confounds; it simply meets my expectations for a modern gaming mouse. SteelSeries used mechanical switches for the left and right buttons, but they felt pretty typical. The two side buttons were positioned in a way that felt just right in my hand, so even if there will be some natural variance between users, I’m comfortable saying their placement is fine.

Wireless Performance

The Rival 3 Wireless offers your choice of connecting via Bluetooth 5.0, which should give you longer battery life and save you a USB port, or via a USB Type-A dongle. But for gaming, you’re encouraged to use the dongle.

Because seemingly every gaming brand has its own wireless tech these days, the dongle uses SteelSeries’ Quantum 2.0 Wireless technology. It operates on the 2.4 GHz band, broadcasts on two wireless channels across 40 frequencies to fight data packet loss during potential wireless interference and is also built for long battery life (more on that below).

Due to my setup, I did suffer interference issues with the Rival 3 Wireless and its Quantum 2.0 dongle at first. My PC usually sits under the left side of my desk, and I typically notice connection issues when a wireless mouse is on the far-right of my somewhat large mouse pad, which is roughly 2.5 feet away from my gaming PC. With this setup, I encountered some problems with my crosshair jumping about and button presses being lost, which is frustrating in single-player games and a deal-breaker in competitive titles.

Clearing any clutter from my desk (my phone, any beverages, etc.) and bringing the hardware closer together addressed those problems. Since modifying my setup, the mouse’s dongle connection has been reliable. Some products just have to be met halfway; the Rival 3 Wireless is one of them.

Battery Life

SteelSeries claims up to over 400 hours of battery life with the Rival 3 Wireless, but there are some caveats. The first isn’t surprising: You’ll need to be packing two AAA batteries instead of one. Downloading SteelSeries’ Engine 3 software (more on that below) is also necessary because it allows you to activate the mouse’s High Efficiency Mode, which turns off the RGB, sets the polling rate to 125 Hz and has the sensor draw less power. This didn’t appear to affect my gameplay, but I still wasn’t totally comfortable with dipping below a 1,000 Hz polling rate, which is what most of today’s gaming mice offer with Razer moving toward offering an 8,000 Hz gaming mouse.

The 400-hour claim applies to both a dongle and Bluetooth connection. If you activate High Efficiency Mode via the dongle connection and SteelSeries’ software, it’ll carry over when you switch to Bluetooth mode.

Other battery life saving settings available in Engine 3 are a sleep timer and Illumination Smart Mode. The latter turns off the RGB when the mouse is in motion. We’ve seen this in the HP Omen Vector, but with that mouse, the RGB on the logo under the palm turns off. HP’s implementation seems to make more sense than SteelSeries’, since you typically can’t see the palm logo when you’re moving the mouse, but you can usually see the scroll wheel.

These features have led SteelSeries to claim the Rival 3 Wireless offers year-long (by which it means 400-plus hours), battery life when using two AAA batteries. People who want to save on weight at the expense of battery life can get by with just one battery, however. SteelSeries claims you get more than double the battery life with two AAAs.

Sadly, it’s impossible to check the mouse’s exact battery life because Engine 3 doesn’t offer a percentage reading of the Rival 3 Wireless’ battery level. What I can say is that the software still claims the battery’s at full charge even though I’ve been putting the Rival 3 Wireless through its paces for just under a week.

Features and Software

The Rival 3 Wireless relies on the free SteelSeries Engine 3 software to do all of the usual gaming mice customization options, like change the RGB on the scroll wheel, set the button layout and edit macros.

Additionally, the Rival 3 Wireless ships with five CPI levels by default, and the currently active level is indicated by a dedicated color on the scroll wheel. I would’ve preferred an on-mouse indicator, though. I also had some problems with the CPI level resetting in between sessions until I decided to delete the unnecessary levels.

One addendum: SteelSeries also claimed the scroll wheel’s lighting can be used to display notifications related to battery health and “in-game notifications.” The feature is a little buried though, and I couldn’t find it at first. It’s located in Engine’s Apps menu, where you have to find the game you want and tweak settings there. But with the Illumination Smart Mode being enabled by default, you’re not able to see any changes to RGB when moving the mouse. And if you’re playing with any level of serious competitiveness, you’ll probably want to avoid taking your eye off the screen just to look at corresponding RGB. The in-game notifications feature seems more like a box SteelSeries wanted to check than a useful addition.

Bottom Line

The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless has a compelling shape, seemingly durable build and numerous quality-of-life features that should allow it to serve many gamers well. Combine that with the $50 price tag, and it should have the mass-market appeal I suspect SteelSeries was going for.

Unfortunately, the mouse isn’t as easy to recommend as the original Rival 3 is. A lot of that comes down to personal preference: I like my gaming mice lighter, and I liked my setup the way it was before I made concessions for the sake of this wireless mouse. Companies have also released a strong supply of affordable-but-compelling mice this year, though, and for its price, the Rival 3 Wireless doesn’t stand out as much as the Rival 3 does at $30.

But at the end of the day, the Rival 3 Wireless cuts the cord on a mouse that’s biggest flaw was an annoying cable. It also ups the sensor specs while providing reliable battery life. If you don’t mind the weight, it’s a favorable, well-priced option.

Big battery life goes a long way. Cutting the cord on peripherals like the best wireless keyboards should make your desk less chaotic. But when it comes to the best wireless mouse, life can still feel frantic if you often find yourself mid-click and without any juice. That’s why the SteelSeries Rival 3 ($49.99) announced today is promising a shocking “400-plus” hours of battery life off two AAA batteries.

The original SteelSeries Rival 3 is wired and offers such great performance for only $30 that we list it on our Best Gaming Mouse page as the top budget contender. So we’re excited to see SteelSeries cut the cord with the Rival 3 Wireless, allowing a connection via a 2.4 GHz USB Type-A dongle or Bluetooth 5.0. But the company’s done more than just nix the cable. 

The Rival 3 Wireless promises over 400 hours max battery life, but that’s only if you pack it with two AAA batteries. The mouse can also work off one AAA battery, in which case it’ll be a lighter 95g (3.35 ounces). In order to get max battery power, you’ll have to use a 106g (3.74 ounce) mouse. The wired Rival 3 is 77g (2.71 ounces), so if you’re, for example, an FPS gamer who likes lighter mice, there’s a tradeoff here. 

With its $50 price tag, the Rival 3 will compete against the likes of Logitech’s G305 Lightspeed, which promises 250 hours battery life off a single AA battery. SteelSeries’ Rival 3 Wireless purportedly surpassed that figure through the combination of a new optical mouse sensor and wireless 2.4 GHz dongle technology.

New SteelSeries TrueMove Air Optical Sensor

The Rival 3 Wireless is the first mouse to use SteelSeries’ new optical sensor, dubbed TrueMove Air. The sensor’s supposed to bring unprecedented power efficiency to the vendor’s mouse lineup. 

The TrueMove Air’s performance specs are also on par with rivals. Made in collaboration with popular gaming mouse sensor maker PixArt, the TrueMove Air Optical sensor goes up to 18,000 CPI with a max velocity of 450 inches per second (IPS) and can handle up to 40G of acceleration. That’s a notable upgrade from the 8,500 CPI, 300 IPS and 35G the wired Rival 3 gets with its SteelSeries TrueMove Core sensor. 

Taking a page from the book of the wired SteelSeries Sensei Ten’s sensor, (the TrueMove Pro),  the TrueMove Air also offers tilt tracking. The sensor makes adjustments considering the angle you pick it up or put down the mouse -- even if those movements happen quickly.

Also helping keep battery drain to a minimum is the debuting SteelSeries Quantum 2.0 Wireless technology. It’s harder to get excited about proprietary wireless dongle technology. It seems like every vendor has its own today, and wireless mice connection has greatly improved over the past couple years.

Still, SteelSeries is assuring a 1,000 Hz polling rate and 1ms response time with its 2.4 GHz connection. Like competing wireless tech, such as Razer Hyperspeed or Logitech Lightspeed, SteelSeries Quantum 2.0 scans multiple wireless frequencies and jumps to another one if it experiences interference. The Rival 3 Wireless is said to transfer inputs over the air at a rate of 2 Mbps. We’ll have to wait until we test the wireless rodent ourselves before we know if it's reliable enough for the battlefield.

The Rival 3 is topped off with a polymer finish to aid durability and mechanical switches for its left and right buttons that are supposed to survive 60 million clicks. Designed for advanced gamers, it also comes with five profiles of onboard memory and allows RGB, CPI and polling rate adjustments via SteelSeries’ Engine software. 

We’ll see if the Rival 3 Wireless lives up to the name once we get it in our lab. 

We really ought to roll out the red carpet for this one. SteelSeries’ Arctis 7 2019 Edition aims to be one of the best gaming headsets by hitting the sweet spot between price and performance. You don’t tend to see it around the necks of eSports athletes at major tournaments, but for enthusiasts who care about comfort as much as audio fidelity it’s long been a mainstay. With this 2019 edition of the Arctis 7, featuring a handful of subtle improvements, SteelSeries looks to extend that reign.

This is but one of a fleet of Arctis headsets united by a ski-goggle-style headband that keeps the weight of the unit from digging into your delicate cranium. It offers 2.4 GHz lossless wireless capability with up to 40 feet (12m) range. At the entry level, the Arctis 3 actually has plenty of similarities to this model, and, right up at the top of the range, the Arctis Pro Wireless feels and sounds pretty similar too. The differences are in specs and features, but however much money you spend, you're assured of a market-leading pair of cans.

The SteelSeries Arctic 7 2019 Edition hit the same price point as earlier Arctis models when we first reviewed it in August, when it was available for $129/£129. But now, courtesy of the best Black Friday tech deals, it's on sale for $100 at Amazon. 

SteelSeries Arctis 7 2019 Edition Specs

Design and Comfort

Most headphones use a lightweight metal or plastic headband to keep the unit on your head and press the earcups against your ears. The Arctis takes a different approach, instead suspending its 375g weight above your head with an elasticated band. The result isn't night and day but, rather, a sustained level of comfort that only makes itself evident as being superior after an hour or two of use. The only rival headset offering similar luxuriousness after long sessions is the HyperX Cloud Alpha, which takes the traditional headband design, as well as the earcups, and absolutely smothers it in memory foam. That works too, but the Arctis 7 is considerably more breathable than the Alpha, thanks to that elasticated headband and materials used at the contact points.

For the 2019 Edition, SteelSeries tweaked the headband and earpads. The headband's slightly more substantial than in older iterations, now matching that found in the pricier Arctis Pro headset. This didn't make a significant difference in terms of comfort. But it might slightly improve the durability, since one of the rare design pitfalls of this range is that the headbands tend to sag over time as they lose elasticity after months of solid use. 

The earpads are thicker than before, and, again, while the effect is subtle at first, it's a long-term benefit because earpads lose their plumpness through repeated use over time. More than boosting your immediate comfort, that extra padding will keep the 2019 Edition feeling gentle and luxurious for longer.

What we absolutely love about the design of the Arctis 7 2019 is how intelligently its controls are laid out. The chat mix thumb wheel at the rear of the left earcup is a revelation, saving you from delving into in-game or Windows volume settings and bringing your buddies' dulcet tones up to the desired level effortlessly. A volume thumb wheel and mic mute button are also placed at the rear for easy access, while the mic is retractable. It's a no-fuss, elegant design, and we actually miss that chat mix wheel on other headsets we test now, including the more expensive Arctis Pro Wireless ($290/£280 at the time of writing), which migrates the feature onto a wireless receiver/control box.

Audio Performance

Previous versions of the Arctis 7 sounded exceptional but tended to output on the quiet side. The Arctis 7 2019 Edition is noticeably louder, while retaining the character of previous models and keeping distortion at bay, even at high volumes.

The fact it manages such clarity and richness runs contrary to its appearance and the sensation of wearing it on your head. These don't look like audiophile headphones by any means, and the contact points aren't particularly snug. Ordinarily, you'd expect a washed out sound as a result of the audio output mixed with room noise leaking into the sound chamber. But despite sitting much looser than the Cloud Alpha there's no 'seashell effect' or audio leakage at play in the Arctis 7. That says a lot about these 40mm neodymium drivers.

The balance and clarity does come at the expense of a little weakness in the low end, but not to the extent that in-game ambiance or bass-heavy music felt lightweight. In our comparison tests, the audio response offered a less authoritative bass than wired audiophile headphones and the Cloud Alpha. That actually made the Arctis 7 very versatile and even suitable for soft-touch video editing and mixing tasks. But it also meant we lost a tiny bit of emotional response from rumbling low-end sound effects.

DTS Headphone:X v2.0 virtual surround technology powers the soundspace and made for an impressive stereo spread with a just barely perceptible ring of digital artifice. It didn't add anything to our music experience, since songs are almost always mixed in stereo and applying a surround space to them just ends up with muddiness. For gaming, it's a totally different matter, though, and provided an important extra level of precision to sound cues, like footsteps and grenade tosses.

Features and Software

Although it's not required to use the Arctis 7, SteelSeries Engine software offers the chance to tweak EQ profiles and create custom profiles for individual games. Boosting the high-mids (the fourth of the five-band EQ) generally boosts footstep noises in multiplayer titles, so Engine offers the chance to save a profile just for this. You can also tweak mic volume and toggle surround sound on or off.

We're not generally fans of any software layer like this. The upshot is either the feeling of being strong-armed into buying all peripherals from one brand for ease of use, or a suite of similar apps from different manufacturers to control your best gaming keyboard, mouse and headset. With that said, Engine keeps things simple and low-impact. The number of people who actually cycle between EQ profiles depending on their activities is debatable, but SteelSeries' software is lean and the UI is idiot-proof.

Bottom Line

SteelSeries isn't rolling the dice with this refreshed Arctis 7, and you can hardly blame them. Previous versions were well-received and didn't offer any obvious room for improvements. If you're already in possession of an older Arctis 7 or above, you needn't worry about your hardware being outmoded by this release, such is the subtlety of improvement. If you've been pressing your face against the proverbial shop window for a while now though, this is definitely the time to invest in PC gaming's go-to wireless headset.

Image Credits: SteelSeries

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There’s no denying that society favors the right-handed. SteelSeries decided to ditch that bias with the Sensei Ten (MSRP $70 at the time of writing) gaming mouse, which boasts an ambidextrous design that righties and lefties alike can use without compromise. That isn’t enough to set the Sensei Ten apart from the best gaming mice—plenty of companies offer ambidextrous mice—but that’s where its comfort and gaming performance come in. 

SteelSeries Sensei Ten Specs

Design and Comfort

The Sensei Ten is perfectly symmetrical. It features eight programmable buttons: two on each side, two identically sized top mouse buttons, a perfectly centered scroll wheel and the button underneath the scroll wheel, which is a CPI (counters per inch, also known as DPI) switch by default. This design has its drawbacks—namely that half of its buttons are effectively unusable based on which hand you use, without some serious dexterity training—but it also means left-handed gamers don’t have to compromise on their grip.

SteelSeries also equipped the Sensei Ten with a new TrueMove Pro optical sensor co-designed with PixArt. That sensor offers support for setting CPI between 50 and 18,000 with intervals of 50. That’s led SteelSeries to claim the mouse offers the highest CPI support of any gaming mouse. Additionally, it boasts a 1,000Hz (1ms) polling rate and 50G acceleration for tracking the most frantic movements.The Sensei Ten also offers tilt tracking, which means it automatically compensates for the angle at which it’s picked up or set down.

Otherwise, the Sensei Ten is similar to other SteelSeries mice. It features an RGB-backlit logo and scroll wheel (for anyone who feared their pretty lights would be hidden by their palms while playing), and plugs into your PC via a USB 2.0 cable. Unlike some of its other mice, including the SteelSeries Rival 310 that I use daily, the Sensei Ten’s buttons aren’t separate from the rest of its body. That makes the buttons a little easier to hold down—I occasionally have problems with the Rival 310 in that regard—and makes them slightly quieter. It could also help with durability: SteelSeries claims the Sensei Ten’s mechanical buttons can withstand up to 60 million clicks.

I’m fond of the Sensei Ten’s matte black finish. One problem with the Rival 310, which features a light grey textured panel on its left side, is that it often gets uncomfortable during prolonged gaming sessions. It also shows just how gross my hands can get when I’m getting particularly sweaty in competitive titles. The Sensei Ten doesn’t suffer from either problem; it’s comfortable and grime-free.

Somehow, the Sensei Ten also feels lighter than the Rival 310 even though it weighs more (92g) than its older counterpart (88.3g) without the cable. There are lighter mice on the market, and some people would prefer the option to adjust the Sensei Ten’s weight, (like you can with the Logitech G502 Lightspeed), but the Sensei Ten feels like it hits the sweet spot weight-wise. It’s heavy enough that I don’t lose track of it but light enough that flicking across the mouse pad doesn’t feel like a chore.

Still, the Sensei Ten isn’t for everyone. People who play a lot of MMORPGs, MOBAs and other games that benefit from a lot of side buttons might not appreciate the two easily accessible buttons this mouse offers. It’s also a shame it doesn't come with a detachable cable, or at least a braided one, because the included cable’s plastic is easy to crimp. I wouldn’t transport the Sensei Ten without some kind of case.

Gaming Performance

Let’s not bury the lede: I prefer the Sensei Ten over the Rival 310. It’s more comfortable during long gaming sessions, its buttons are typically more reliable and it works better with my slightly modified palm grip (I click the left mouse button with my middle finger, and yes, I’m aware of how weird that makes me). The Sensei Ten performed admirably with every game I’ve played.

Does that mean the Sensei Ten improved my own performance? I don’t think so. My aim didn’t seem any better in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or Rainbow Six Siege, but it didn’t seem any worse, either.

Now for a word of caution on the Sensei Ten’s scroll wheel. It felt good while gaming because it moves just enough for me to cycle through weapons in games like CS:GO and Siege without accidentally switching back to my primary weapon. This is great because inadvertently scrolling too far in a weapon wheel can lead to problems. But outside of gaming, this is problematic because you can’t scroll for very long without accidentally pressing the button directly beneath it. That isn’t a deal-breaker for me because I value in-game performance over other use cases. Anyone who mostly uses their PC for reading long articles should just be aware that the Sensei Ten’s scroll wheel button can be a bit overzealous.

Otherwise, I have no complaints about the Sensei Ten’s performance. Tracking seemed accurate no matter what CPI setting I used, and, so far as I could tell, every button press was quickly sent to my PC. It’s hard to gauge durability without months of use—especially since I’ve been careful not to take out any in-game frustrations on this review unit—but the Sensei Ten feels like it will serve its function well for a good while.

Features and Software

Like other SteelSeries products, the Sensei Ten is managed via the company’s SteelSeries Engine 3.0 software. You can control CPI settings, each mouse button’s function and RGB lighting through the software, which can also keep the RGB settings in sync across multiple SteelSeries devices if you wish.

SteelSeries Engine offers numerous default profiles for popular games, (including many of the ones I mentioned above), but I’ve never had a problem with simply using the default profile. The app offers a live preview of any changes, which makes it easy to determine which profile is best for you. That preview is particularly handy when experimenting with different CPI settings or deciding if the backlighting is pretty enough.

You can also use the app to manage the Sensei Ten’s polling rate, angle snapping and acceleration / deceleration. The mouse’s eight buttons (two side buttons, left and right mouse buttons, scroll wheel and the button underneath the scroll wheel) are all programmable. Actions performed when scrolling up or down can also be changed. In addition, SteelSeries Engine features a separate macro editor.

The Sensei Ten offers five customizable CPI levels that, fittingly enough, you can toggle with the CPI button. This is particularly useful if you like to change your sensitivity across multiple titles without having to fiddle with in-game menus to do so. I typically use just two settings—one for normal gameplay and another for when I need to turn my character around more quickly—but that comes down to personal preference.

SteelSeries Engine probably won’t be the best-looking program Sensei Ten owners use, but it gets the job done.

Bottom Line

There’s no denying that many other mice offer something the SteelSeries Sensei Ten lacks, whether it’s wireless connectivity, additional lighting options or a bunch of customizable pieces of hardware. It doesn’t have a large number of pretty lights. Its cable isn’t braided and can’t be detached for easy transport. And you can't change the look or feel of the mouse. The Sensei Ten you unbox is pretty much the Sensei Ten you’ll be using going forward.

So it’s a good thing, then, that the Sensei Ten is compelling enough to stand out without those whiz-bang features. SteelSeries didn’t reinvent the gaming mouse. Instead, it created a reliable device that doesn’t favor right-handed users, yet is actually more comfortable than at least one of the company’s right-handed mice, at least to my hand. The Sensei Ten is comfortable to use, performs well in-game and doesn’t have glaring flaws.

All that in a $70 gaming mouse is a good deal. It’s worth the extra $10 over the Rival 310. As for higher-end mice, many will cost double what the Sensei Ten does in exchange for some features that probably won’t make them that much better for most typical gamers.

SteelSeries’ Arctis headset line has become known for shaking up the headset market like a sonorous, perfectly cushioned Pac-Man and is nearly as synonymous with gaming too. The SteelSeries Arctis 1 gaming headset brings the brand to an even cheaper price point ($49.99 at the time of writing).

At this price, the cans are missing some features found in the best gaming headsets. The Arctis 1 doesn’t feature the distinctive elasticated headband design of its siblings, and while there is a wireless version offering support for just about every gaming device you could conceive of (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch), this wired version we're reviewing has a 3.5mm connection only. 

Available for just $50/£50, the Arctis 1 is, at the time of writing, $10 cheaper than the wired Arctis 3 2019 Edition and $35 below the Bluetooth Arctis 3 2019 Edition model. But does it have what it takes to keep gamers' ears happy?

SteelSeries Arctis 1 Specifications

Design and Comfort

Despite those fractional margins in pricing, the Arctis 1 feels like a very different set of cans than the Arctis 3. The biggest and most obvious difference is the headband, which uses a more traditional aluminum chassis design and covers it in lightweight black plastic. It’s adjustable, just like any other headset on the market in 2019, and the level of clamping force around your ears feel just about right. It won't budge, even if you make sudden headbanging movements. The headband packs in plenty of soft cushioning on the underside, but it's not quite as comfortable as the Arctis 3. 

Things get a bit more familiar lower down, as around each earcup is the same super-comfortable, cloth-finished memory foam padding found on pricier Arctis models. The shape and size of these earcups is perfectly suited for sitting comfortably for long periods and creating an effective chamber for the lower frequencies to resonate in. There’s a lot of noise leak if you turn these all the way up, which has more to do with the breathable fabrics used than any inefficiency in the earcups' shape. 

At the rear of the left cup are volume and mic mute controls. On the front is a detachable mic, a first for the Arctis series. Unlike the headband though, we’re fine with this deviation from the line's tried-and-tested formula. We’ve yet to lose a detachable mic, which is the major primary downside of such a design.

The Arctis 1 can be rotated to lay out flat for easy packing and transporting and feature a silver, polygonal design on the cloth covering each driver. The cable’s not braided and ends in a 4-pole jack. There’s also an extension cable with split audio and mic inputs bundled in the box.

Visually these looks just the same as SteelSeries' other Arctis headsets, except for the headband has a matte black finish and a restrained splash of SteelSeries branding in matte silver at the bottom of each earcup. There’s no RGB, and the headset isn't available in any other colors. Black is very much the new black in gaming headsets this year.

There's a volume wheel and mic mute switch, but no mic wheel. But the one feature we really do miss is a ChatMix scroll wheel for varying vocal and other audio volume. No one wants to have to navigate a game’s options menus while deafening background music plays and their Discord buddies are mumbling something inaudible underneath it all.

Audio Performance

This low-end model features the same 40mm drivers you’ll find in the Arctis 7 2019 Edition, but the overall sound is quite different. These cans sound noticeably more bass-heavy, particularly when listening to music. The low-end from kick drums, basslines and distorted guitars tends to overpower subtler and softer elements in the mix, which I don’t find with the Arctis 7 or the Arctis Pro Wireless I use on a daily basis. Oddly, with the Arctis 1, it almost sounds as if there’s a software EQ being applied; however, with the headset using a 3.5mm connection instead of USB, the SteelSeries Engine software truthfully can’t tweak the headset's audio output.

The Arctis 1's sound made more sense after I booted up a few games and started popping off mobs and other enemies in shooters and action games. Bass sounded great when bullets were flying. Many headset manufacturers have historically graded their EQ to boost low-end frequencies, but the Arctis series has a lovely, flat response that stands out from the typical gaming cans.

The upshot is that bombastic titles that feature a lot of things being destroyed at a given moment sound great on the Arctis 1. However, in atmospheric RPGs, walking sims and other slower genres, where your ear might drift to the score or ambient noises, they’re not quite as articulate as higher priced Arctis headsets. As for why there’s a discrepancy in sound, we’re stumped. Construction materials do certainly contribute to an audio device’s character, but we wonder if there’s some hard EQing going on in this model that might have been better left as it was.

I do have a lot of love for Arctis' Clearcast detachable mic, though. It's easy to position in place and produces clear, clean vocals that sound great for the price.

Features and Software

This being a 3.5mm connection, there’s no opportunity to tweak EQ settings or save profiles via SteelSeries' Engine software. But this makes a lot of sense for this price point.

Bottom Line

SteelSeries built an attractive $50 package with the wired Arctis 1 headset. Although it lacks the comfort of ski goggle headband models, its firm and well-cushioned while maintaining breathability. The headset produces good audio for the price, but its output isn't quite as flat and clean as with other Arctis cans.

Although the $50 price tag is reasonable, there are a lot of headsets in that price range, including from SteelSeries itself. The Arctis 3 2019 Edition is tangibly better in audio and comfort and just $10 more. Meanwhile, the wireless version of this Arctis 1 is $100. Plus, the Arctis 3 is also available in two different models, a wired version for $61 and a Bluetooth model for $85. What’s a shopper to do? Frankly, you’re better off paying $10 more for the wired Arctis 3 model if you intend to primarily use your gaming headset on PC, due to the boost you'll notice in sound and construction quality. 

But if you absolutely can't go over $50 for a gaming headset, the Arctis 1 is competitive against other headsets in this price range and a good deal for the price. 

Image Credits: Tom's Hardware
MORE: All Gaming Headset Content

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless is a mighty expensive but one the best gaming headsets when it comes to wireless cans. With an MSRP of $330/£330 and availability as low as $270 on Amazon at the time of writing, it's more than twice the price of the SteelSeries Arctis 7 2019 Edition wireless headset ($110 on Amazon at the time of writing), which we gave our Editor's Choice award. What's more, the Pro Wireless package isn't new. The headset itself has been around for a couple of years now, while the control box dates back to the Siberia 800, released back in 2014. Does the math really add up for the Arctis Pro?

Well, you could even argue that SteelSeries have been victims of their own generosity. When the Arctis range first released, there was a tangible difference in quality between the 3, 5 and 7 and the top-end Pro. In 2019 though, the lower-priced Arctis headsets all enjoyed a refresh which, essentially, brought them closer to the Pro spec. The Pro itself, however, hasn't been refreshed. The gap between models has in many ways been bridged.

The twist in the tale is that we'd still rather use the Pro Wireless than its cheaper stablemate, the excellent Arctis 7 2019 Edition. A handful of genuinely useful features, along with great dual wireless compatibility, discern it not just from SteelSeries' other offerings, but from the rest of the wireless headset pack.

SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless Specs

Design and Comfort

If you've owned an Arctis headset before, you're familiar with the Arctis Pro's basic design, which is available in black or white. Instead of a headband that sits on the top of your skull with cushioning to minimize discomfort, the contact point across the top of this headset and other Arctis models is a 'ski goggle' elasticated band. The band's tension keeps the heavier aluminium headband suspended above your head. It really does work in practice, offering the kind of fit that didn't feel as instantly snug and comfortable as the HyperX Cloud but stayed put in such a way that I forgot I was wearing a headset as the hours rolled by.

There's just one downside to the Arctis ski goggle band design: its tendency to slacken over time. After a few months, all the Arctis models we've tried have that problem. However, the Pro Wireless (and the Arctis 7, which now uses the same band for the 2019 Edition) is slightly more durable, but I haven't had it long enough to know if it'll survive long-term usage. SteelSeries does sell replacement bands for $20/£20. You also have the option of customizing your headset with themed earcup cover and headband sets if tasteful dark gray doesn't do it for you. We do miss the ChatMix (a Siberia 800 feature that lets you balance levels between game and chat audio) thumb wheel from the Arctis 7 2019 Edition, where it's placed just above the volume wheel for the easiest possible adjustment. With the Arctis Pro, you have to control ChatMix from its base station. That's the only thing we'd change about the control layout.

The most standout feature of the Arctis Pro's design is the swappable battery system. This is a carryover from the Siberia 800, but in the intervening years since SteelSeries rolled it out, no other manufacturer -- to our knowledge, let us know below -- has released a similar system. There are two rechargeable batteries, one sitting in the headset powering it and the other in the base station being charged. Each carries 10 hours of charge, so when the battery in use depletes, you just need to pop the other out from the box, take the cover off the right earcup and swap them out, giving you another 10 hours of charge without the need to tether the headset. 

Audio Performance

The Arctis Pro's frequency response range is massive, ranging from 10Hz to 40KHz. It proudly announces itself the world's first hi-res compatible wireless headset, and although hi-res audio sources are still quite rare, this is a feature that justifies the high pricing. In lossless music and games featuring uncompressed hi-res audio files -- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is our go-to -- the crispness and depth of sound was noticeable and hugely impressive. The extra quality was especially prevalent in the high end, where compressed audio tends to artifact and distort. Here we could audibly hear the space between the layers of sound, which is a beautifully immersive quality.

What we often find with hi-res capable headsets is that the demands of meeting those specs tends to drip down into higher sound quality in compressed audio sources. That's definitely true of this headset. Like other Arctis models, it doesn't overwhelm with low end in a show of sheer power, but instead produces a very natural sound. That makes it tremendously versatile across games, music and films without the need to swap between EQ presets, although such things do exist and they're easily accessible via the base station.

DTS Headphones:X technology makes an appearance here as in other Arctis headsets, with the transmitter base station offering a virtual 7.1 surround setup that can be turned on or off. Our complicated relationship with digital surround remains. In some applications it does help to pinpoint sound cues, but often it muddies them. Whatever you listen to, there's a brassy digital ring, however faint, across the soundscape, but we've gotten used to turning it on for CS:GO and PUBG, where generally there aren't dozens of competing sounds. Call of Duty and Battlefield aren't as well-suited since they produce a drone of explosions and gunfire. Sometimes it's worth enabling DTS in quiet, atmospheric games, like What Remains of Edith Finch or Gone Home --titles that really go to pains to put you in a particular time and place. In such games, digital surround sometimes adds to immersion.

The Pro Wireless can't magic away the limitations of digital surround, but it implements it as well as we've heard on the market while delivering truly rich and hi-res stereo sound. Our sole complaint is that the headset itself is rather quiet next to its peers. With Windows volume maxed out, we often ended up gaming at 75% volume on the base station, whereas we'd usually keep the output below 50% using other headsets.

And as for wireless connectivity, we've never experienced a dropout in all our time using this headset. The 2.4 GHz connection is totally lag free, and the added option of a Bluetooth connection means you can eliminate the possibility of dropout altogether. It also lets you pair with other devices around your home, such as smartphones and consoles, which is a real value proposition. We've used the Pro Wireless on long train journeys and found it to be a great performer. The only downside is that you'll have to carry around the extra battery if you want more than 10 hours of audio. 

Features and Software

The top-end Pro Wireless has a long feature set, and a lot of it is housed in the transmitter base station. The visual design remains the same since its implementation in the Siberia 800, but it's a handy desktop companion all the same. With just two controls -- one button and a scroll wheel that can be depressed -- you can cycle between EQ presets, change the output source, adjust ChatMix, mic monitoring, surround sound, volume and numerous other granular details, like the exact brightness of the mic mute LED.

In practice we barely used the base station for much besides volume adjustment, ChatMix and swapping batteries, but performing any of those tasks was a breeze. 

Bottom Line

So we come back to our fundamental question. At more than twice the cost of other quality wireless gaming headsets like the SteelSeries Arctis 7 2019 Edition, is the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless worth the money? While it certainly doesn't sound twice as detailed, or feel twice as comfortable, there's just so much functionality and smart design in this package that the Pro Wireless makes a convincing case for its price.

This isn't just a PC gaming headset; it's also a premium pair of Bluetooth headphones and a console solution too. It's brilliant for taking on a commute or long-haul journeys, limited only by the inability to recharge without the base station. And above all, it sounds great. It's a decadent choice, undoubtedly, but one you won’t regret.

Image Credits: SteelSeries
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Keyboard manufacturers seem convinced that people want more information at their fingertips -- literally. Das Keyboard made notifications via RGB lighting a central aspect of its Q devices (like the Das Keyboard Q5), and SteelSeries decided to do Das one better with the Apex 7, which features an OLED Smart Display in the top-right corner. This monochromatic panel is supposed to represent the future of keyboards. The problem is that the feature isn’t compelling enough to make up for the Apex 7’s shortcomings.

SteelSeries Apex 7 Specs

OLED Smart Display Disappoints

SteelSeries released the Apex 7 alongside the Apex Pro (as well as tenkeyless versions of both keyboards) earlier in 2019. Much of the company’s attention went to the Apex Pro, which features new OmniPoint switches that offer customizable actuation points, with the Apex 7 offering a similar design with traditional switches for people willing to sacrifice customizability for affordability.  But without those OmniPoint switches, the Apex 7 relies on the OLED Smart Display to stand out.

The display is a monochrome rectangle that displays a SteelSeries logo by default. It can be customized to display a 120 x 48 pixel image, too, for anyone who’d like to add a little bit of personal flair to the device. Otherwise, it’s primarily used to navigate menus involving the board’s RGB lighting, macro keys, and other settings, which makes it easier to customize the Apex 7 without having to install the companion software offered by SteelSeries.

SteelSeries offers several apps for the OLED Smart Display. Most use it to display additional information: One previews messages received via Discord, another displays in-game details about ongoing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matches, and SteelSeries said one showing the currently playing Spotify song is “coming soon.” Those details could prove useful, but might not be enough to convince someone to Alt-Tab out of a game so they can view them on their monitor.

But the OLED Smart Display simply hasn’t made a difference in my day-to-day usage of the Apex 7 in the weeks I’ve spent with the keyboard. Its positioning means it’s unobtrusive, but it also makes the display hard to notice while the keyboard’s in a comfortable position. The number pad’s keys block at least half of the display even when the built-in legs underneath the Apex 7 are set to their lowest position. Steeper angles fare slightly -- but not significantly -- better.

I’ve had similar problems with other keyboards that were supposed to offer at-a-glance information. It’s an interesting concept, but it’s never managed to become core to my computer usage, despite repeated attempts to understand what the hype is about. I learned to touch-type specifically so I wouldn’t have to stare at my keyboard while I’m using my PC. Why break that habit--and ruin my posture--to look at the keyboard when there’s a monitor right in front of me?

Design

At 403 x 139 x 17mm (15.9 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches), the Apex 7 isn't a small keyboard. It's not a behemoth, either, but it takes up considerably more space on my desk than I would like. That's especially true when the wrist rest is attached--suddenly the number pad, thick USB cable, and wrist rest have become more than the sum of their parts. This led to some uncomfortable moments, which I'll discuss later, but it generally meant that once I put the Apex 7 down I was determined not to move it again. But the sizing issue is really a matter of preference--and price, since the Apex 7 TKL (sans the number pad) costs $30 less than its full-sized counterpart--in the end.

SteelSeries constructed the Apex 7’s case with an “aircraft grade aluminum alloy” that gives it a satisfying heft. I like the brushed metal--it’s a nice change of pace from the plastic cases I’ve encountered on most keyboards. Combined with the keycaps, which don’t rely on typographic monstrosities to convey the Apex 7’s status as a gaming keyboard, the frame makes it clear that the Apex 7 is supposed to be a premium device that wouldn’t look out of place in the office.

Like I mentioned earlier, the Apex 7 features two built-in legs that allow the back of the keyboard to be angled for more comfortable typing. There are only two settings--the legs are either tucked in or pulled out--which might disappoint anyone looking for more precise angling options, but plenty of keyboards employ a similarly limited setup. The included wrist rest can help make up for the limited adjustability, though, and its magnetic attachment makes it easy to type on the Apex 7 without worrying about it sliding around.

The Apex 7 connects to your PC through a USB cable that occupies two USB slots if you use the USB passthrough. I’m not particularly fond of this setup, largely because it can be hard to integrate into the hodgepodge of peripherals I already have connected to my system, but to each their own. A cable management tray helps keep things relatively neat, though, so long as you can ignore the thick cable protruding from the back of the keyboard.

Gaming Experience

SteelSeries offers three switch types for the Apex 7: linear Red switches, tactile Brown switches, and clicky Blue switches. All three feature 2mm actuation points and have been rated to withstand 50 million keypresses. My review unit featured the Red switches, which are often marketed to gamers because they’re supposed to be a bit easier to press than their counterparts, and quieter, too, so as not to annoy everyone in voice chat with a bunch of clacking sounds.

I didn’t mind the switches themselves, even though I usually prefer tactile switches. The switches were a bit louder than the Romer-G switches found on my Logitech G Pro, but not as loud as other keyboards I’ve used. Unfortunately there did appear to be some problems with key presses not registering during particularly hectic moments in games like Overwatch when I had to quickly switch between keys.

The Apex 7 offers N-key rollover, so those moments should not have posed any problems. But I noticed that inputs were regularly ignored during frantic moments--which is exactly when gamers expect their keyboards to perform flawlessly. A quick example of a common scenario: grappling into the air as Wrecking Ball, using the WASD keys to reposition, pressing Q to drop a bunch of mines, pressing Ctrl to slam into the opposing team, and then pressing E to activate shields.

That paragraph might read like a bunch of gobbledygook to people who don’t play Overwatch, but the gist is that I’m doing a bunch of things at once to make sure my mech-piloting hamster doesn’t turn into so much roadkill. Yet I would regularly find that my bombs didn’t drop (so the Q didn’t register) or shields didn’t activate (which means the E didn’t) while using the Apex 7. I didn’t have any problems performing similar maneuvers on the Logitech G Pro after multiple attempts.

Some errors are to be expected when playing an online game. But with everything else about my setup being stable--the Apex 7 is literally the only thing I changed--the problem is most likely the keyboard’s fault. If the OLED Smart Display’s relative uselessness makes it hard to justify the Apex 7’s price, missing inputs makes it hard to justify using the keyboard while playing competitive games, period. That makes it hard to recommend to most gamers these days.

Typing Experience

That said, these problems didn’t affect the Apex 7 during everyday use. I wrote most of this review on the Apex 7 and didn’t have any more typos than I usually do. That might have resulted from me being particularly cautious, though, or actively gauging how the keys felt while I was writing just to make sure my initial impressions weren’t clouding my final judgment. Sometimes it takes a little while to get used to a keyboard. So I turned to the Aesop’s Fable test at TypingTest.com.

The results confirmed what I'd already suspected about the Apex 7, which was that I was typing faster but also making more mistakes. TypingTest scored me at 101 words per minute (wpm) after taking 10 typing errors into account. I usually score around 103 wpm on the Logitech G Pro and Microsoft Sculpt Keyboard, with fewer errors on each, so I'm clearly hitting keys faster on the Apex 7. I just also happen to be hitting more keys by accident in the process.

Having the included wrist rest made typing on the Apex 7 more comfortable as well--at least until I had to reach for my mouse. Having to accommodate the number pad after getting used to using tenkeyless keyboards meant I was putting more stress on my shoulders by spreading them further apart. I mostly noticed this while I was gaming, so on the whole the typing experience was fine, but anyone who doesn't need the number pad should consider the TKL model of the Apex 7 rather than the full-sized keyboard.

RGB Lighting and Controls

The Apex 7’s RGB lighting is controlled with the same SteelSeries Engine 3 software as the Apex Pro. I’m not as keen on RGB lighting as some of our other writers and editors--I’m content to let all the pretty lights cycle through colors of the rainbow in the default “Coast” setting. I could use SteelSeries Engine 3 to keep the RGB lighting in sync for my headset and mouse, both of which are also from SteelSeries, but I can’t see the lights on my ears or under my palm so I left ‘em alone. (Yes, I’m aware that this makes me the outlier in an age when RGB lighting is finding its way into almost everything, but that’s just fine by me.)

For anyone who’s more interested in customizing their setup than I: SteelSeries Engine 3 makes it easy to create individual profiles that automatically start in certain programs and games. There isn’t as much customizability with the Apex 7 as there is the Apex Pro, thanks to the missing OmniPoint switches, but different lighting profiles can help set the mood based on what’s on-screen. The software also simplifies the assignment and function of macro keys. Built-in color profiles also make it easy to choose a new lighting scheme with as little fiddling as possible.

My relative disinterest in advanced RGB lighting controls somewhat ironically helps me justify the OLED Smart Display. The built-in display can be used to cycle through five built-in lighting schemes (Vapors, Coast, Haze, Prism and Orange) or navigate a Custom setting. Is this as convenient as using SteelSeries Engine 3? No. The options are limited and the menus aren’t easy to navigate. For anyone who only has a passing interest in RGB lighting, though, not having to install additional software could be the best justification for the OLED Smart Display. Gamers who frequently move their keyboards between multiple PC will also appreciate this.

Bottom Line

It’s not hard to see why SteelSeries made the Apex 7. We liked the Apex Pro, but most people aren’t willing to spend $200 on a keyboard, regardless of what kind of switch it uses. Relying on its existing switch options gives SteelSeries an easy way to take advantage of all the design work that went into the Apex Pro--including the OLED Smart Display--but with a lower price meant to help those design elements reach more people. Other companies have done similar things.

But we concluded our Apex Pro review by saying that the OmniPoint switches and their per-key customization options helped make up for the keyboard costing more than competitive products that were actually more comfortable to use. Without the advantage of those OmniPoint switches, the only thing the Apex 7 really had going for it was the OLED Smart Display, and that simply isn’t a compelling enough gimmick to make up for the product’s other shortcomings.

There’s no denying that the Apex 7 is an attractive keyboard--it’s certainly easier on the eyes than most “gaming keyboards” on the market--but I don’t think that’s worth the $160 asking price. And if the problem I had with missed inputs affects more than just our review unit, then this keyboard is even more problematic.

In short, the Apex 7 is a middle-of-the-line keyboard with a relatively high price that only seems low because its higher-end sibling costs even more. Most people would be better served by competing products that either have more substantive features, or ditch them in pursuit of a lower price.

Image Credits: Tom's Hardware

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If you want a mechanical gaming keyboard you can finetune to be truly “you,” the SteelSeries Apex Pro ($199 as tested, $179.99 for the tenkeyless version) is it.Anyone can appreciate its striking design and attractive RGB lighting. But hardcore gamers and finicky typers will appreciate unprecedented customization brought by unique switches that allow you to individually set the actuation point (how far you have to press for a key to register) for nearly every key. A screen and other bonuses solidify and rationalize the keyboard’s high price.

But the Apex Pro’s linear keys still feel mushy, regardless of the actuation point. If you’re more of a typer than a gamer, you’ll want to consider other (and likely cheaper) gaming keyboards.

SteelSeries Apex Pro Specs

The Apex Pro can store 5 custom profiles and uses a 32-bit Arm processor. The keys are guaranteed for 100 million presses, which is twice the average of typical mechanical gaming keyboards, thanks to SteelSeries’ OmniPoint switch (more on that in the section below).

The keyboard also supports 104-key rollover and 100% anti-ghosting, meaning you can press 104 keys at once and they’ll all register. While I hardly have any reason (or the physical ability) to strike all 104 keys at a time, simply smashing of as many keys as possible on an online n-key rollover test, proved that it can register at least 32 keys simultaneously. 

Design

Before getting into the customizable actuation, I can say that the Apex Pro is an impressive keyboard from looks alone. It’s built on a Series 5000 aluminum alloy frame which SteelSeries says is aircraft-grade. The matte finish almost feels like plastic, and the dark build makes a great foreground for the RGB lighting.

As expected for a mechanical keyboard, the Apex Pro connects to your PC via the attached USB Type-A cable. More surprising is the cable management system. The back of the keyboard has a long channel for snapping in the keyboard’s cable and extending it outwards from one of three locations. Whether your PC’s port is to the right, left or center of the keyboard, you can still keep things tidy. Although, with the cable so long (about 7 feet), I wish there was even more space. The bottom also has 3 rubber pads that keep the keyboard in place atop your desk.

The flip-out feet add a small amount of height at the back, though some might wish for a greater boost. But what it lacks in height, it makes up for with a soft-touch magnetic wrist rest, which snaps on and off in a second. The deliciously smooth wrist rest feels amazing, especially when sliding across the keyboard, and helps deliver the type of experience you should demand from a $200 keyboard. It’s not as thick and plush as a fabric one, like the HyperX wrist rest, but it should be durable and long lasting without having fabric to wear down, and its 8 rubber feet add even more stability.

The keyboard’s screen is OLED, but with its tiny size and black-and-white display, OLED is all about readability. What makes it special is the customization it enables. You activate its menu by double-tapping the button to its right that brings up a menu (Illumination / Macros / Actuation / Profiles and Settings) which you can navigate with the audio wheel and press in. It’s nice that you can navigate these things without downloading the free Steelseries Engine 3 companion software -- especially if you’re going to use the keyboard on multiple computers. Of course, the slick audio wheel also controls your PC’s volume.

Up top, next to a subtle SteelSeries logo, is a USB 2.0 Type-A passthrough port, like many mechanical keyboards have. To use it, plug one of the keyboard cable’s two-pronged USB connectors into your PC. This virtually takes one USB port from your PC, which may be pushed against a wall or trapped by cables and moves it to a more accessible spot--perfect for plugging in your mouse or a Bluetooth dongle. The USB passthrough port shines bright white when it’s ready for use.

At 2.14 pounds and 17.2 x 1.9 x 4.4 inches, the Apex Pro is smaller than other 104-key keyboards, such as the Hexgears Impulse (2 pounds, 17.25 x 6 inches) or Patriot Memory Viper V765 (2.5 pounds, 18.4 x 6.4 inches). If desk space is extremely tight, this may be worth considering, but of course a tenkeyless keyboard will take up much less space.

OmniPoint Switches: Adjustable Actuation

All of the Apex Pro’s keys have a linear feel, with the keys traveling straight down and lacking any tactile sensation or bump until you hit the bottom, much like Cherry MX Red switches. The majority of the keys use OmniPoint switches for adjustable actuation points, but the numpad, macro and arrow keys use traditional MX Red switches.

To let users set varying actuation points, SteelSeries invented OmniPoint switches that feel like familiar Red mechanical switches, but work in a totally different way. Your press actuates normal mechanical switches by making two pieces of metal touch. However, when you press an OmniPoint switch, you’re pushing a magnet down its stem and closer to a sensor. Using the “Hall Effect,” or magnetic fields, the keyboard can tell the distance between the sensor at the base and the magnet’s stem, so you can tell it which distance equals a key press. Without any physical contact causing degradation, these switches promise longer durability.

With the SteelSeries software or the menu in the OLED screen, you determine at which distance a press is registered --10 steps from 0.4-3.6mm -- for each of the 61 main keys. At 0.4mm, you barely have to press a button for it to register. For comparison, note that Blue and Green-style switches actuate at 2mm, while Kailh Box White actuates at 1.8mm. At 0.4mm, there’s opportunity for special uses, such as speed-driven first-person shooters, while lower actuation points should help with accuracy.

Unfortunately, both the software and OLED screen let you set actuation on a 1-10 scale instead of using actual measurements. But through the screen, you can test it out in real time, as a bar fills up as you press to show you far the key has traveled and when it actuates.

As mentioned, not every key has an OmniPoint switch. When SteelSeries first teased the keyboard in January, they told us that this is because the OmniPoint switches are expensive to make. Considering how expensive the peripheral already is, omitting the keys which are least-likely to be used in games is a smart move.

The Omnipoint switches are a bit different from those used in the Cooler Master MasterKeys MK850 and Wooting One analog keyboards, which work like an analog stick on a console controller and read how much pressure you’re applying. The Cooler Master’s Q, W, E, R, A, S D and F keys can sense a press across 4mm of travel but need calibration every time the pressure sensitive tech is reactivated. Like the Wooting One, its analog keys leverage optical sensors, which use a sensor and light to detect the distance between each press, but only the Wooting One lets you set your actuation point. Similarly, Razer’s Opto-Mechnical switches, used in the Razer Huntsman Optical, tap optical sensor tech, but you can’t customize the actuation point and they’re not pressure-sensitive.

Typing Experience

With the Omnipoint switches’ linear feel, pressing a key is smooth, with the keys going straight down without any bump or click and rising up with your finger as it lifts. You’ll hear a clacking noise as you type, and if you’re extra aggressive, you may notice the echoey ding of the aluminum frame. It’s much louder than the Razer Cynosa Chroma Pro I’m currently using with a plastic build and “mecha-membrane” switch (3.5mm of travel that feels a bit short). If you prefer tactile switches, this keyboard will feel spongy to you. Without a tactile sensation or much resistance, my fingers felt more tired, sort of like they were typing through water, particularly during long sessions.

Because of the adjustable switches, you get newfound control over the typing experience. Do you want extra sensitive keys? Or do you want the keyboard to demand firm, confident typing to help you avoid accidental presses and typos?

I quickly noticed the difference when changing the overall actuation. While a light touch--I’d call it more of a tap than a press--a press registered if actuation was set to 1. At 10, I needed a truer press and could see letters taking longer to appear on my word processor than with actuation set to 1.

To see how this affected my typing accuracy I tried the 10fastfingers with all OmniPoint switches set to the lowest, highest and middle actuation points.

I hit quicker speeds with actuation set to 1 (116 wpm)  versus 10 (110 wpm) but the same speed with it set to 5. Ironically, I got my best accuracy with actuation set to 1 (99.48%) and lowest at 10 (96.33%), but the difference is small. In general, my accuracy rate is usually around 98%, and I don’t usually accidentally hit keys, which the high actuation point would theoretically help me prevent. For me, accuracy was hurt by adjusting to the amount of space between each of the keys and perhaps, based on the numbers, assuming a key was actuated earlier than it truly was.

Gaming Experience

Compatible with PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the Apex Pro’s adjustable actuation shines when gaming, where you can strategically program actuations for different action. The general experience is responsive and comfortable, especially with the wrist rest.

When I switched from a middle actuation setting to the highest for Middle-earth: Shadow of War no longer was I accidentally hitting a button that made me wander to the left and wonder what happened. With less sensitive keys,I had to deliberately press a key to make it happen. Playing Battlefield V and Grand Theft Auto V at the most sensitive setting, the keyboard was reliable and quick. However, I didn’t notice automatically become a better gamer: Hardcore gamers who need a lot of repetiive presses, like in a MOBA game, may disagree.

RGB Lighting and Controls

The RGB lighting against the Apex Pro’s midnight gray frame not only pops, but brilliantly illuminates the chassis. The lights burst from beneath the raised keycaps, emanating a can’t-miss glow across the keyboard. Even from a few feet away, the RGB makes a beckoning call, although if you don’t like that much attention, you can shut the RGB off or turn down the brightness.

But if you’re an RGB glutton like me, you’ll love the configurability. You get the most customization options by downloading SteelSeries Engine 3 software for free. But if you don’t want to add more software to your PC, you can toggle through pre-set profiles with the OLED screen. The display will show huge letters as you try five different designs: Vapors, Coast, Haze, Prism and Orange.

Unlike other RGB keyboards, these aren’t just a flashing rainbow or breathing between two colors. These profiles are advanced. For example, Vapors has the rows transition between a rave-ready theme of indigo, purple, fuchsia, pink and teal that sends a wave of white across the row of each button pressed. Coast is similar, with colors going from blue to yellow, orange and then red as you look from left to the right, and with each press, the buttons turn blue before fading back to their original hue. Even without the software, you can enjoy mesmerizing RGB lights.

Also in the OLED screen’s Illumination menu is a Custom section. The menu options here let you make the lights all one color with a white ripple effect with each keypress, breathe a color with a white ripple effect, breathe in 1 of 2 multi-color schemes, or have the lights off. The custom menu also has a Reactive section, for picking from 4 different reactions to keypresses (including none). The Custom menu’s AFK (away from keyboard) section controls what happens when you’re away from the keyboard (such as turning the lights off). Meanwhile, Timeout ranges from 5 seconds to 2 hours / never).

Navigating all this without software can be challenging. Besides having to get used to the clicking in the wheel and pressing the OLED button to enter and exit menus and submenus, without software it seems turning off the reactive mode or selecting an AFK mode replaces any of the preset options you already have. But you can still get away with not using the software--so long as you don’t mind having a reactive affect with your RGB.

Those who do download the software will be greeted with a very robust system.

You can customize the 5 on-board profiles, including the effects and its speed and wave, the reactive layer and when AFK effects start taking place. As with setting actuation, the software has tools to select each key individually, select all groups with the same setting, select all keys and undo. You’re also free to create a whole new config from scratch but won’t be able to activate it with the keyboard’s screen (but you could just replace the preset profiles with your own).

You can have a profile autolaunch with a certain app or game. Perhaps you want a toned down, non-reactive RGB with Microsoft Word and rainbows and white ripples everywhere with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). Remember, your profiles also store actuation, so that Microsoft Word-ready profile might also have higher actuation for help with accuracy, while your gaming one has low actuation points for speedy movements.

Programming macro keys is a similar situation, with a low level of control possible via the OLED screen and much more available in the software, The OLED screen lets you record and delete macro keys (the screens show you the key combination to enter to stop recording). With the software, all keys are available for setting keybindings, and there’s Macro Editor that pops up in its own window.

OLED Screen

In addition to letting you quickly change you RGB lighting, macro keys, overall actuation point, the OLED screen also holds a Profiles and Settings menu (timeout, brightness and lock indicator, which’ll display icon(s) on the screen if in num/caps lock, and about section.

The screen can also share info with you if you play CS:GO (see things like your current KDA and money), Discord and Spotify. But don’t think you’re getting a second display like you do with a dual-screen laptop. For example, the screen won’t tell you what song/ artist you’re playing on Spotify but can pause, play and change the song.

When not showing off a menu, the Apex Pro’s screen can depict your favorite 120 x 48 pixel image. If you don’t have one, SteelSeries graciously offers you 2 of its logos (black on white or white on black) or lets you draw one. As if the per-key RGB and actuation weren’t enough customization, I opted to make this keyboard even more me by inscribing my name.

I opted to embellish the keyboard with my own signature. Although it's OLED, perhaps that tech’s biggest gain is its high contrast. But rest assured all text is legible and sharp from normal viewing distance, although you can spot individual pixels if you peer closely.

Bottom Line

With the SteelSeries Apex Pro, you can have a keyboard that’s truly you, from the screen to the S key. With innovative adjustable actuation points, a screen sufficient for mainstream users to enjoy the keyboard without software and a welcoming wrist rest, it starts earning its $199 MSRP. Configurable profiles, including 5 on-board ones, let advanced users design profiles with per-key lighting and switch settings and easily pick one for their current app.

Although SteelSeries’ linear switches are groundbreaking, others are comfier during long typing sessions, including the Wooting One, which also has customizable actuation for keys with more clatter and a tactile bump. It’s also cheaper ($140), but actuation is not per-key and switching profiles is far less seamless. You also get eight pressure-sensitive keys with the Cooler Master MasterKeys MK850 ($175, also linear Red switches) but can’t customize actuation.

Unless you want high-level customization for individual keys, you can find a better typer for less money. But the Apex Pro’s per-ley adjustable switches make a noticeable difference, especially for competitive gaming, and are integrated more seamlessly than competitors. If you’re okay with linear switches and want a keyboard that you can really make your own, count on the Apex Pro.

Image Credits: Tom's Hardware

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The SteelSeries Rival 110 is billed as a competitive gaming mouse that focuses almost solely on that one true quality we all care about, performance. In an increasingly crowded market, where many of its competitors are cramming ever-more ostentatious (and often superfluous) features into their gaming mice, SteelSeries’ aim to create a “streamlined” (its own words) gaming mouse is certainly welcome for anyone after a no-nonsense and affordable pointer from an established brand.

The SteelSeries Rival 110 at time of review is up for grabs for a measly $29.99 US or £29.99, an impressively tempting price point, and one which places it among budget gaming peripherals such as the Logitech G300s and the VyFky F500. These mice offer decent –- but unexceptional -– performance and features. So if SteelSeries can bring the quality of its higher-end offerings down to this price point, it will have a winner.

While the SteelSeries Rival 110 is more expensive than that Logitech G300s, it offers higher CPI (dots per inch), with a maximum of 7,200 compared to the G300s’ 2,500. It's also offered in black, grey, or white.

7,200 isn’t the highest CPI we’ve seen in a mouse --  by a long shot. The Cooler Master MM830 offers a frankly absurd 24,000 CPI resolution. But most mice around this price point offer similar if not less CPI for the money. That said, going back to the MM830’s CPI, realistically it’s far higher than you’d ever likely need anyway.

By keeping the CPI -- and other features we’ll get to -- reasonable, SteelSeries is able to keep the price down, while still offering the core experience we’ve come to expect from the brand.

Design and Comfort

If you've used the original SteelSeries Rival 100 -- or any of SteelSeries’ mice for that matter -- then you’ll already have a good idea of how the Rival 110 looks and feels. As the price suggests, this is a mouse that keeps things simple. As standard you get an ambidextrous design that makes it comfortable to hold, regardless of which hand you hold your mouse in. However, there’s a crux here: The two additional side buttons are only located on the left-hand profile of the mouse, making them tricky to reach if you’re left-handed. That design choice is a bit baffling, however adding two additional buttons on the opposite side would increase production cost. And as the vast majority of gamers are right-handed anyway, we can let this one slide.

With a length of 120.6 mm (4.7-inches) and a width of 68 mm (2.7-inches) at its widest, the SteelSeries Rival 110 is a mid-sized mouse that should fit comfortably in most people’s hands, unless of course you’ve got hams for fists. Personally, we had no issues using it for long periods of time.

We’ve used a number of SteelSeries gaming mice in the past, so we're used to how they feel. But even if you’ve never held a SteelSeries mouse before, you’ll likely find it very comfortable to use from the get-go. Unlike some gaming mice with their futuristic angular edges and edgy designs, the Rival 110 is smooth and well-rounded, creating a very comfortable device.

The Rival 110 is made out of plastic, and weighs a rather light 87.5g, but it doesn’t feel cheap or insubstantial because of it. The top of the mouse is covered in a matte soft-touch finish, and the sides have a dotted texture that makes the Rival 110 easier to grip.

Of course, this being 2019, the SteelSeries Rival 110 includes RGB lighting, which by default makes the scroll wheel and the logo at the back of the mouse light up like a circus. That said, as RGB goes, the effect here is understated, and the colors can of course be configured using the SteelSeries Engine 3 software.

Overall, the Rival 110 is a comfortable mouse to use right out of the box, which is good because there’s no way to customize the feel at all. There are no no hot-swappable parts as found in Corsair’s Glaive RGB Pro, no removable weights, or anything along those lines. For the most part, what you see with the SteelSeries Rival 110 is what you get. But then we wouldn't expect more from a mouse that costs this little.

Specifications

Gaming Performance

As with other SteelSeries gaming mice, the Rival 110 is a solid performer. It’s consistent and dependable, smooth in first person shooters, and the buttons up top feel good, thanks to mechanical switches. For the price, that’s pretty much all you can ask for, and while it doesn’t really excel in any particular area, it does the job –- and does it well.

The SteelSeries Rival 110 features the company’s new TrueMove1 Optical sensor, which does a fabulous job of tracking the mouse’s movements without any jitter. It feels responsive and accurate, which is key in a gaming mouse -- especially if you’re playing competitive online games where pinpoint accuracy and super-quick reflexes are essential.

You can switch the CPI sensitivity from 100 to 7,200 in increments of 100 by pressing the CPI switch button beneath the scroll wheel. This gives you a decent level of control over how the Steelseries Rival 110 feels, and there’s a noticeable difference in speed as you reach the higher CPI levels.

As we mentioned earlier, the maximum 7,200 CPI is far from the highest CPI we’ve seen in a gaming mouse, but we found that to be more than enough for our play style. Anything higher, and you get a mouse that can feel too fast and imprecise, unless you're a truly elite-level competitive gamer. Sticking to a sensible 7,200 is a wise move in our view -- especially as a lot of players will be using a CPI setting well below that.

While the build quality of the mouse is decent, it does in some ways feel like a budget mouse. In a way that’s good: Its weight meant we could easily wiz it around our desk, going from one end of our ultra-wide 21:9 monitor to the other with ease. However, those after a heavier feel will definitely want to opt for something else.

Features and Software

As the software is concerned, there isn't a huge amount of customization options available here. But there’s enough to tweak that allows you to get the SteelSeries Rival 110 to behave the way you want it to. Not only can you alter the speed and sensitivity of the mouse via software, but each of the buttons is reprogrammable. With a bit of time spent playing with the options, you’ll end up with the mouse that can really make a difference to your gaming.

The SteelSeries Engine software is easy to use and looks attractive. If you don’t want to mess around with detailed settings, the SteelSeries Rival 110 works very well straight out of the box, too.

Bottom Line

For the price, the SteelSeries Rival 110 offers a decent and dependable gaming experience. While it doesn’t do anything exceptionally well, you won’t be disappointed considering the $30 price. Its customization options are limited, but there’s enough to tweak that you should be able to get the Rival to behave the way you want it to. As far as budget gaming mice go, it strikes a good balance between budget-friendly compromise, comfort, and solid performance.

Image Credits: SteelSeries, Tom's Hardware

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Whether you're typing or gaming, your keyboard experience is all about the switches. You can get switches with a low-actuation point that triggers when you barely press or ones with a high actuation point that makes you push the key nearly all the way down to the bottom before it registers. But with a few special exceptions like the analog Wooting One keyboard, you can't adjust the actuation on a keyboard.

Enter SteelSeries' new OmniPoint switches, which let set their actuation point in 10 different positions, ranging from a light 0.4mm to a hard 3.6mm. So, if you want a light touch for blasting enemies in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, you can set it to 0.4mm and rapid fire practically just by breathing on the key caps. Then, when you're writing a report, you can go for a more reasonable actuation point of 2mm so that you avoid accidental keypresses.

These switches are SteelSeries' own design and are exclusively available in its upcoming Apex Pro keyboards. I had a chance to go fingers-on with an Apex Pro here at Computex Taipei and I was impressed not only with the technology, but also with the keyboard's features and design.

Apex Pro's Other Features

Due out in a few weeks for $199 (or $169 for the tenkeyless version), the Apex Pro has some neat extras you don't find on every premium keyboard. A black and white OLED screen sits in the upper right corner of the keyboard with a dial and a button next to it. You can use these navigational controls to set everything, from the lighting configuration to the macros and the actuation level, without installing any software on your PC. You can also configure all these options through the SteelSeries app in Windows where you can upload an animated GIF to display on the screen if you want.

The Apex Pro comes with a comfy, detachable soft-touch wrist rest, which in my brief experience, felt much better than the cheap plastic units you get with most gaming keyboards. However, it's not padded or filled with gel so it's not going to be quite as comfy as our favorite keyboard accessory, the HyperX Wrist Rest.

The back surface of the Apex Pro has a USB Type-A pass-through so you can attach a mouse or another peripheral to it. Rather than acting as a hub, the keyboard has a built-in cable that splits into two USB Type-A ports, one for the Apex Pro and another for the pass-through port. The port itself has a white backlight to help you find it in the dark. There's also a cable routing tunnel in the bottom.

How OmniPoint Switches Work

The OmniPoint switches have a linear feel that's very similar to the Cherry MX Red switches you'll find on so many other keyboards, but they work in a way that's different from normal mechanical switches. Where a normal mechanical switch actuates when two pieces of metal make contact during the key press, these OmniPoint switches use magnets and sensors that don't need to touch.

As you press the key down, you're moving a small magnet in its stem closer to the sensor, which uses the "Hall Effect" to determine the exact distance between the base and the stem. When it hits the actuation point you configured in software, the system registers a key press. 

Aside from their configurability, "Hall Effect" switches have a couple of advantages over regular mechanical switches. Because there's no physical contact, there's less wear and tear on the mechanism so the switches last longer. More importantly, the debounce time -- the delay the system waits between presses to make sure it doesn't register the same stroke twice -- is just 0.7 ms as opposed to 6 ms on a regular switch. Combine that with an incredibly shallow actuation point and you can fire your in-game weapon more quickly.

Using a demo that's built into the keyboard, I was able to adjust the actuation point just by rotating the dial. Then, I watched the OLED screen which measured how far I depressed the key and lit up to show when it had actuated. With a 0.4mm actuation point, the system registered a key press, just from me resting my fingers on the home row, a potential horror show for typing. At 3.6mm of travel, I had to practically bottom out to register my key press.

The slider in the app lets you choose among 10 different actuation points. For typing, I'd probably go with the middle point or just one notch below whlie, for gaming, I think I'd choose something a little deeper than 0.4mm.

But the good news is that you don't have to pick just one actuation point for the whole keyboard. You can configure different actuation points for different keys. If you are jumping too often because you accidentally tap the space bar, you can give it a deeper actuation point so you have to really hit it hard to register. And you can configure the actuation points to change for every application on your computer. So, your favorite game could have one profile and Microsoft Word could have another.

Because the OmniPoint switches cost more to manufacture than regular switches, the keys in the function row, the number pad, the arrow keys and other keys outside the main letter / number block use standard red mechanical switches that SteelSeries makes in partnership with Gateron. 

The Apex Pro and the OmniPoint switches that power it have the potential to really change the way we think about gaming keyboards. We look forward to testing these more thoroughly when they get closer to launch.

A gaming mouse might not necessarily make you a better player, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have it at your disposal. The SteelSeries Rival 310, which SteelSeries itself sells for $49.99 and we've seen sell as high as $69.99, is currently available on Amazon for a mere $30.

• Get the SteelSeries Rival 310 for $30.

The SteelSeries Rival 310 is built with precision, comfort and ergonomics in mind. The gaming mouse employs the TrueMove3 optical sensor, which is the product of the collaboration between SteelSeries and sensor maker PixArt.

The TrueMove3 sensor features true 1-to-1 tracking, whereby the mouse matches your movement on your computer screen regardless of the CPI (counts per inch) setting you're currently using. The SteelSeries Rival 310 boasts a 12,000 CPI rating, which you can adjust in increments of 100. Other attributes include a max tracking speed of 350 IPS (inches per second), 50G acceleration and a 1ms polling rate.

In terms of construction, the SteelSeries Rival 310 is made of a fiber-reinforced plastic material and weighs 88.3 grams. The top of the mouse has a fingerprint resistant, semi-rough matte finish. The body employs silicone side grips for improved handling. You can manipulate the mouse in a claw or palm grip. Note that the SteelSeries Rival 310 is designed specifically for right-handed users.

The SteelSeries Rival 310 flaunts split-trigger design and uses Omron mechanical switches that are rated for 50 million clicks. You have six buttons in total and the freedom to customize the two RGB zones individually with the SteelSeries Engine Software. The onboard 32-bit Arm processor allows you to save CPI settings, button remappings and lighting effects and take them with you wherever you go.

SteelSeries today launched a new gaming controller, the Stratus Duo, boasting dual wireless standards for cross-platform compatibility across PC, virtual reality (VR) and more. 

The Stratus Duo features both Bluetooth 4.1 and 2.4GHz connections, which SteelSeries claims will allow for direct plug-and-play support with Windows, Android, Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR over Bluetooth. For devices without Bluetooth, the included USB wireless adapter will enable use of the 2.4GHz connection. A single button on the controller allows users to swap between the two connections. Moreover, you can also charge and play over a wired connection, though the USB cable is still micro-USB, not Type-C, unfortunately. SteelSeries hasn't stated the capacity of the on-board battery but said it'll last over 20 hours.

The Stratus Duo’s layout seems very similar to a standard Xbox controller, albeit without the offset analog joysticks. The joysticks feature the new Hall Effect magnetic sensors which SteelSeries say are more durable and accurate, with minimal deadzone, compared to the older Stratus XL. The controller will also be compatible with the new SmartGrip accessory, a phone mount for SteelSeries controllers.

The SteelSeries Stratus Duo controller sells for $59.99 on the SteelSeries website.

SteelSeries Stratus Duo Controller Specs

Many gamers struggle to cut the cord between their PC and their mouse. It's hard to blame them--wireless mice often have unstable connections and cause too much input lag to be trusted. There's also the problem of having the battery die and being unable to play until it's charged. SteelSeries has announced the fast-charging Rival 650 wireless mouse to address those concerns, with the Rival 710 as a backup for those who still want that wire.

SteelSeries Rival 650

The Rival 650 is the first wireless SteelSeries mouse to feature the company's TrueMove3+ dual-sensor system. That system pairs a TrueMove sensor, which the company developed alongside PixArt to offer tracking that "delivers the most natural and accurate mouse movement," alongside an optical sensor used to monitor lift-off distance. The result is a mouse with 1-to-1 tracking from 100 to 12,000 DPI with minimal latency for better aim. 

But the sensor's just one aspect of the Rival 650's appeal. The main attraction is SteelSeries' claims regarding the mouse's fast charging abilities. According to the company, five minutes of charging will provide enough power for three hours of use, while 15 minutes will allow for over 10 hours. However, it does warn that fast charging relies on a compatible USB port and that the mouse's RGB lighting profile could affect how quickly its battery runs out.

That's not as promising as Logitech's wireless charging Powerplay mice, which don't have to be plugged in at all, but it's better than most wireless mice. The Rival 650 also doesn't compromise on its wireless connection to preserve its battery life--SteelSeries said it uses a 2.4GHz wireless system with a 1,000Hz polling rate. That compares well to the polling rates of wired mice, although those also don't have to worry about interference.

SteelSeries also outfitted the Rival 650 with adjustable weights. The mouse comes with eight weights that weigh 4g each, with the company saying owners will have 256 different weight combinations to choose from, depending on how many weights they use and where they're placed. Combine that with the previously mentioned RGB lighting, and it seems like the Rival 650 is a true gaming mouse that just happens to be wireless.

It's clear that wired mice aren't going away in the near future--too many people want the guaranteed connectivity afforded by the almighty cord for that to happen. With the inclusion of adjustable weights, an esports-ready sensor, RGB lighting and fast charging capabilities, however, the Rival 650 makes a strong case for gamers to reconsider.

The Rival 650 is available in North America for $120. 

SteelSeries Rival 710

For those who don't trust wireless connections, however, SteelSeries also announced the Rival 710. The mouse is much like its predecessor, the Rival 700, in that it boasts an OLED display, along with tactile alerts that can notify users of in-game events. SteelSeries merely updated the design with a TrueMove3 sensor and 60-million-click durability. The Rival 710 is also customizable via the SteelSeries Engine software, modular cable system and swappable back plate.

The Rival 710 is available in North America $100. 

With so many of the gaming headsets we review landing in the $100 range (and serving up impressive performance), what could possibly justify the $250 price tag that SteelSeries pins on its Arctis Pro + GameDAC? There's the dedicated digital-to-analog converter for starters, which bypasses the audio hardware built into your motherboard or PlayStation 4. As a result, SteelSeries claims much higher quality than competing headsets, along with RGB illumination, more luxurious materials, and a Hi-Res Audio certification.

Our testing supports the company's claims: the GameDAC and headphone amp really do perform well, adding lots of value for gamers able to afford the expensive bundle. Where the Arctis Pro comes up short is its fitment over large heads. Despite a lightweight steel headband, aluminum alloy hangers, and soft-touch coatings, comfort may become a point of contention. Definitely try these on before spending big bucks on them.

Specifications

Unboxing & Accessories

SteelSeries' bundle is comprehensive, to be sure. In addition to the Arctis Pro and GameDAC, there is a proprietary cable for audio connectivity (including RGB LED illumination), an optical cable (S/PDIF), a USB cable for hooking up to a PC or PS4, and a cable with a 3.5mm jack for connecting the GameDAC to a mobile device.

Notably missing is a cable with 3.5mm jacks for operating the Arctis Pro without SteelSeries' GameDAC. The assumption, of course, is that you'll keep the headset and DAC together. But gamers on the road may not want to haul around the external brick. Throwing in an extra cable would have greatly improved this product's versatility.

What Is Hi-Res Audio?

First of all, Hi-Res Audio is not the same thing as High-Resolution Audio, though the similarity of their names is certainly no accident. The latter is generally used to describe audio signals beyond the 16-bit encoding and 44.1 kHz sampling rates of CDs, while Hi-Res Audio devices are described as those able to deliver sound that's clearer, sharper, and more complex than other music sources. The Japan Audio Society's own definition of Hi-Res Audio simply specifies headphone performance of 40 kHz or above. Ambiguous enough for you? Perhaps not surprisingly, this label isn't something that's awarded, but rather has to be paid for.

The GameDAC's 96 kHz sample rate is higher than 44.1 kHz, and its 24-bit resolution exceeds the aforementioned 16-bit encoding used by Compact Disc Digital Audio. We'd suggest that higher resolution is more suitable for studio work and the signal processing path found in professional settings.

The JAS' page on Hi-Res Audio says nothing about the actual playback quality of a qualifying headset. So, what sounds good is up for interpretation. Its listening evaluation process is as follows:

• Each applicant must assign the audio/sound quality control manager in addition to the product quality control manager.
• The audio/sound quality control manager should be responsible for final decision as Hi-Res Audio product to be proved according to each company's sound evaluation standard.

Even if SteelSeries thinks it created the first Hi-Res Audio-certified headset, Roccat's Khan Pro shows us that there are much cheaper alternatives with the same label, if that's what you're after.

Look, Feel & Comfort

The Arctis Pro's appearance is sleek, subdued, and elegant. But it's not perfect. If you plug the headset in without configuring its lighting, you lose that splash of color around the cups. You'll want to download the SteelSeries Engine software for easy access to and total control over the Arctis' RGB effects.

The body's matte-black ABS polymer, the outer shell's soft-touch rubber coating, and the anthracite-metallic hinges aren't particularly eye-catching. Then again, $250 headsets don't need to scream out for attention. We're instead treated to classy looks that fit in almost anywhere. The polished steel and aluminum alloy construction convey solid build quality without the gaudy look of exposed metal.

The headband's length is not adjustable. Instead, SteelSeries relies on a textile strap that can be independently adjusted using Velcro fasteners. At least that's the idea. Unfortunately, the author's 62cm hat size isn't compatible with this mechanism. If you know your head is on the larger side, definitely audition the Arctis Pro before sinking $250 into SteelSeries' bundle.

On the back of the left can, you'll find a large, easy-to-feel microphone mute switch, a rotary wheel for analog volume control, the headphone amp's input port, and a 3.5mm jack that necessitates an audio output/microphone input combo cable.

The ear cushions are relatively easy to remove and replace. Their textile covering feels pleasant against the head, and it resists sweat fairly well. However, the fabric may not have been a great choice for acoustics. Apart from its inability to shield against ambient noise, the cushions have a big impact on the subjective sound experience. High frequencies can be especially difficult to localize.

Tear-Down & Drivers

SteelSeries uses small and nimble 40mm neodymium drivers in order to hit the 40 kHz frequencies needed for Hi-Res Audio-class performance. On paper, this is fine so long as the body's tuning doesn't neglect low-frequency response. So, we opened the cans up to take a closer look inside.

The Arctis Pro's manufacturer relies on a type of double chamber with room for its customers to manipulate the sound. A quick test with the holes wide open gave the bass a bit more fullness. But then the sound's clean and clear definition was lost, replaced by a spongy hum.

There's a simple PCB from Shen Zhen Sun & Lynn Circuits Co Ltd. screwed into the plastic, sporting respectable soldering quality. You can also see the cable responsible for powering the RGB LEDs.

GameDAC: Digital/Analog Converter & Amplifier

It's tough to beat the ESS ES9018 Sabre³² reference DAC built into SteelSeries' GameDAC. Figure you're paying about $70 for this piece of hardware on its own, compared to buying an Arctis Pro headset for $180. That's not bad for a high-quality DAC and headphone amplifier. Unfortunately, the GameDAC only offers a proprietary headset output, so you can't hook it up to other products and compare its performance.

Inputs take the form of an optical TOSLINK connector and USB (for interfacing with a PC or PS4). Avoid using off-brand chargers with the GameDAC; ESS' ES9018 is very sensitive to differences in voltage.

ESS claims its chip can handle 32-bit PCM data and up to 1.536 MHz sampling rates, but the GameDAC's 24-bit resolution and 96 kHz sampling rates are definitely sufficient for this application.

We are a little disappointed in the artificially-imposed volume ceiling. Of course, it's nice that SteelSeries tries to protect its customers from hearing loss. However, we believe gamers should have the freedom control their hardware as they see fit. The drivers' specified 102 dB SPL doesn't even come close to being realized by the Arctis Pro.

The firmware's functionality, on the other hand, is above average. Lots of settings can be easily accessed using the display's rotary dial and button. Plus, the mixer's operation is intuitive, allowing you to fine-tune gaming and chat volume levels independently. Install the SteelSeries Engine software and those same settings can be controlled through your PC, too.

Microphone

SteelSeries employs a bi-directional, or figure-eight microphone, which is rather unusual since unidirectional cardioid-style mics are normally preferred for gaming headsets. But the Arctis Pro's mic performs well, delivering clear audio without much unwanted ambient noise. The gooseneck is plenty long, and also sufficiently flexible.

The microphone can be pushed up into the left can's body when it's not in use, though the detachable pop filter falls off. In the absence of a carrying bag, you'll have to keep the windscreen somewhere safe to avoid losing it.

Measurements & Sound-Check

To read about our test methodology in depth, please check out How We Test Gaming Headsets, particularly page 6 where we detail the measurements we take.

We start with a measurement of the microphone's frequency range. For this test, we use a calibrated mic (for reference) in our purpose-built measuring room. This allows us to take comparative measurements and generate a curve that comes close enough for what we're trying to do (even if it isn't the most ideal method for testing this mic). So, while the limitations of our equipment don't allow us to calculate the microphone's exact frequency response, we do have a reasonable approximation to confirm our subjective impression.

According to our equipment (and ears), the levels drop off sharply below ~100 Hz. This is actually desirable; it helps prevent rumbling sounds. Speech intelligibility is good, and the level is plenty high (though you can increase it using the GameDAC if necessary). 

Sibilants are a little too sharp, since high frequencies dominate. But we'd describe the sound as cool overall, lacking a little fullness and warmth below the upper mid-range.

Headphone Measurement

The chart does top out at 20 kHz, mostly because our semi-professional equipment isn't able to accurately measure frequencies much higher. You aren't missing much, though (unless you're a bat). SteelSeries' specified 40 kHz ceiling is mostly hypothetical in nature, intended to score points for the marketing department. With that said, the curve we recorded does look really good: up high and down low, the frequencies we want to see are present at decent levels.

We did toy around with the lowest bass levels, raising them a bit for a better experience. Just don't get too crazy with the manipulation or you'll overpower the work that went into balancing this headset.

Subjective Audio Experience

Now let's subjectively test SteelSeries' tuning efforts. We began by running the headset for four days straight at a source with decent sound levels to make sure it is properly broken in.

Bass Reproduction

We test the lowest bass in the sub-contra octave (16.4 Hz to 32.7 Hz) with a recording of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor (19 and 25 Hz), as well as the festival overture composed in 1880 by Tchaikovsky (10 Hz and 12.5 Hz). The same applies to the lower ranges of the contra octave (32.7 to 65.4 Hz). The large bass drum, usually tuned to ~55 to 60 Hz, is used to complete this evaluation.

The bass is deep, but also reserved. It's highly dependent on the ear cushions fitting well, so imprecise coverage hampers performance. Gamers with larger heads just won't get as much from the Arctis Pro, unfortunately. 

Large bass drum impacts are sufficiently crisp and level stability is good, which we expected from a $250 bundle. Overall, the 40mm drivers fare well in our low-frequency testing, offering music lovers a pleasant experience. But anyone looking for thunderous bass is going to be disappointed. The Arctis Pro serves up fine nuances rather than palpable drops.

Upper bass, up to 150 Hz, contains the male voice's fundamental speech frequency. Thus, it has a strong influence on the lifelike reproduction of male vocals.

This range sounds balanced and natural, calling to mind similar adjectives as our description of the bass. Male vocals are reproduced expressively, and the instruments that generate the same frequencies aren't distorted at all. Overall, the resolution is very good, allowing subtle sources shine through.

Mid-Range

The lower mid-range (sometimes called "fundamental range") spans from ~150 to 400 Hz. Together with the upper bass, this range plays an important role in producing the subjectively perceived warmth and fullness of sound. This is also where the fundamental range of female vocals can be found.

Female vocals also sound great. Gaming soundscapes are well-preserved, satisfying a gaming headset requisite. The adept handing of music makes SteelSeries' Arctis Pro a solid all-around solution.

The upper mid-range, from 400 Hz to about 2 kHz, contains the 1 kHz point that's used as a reference for many measurements. Unfortunately, this is often very noticeable, especially with cheaper devices, as manufacturers tend to overemphasize it a bit. This frequency range also plays a significant role in gaming, and its balanced reproduction contributes significantly to good spatial resolution.

Instruments offer the nuances we listen for. Moreover, details pulled from the background and nudged to the forefront are inspiring. The subjectively-perceived spacial resolution also impresses us. With that said, Creative's older Sound BlasterX H5 is a bit better when it comes to an evaluation of the sound stage (particularly after a price comparison). The Arctis Pro just doesn't achieve the depth of a good hi-fi headphone.

In our opinion, an orchestra experienced through this headset still seems positioned well enough to satisfy music-lovers, even if quieter sources can be difficult to locate at high output levels.

High-Frequency Range

Between 2 kHz and 3.5 kHz is where the human ear is most sensitive, especially since the lower levels of this range are responsible for the human voice's overtone reproduction. This frequency range is crucial to the recognition of a voice or an instrument. Thus, in this context, it also relates to the respective tone color, or timbre.

Neutral tuning from the factory accommodates the original timbre in this range. As a result, everything sounds more natural than you'd expect from a gaming headset.

The mid-high range (3.5 to 6 kHz) determines the success or failure of speech reproduction as a whole, since sibilant sounds (like the letter "s" and hiss sounds) fall into it. The upper trebles range up to about 10 kHz, where we pass into the territory of super-high frequencies.

High and super-high frequencies are dominant, no question. However, this range stops short of sounding metallic, which would lead to overemphasized sibilants and blow-out noises. Instead, what we hear can again be described as pleasantly neutral.

Conclusion

A $250 price tag is staggering for a gaming headset. But it ends up making sense when you consider the Arctis Pro's performance on its own, along with the separate GameDAC. We can't rightly pin an award on this bundle, though, because the headset simply does not fit well on large heads. As a result, comfort and sound both suffer, depending on your physiology. We've asked this before, but why is SteelSeries still designing headsets that are too narrow for a great many of its customers?

The Arctis Pro's other attributes are commendable, even if its sound stage was a little narrower than we expected and the bass a bit too reserved. Even the kit's GameDAC is worth its asking price, despite the proprietary interface. 

In the end, SteelSeries serves up a high-performance headset packed with value. Its $250 asking price is unquestionably steep. But the Arctis Pro + GameDAC does a lot right, whether you're gaming or listening to music. It's just a pity that there's an artificial cap on the maximum output level (though there are tricks to get around this). SteelSeries makes it easy for us to recommend the Arctis Pro. If you're worried that the band won't fit comfortably over your head, try auditioning a set before spending big bucks.

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My dog's favorite toy is a three-foot-long rope whose length is punctuated by heavy knots. Working at home means I often have this rope brought over to me, thrown on my lap, or forced into my hands whenever my dog wants to play. This is usually fine--who doesn't like the occasional distraction?--but last week I learned that it can also be dangerous. Yep. My dog managed to break my headphones with his rope.

Here's what happened: The headphones' cord hung slightly over the side of my desk. When my dog brought over his all-too-heavy rope, he accidentally dropped it on the cord, which put too much pressure on it. This messed up the 3.5mm jack, and when I accidentally pulled the headset away from my PC a few days later, the entire thing came apart and left part of itself inside my PC. (I managed to pry out the leftover.)

The problem is that I need headphones. Sometimes there's too much noise for me to work without them, and when I play games like Overwatch that require me to communicate or Prey that use a lot of ambient sound, I need to be able to hear. So I set out to find a new pair of headphones right away, and I ultimately decided to purchase the SteelSeries Arctis 5 gaming headset as an early birthday present to myself.

I'll confess that the Arctis 5 has some features, like programmable RGB lights, that I couldn't really care less about. I also haven't found myself using the "ChatMix Dial" that prioritizes in-game sounds or voice chat all that much, though I suspect that will change as I get more used to the feature. But the basic aspects of the headset, from its sound quality and comfort to its built-in microphone, have all been excellent.

The Arctis 5 features 7.1 surround sound, which means I can easily tell where someone's coming from in-game based solely on audio cues. It also sports what SteelSeries describes as the best microphone in gaming. I'm not willing to make that statement myself, mostly because I haven't used built-in mics before, but I will say that few people I communicate with online have noticed a drop in voice quality compared to the Blue Yeti microphone I was using before.

Most important, though, is the Arctis 5's comfort. I have a big head, and some headphones don't stretch enough to accommodate that big ol' noggin, making it feel like someone's just constantly squeezing on my temples. Other headphones rest more on my ears instead of over them, and that can quickly start to chafe during marathon game sessions. (I mean, um, long days at the office.)

The Arctis 5 doesn't have either problem. I barely notice the headset when it's on, the cups easily cover my ears, and the so-called AirWeave ear cushions don't get too hot even when the temperature in my office rises. Combine the solid audio, clear microphone, and comfortable design, and you get a clear improvement over the budget headphones I used before. Maybe I should let my dog break more of my stuff.

SteelSeries released a new series of gaming headsets called the Arctis Pro. They come in three versions--two wired and one wireless. All feature a number of digital innovations, such as built-in mixing and DTS Headphone: X v2.0.

Before we elaborate on each, it should be noted that all versions of the Arctis Pro share some similarities and features. For example, they all share the same basic headset design and drivers. On that first point, the Arctis Pro headsets all bear the familiar SteelSeries design on the headband, which uses a floating headband and ear cup mounts that can swivel in two dimensions. The Arctis Pro uses some more premium materials, including steel, aluminum, and woven fabric, but sticks to SteelSeries’ classic fabric ear cups.

SteelSeries continues to use 40mm drivers, but on the Arctis Pro they’re bolstered by DTS Headphone: X v2.0. This is a digital audio enhancement, similar to Dolby Headphone, that attempts to emulate surround sound with dual-channel audio. All headsets also have the same noise-cancelling, retractable boom mic built in.

USB + RGB

So how do they differ from one another? Starting with the most basic of the three, the “USB + RGB” version is a classic PC headset. Externally, it features an RGB-lit ring around the ear cups that ties into SteelSeries’ Prism lighting ecosystem. Audio input is analog, but the headset features an in-line, USB-controlled volume mixing device called the ChatMix dial. This knob allows you to balance the volume mix of your chat and game audio streams.

GameDAC + RGB

The more advanced wired version of the Arctis Pro is called “GameDAC + RGB.” It replaces the ChatMix dial with a full outboard sound card that SteelSeries calls the GameDAC. This is the only version certified for Hi-Res Audio because it can play back 24-bit 96kHz audio. Beyond acting as a DAC and amplifier for the headset, the GameDAC also has a screen and multi-purpose dial that allows you to control the ChatMix feature, a 10-band equalizer, and what SteelSeries calls the “Stream Mix” feature. The GameDAC makes this version of the Arctis Pro compatible with digital input from the Playstation 4. The Stream Mix feature allows Playstation 4 streamers to control the volume of their game, chat, aux, and mic inputs.

Wireless + Bluetooth

The last and most advanced version of the Arctis Pro is the “Wireless + Bluetooth” version. Thanks to pure digital inputs, it is also compatible with the Playstation 4. Feature-wise, it’s similar to the “GameDAC + RGB” version, but it replaces the GameDAC with a wireless base station, which also doubles as the battery charger. It also lacks the RGB lighting. The transmission method can be either a 2.4GHz wireless protocol or Bluetooth. The former allows for lossless transmission of audio to the headset at up to 40 feet, whereas the latter allows for pairing with other audio sources, such as a phone. The base station also has most of the features of the GameDAC, such as ChatMix and an equalizer, but lacks Stream Mix.

The “USB + RGB,” “GameDAC + RGB,” and “Wireless + Bluetooth” versions of the Arctis Pro are available now on SteelSeries’ website at $180, $250, and $330.

SteelSeries' Siberia 200 is the company's latest effort with a list price of $80, even if you can find it for ~$60 online. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that the Siberia 200 is a cost-reduced version of the Siberia v2 (Amazon even makes reference to the 200's predecessor, which takes us all the way back to 2013). How has this design held up over time?

The bundle remains simple enough: you get one accessory, an angled Y-adapter to combine the separate headphone, and microphone connectors for smartphones and consoles.

Specifications

SteelSeries' Siberia 200 has been on the market for some time now. Consequently, its price is fairly stable online.

Look & Feel

The Siberia 200's design is heavily inspired by its predecessors. However, it appears as if the engineering and accounting departments were sharing a desk as they defined this headset's specifications.

What distinguishes the Siberia series from its competition is the eye-catching frame. A unique suspension for the ear pieces, adjustable across two axes, combined with a flexible, spring-loaded headband, guarantees that this self-adjusting headset provides an almost perfect fit for any head circumference smaller than 60cm.

The Siberia 200's material mix differs slightly from SteelSeries' previous models. Now, artificial leather on the outside of the headband is quick to show unsightly wrinkles after a couple of uses. Moreover, padding on the underside is made up of a coarse textile cover, which attracts hair and lint. Even mechanical parts of the headset get caught up in the cost cutting.

Nevertheless, SteelSeries' Siberia 200 looks and feels well built. It can take quite a bit of torsion without breaking. The headset just doesn't feel as luxurious as its predecessors, which is a real pity.

Comfort

Whereas the ear pieces used to have an additional hinge for adjustments along the vertical axis, allowing them to rotate back and forth, this newer model leaves them fixed and unmovable. In our opinion, the unchangeable tilt is an ergonomic and acoustic failure, as both the fit and directional characteristic are significantly hampered compared to previous models.

Only the horizontal joint at the transition between the frame and ear piece remains. Although the design visually copies SteelSeries' older model, it is ultimately disappointing.

The frame's mechanism, on the other hand, remains unchanged. As a result, the problem with head sizes larger than 60cm remains. If you're in that category, definitely look elsewhere for a comfortable headset.

Another complicating factor is that the horizontal tilt's maximum angle is too small for a straight fit. It is almost impossible to shake the feeling that the ear piece's lower part is sticking out a bit, since pressure isn't distributed evenly around the cup.

Ear pads covered with faux leather ensure that this is a true over-ear design. Contact pressure increases with the headband's tension, and this intensifies according to head circumference. Yet, at least for people with smaller heads, the pressure remains tolerable, especially since the padding does a pretty good job molding to individual anatomies.

Functionality & Interface

The control unit is integrated. It comes with a volume knob on one side and a microphone switch up front. Its position on the cable is alright, and the control elements are easy to find/use.

Connecting the analog jack is straightforward, whether you're using a PC, console, or smartphone (with the included Y-adapter).

Microphone

The omnidirectional gooseneck microphone can be pulled out or pushed back in as needed, making it very practical. However, for large-headed individuals, the gooseneck is both too short and not stable enough in its intended position. That makes the mic difficult to find and keep positioned optimally.

Sensitivity and output levels are relatively low. Thus, it might be difficult to make yourself heard during hectic multiplayer matches. It's also unpleasant that there is no real low-cut. Rumbling noises are consequently reproduced by the microphone. Wind and breathing noises are not suppressed either, since the microphone records frequencies that are too high.

Measurements & Sound-Check

To read about our test methodology in depth, please check out How We Test Gaming Headsets, particularly page 6 where we detail the measurements we take.

SteelSeries advertises that its Siberia 200 sports greatly improved sound. Nevertheless, we observe a familiar bathtub curve (though the results aren't altogether bad).

Bass is amplified quite a bit between 50 and ~170 Hz. This is entirely bearable, and probably what most gamers would expect anyway. In our opinion, the upper bass is a little too heavy. In turn, male voices boom more than they should. Low bass, on the other hand, sounds good. The subcontra octave is covered well; it's possible to hear more in that range than you'd expect from a gaming headset.

The downside of a low-pitched and reasonably-priced driver is its slightly sluggish transient response, which doesn't improve, even after hours of operation. Although it's only noticeable in certain cases, for short, sudden impulses, there's no mistaking this weakness.

In this price range, that's not a deal-breaker, though. More unpleasant is the loss of mid-range by up to 6 dB at ~480 Hz. As a result, the fundamental range of female vocals and many instruments fall off, negatively influencing the reproduction of music for trained ears. That transition from lower to upper mid-range is especially important for the overall impression of fullness.

From there on up to about 12 kHz, we observe almost neutral reproduction, which benefits the spatial positioning in games and the sound stage during musical reproduction. Sibilants are audible, but not overemphasized. High-frequency sounds are pleasant. It's only the super-high frequency range that breaks down slightly above 12 kHz (even though it remains just 4 dB below the 0 dB line).

For our taste, manipulation of the mid-range is overdone. To improve the subjective sonority, which is so important for musical reproduction, we recommend gently boosting the 500 Hz range with a software equalizer.

Conclusion

For ~$60, the Siberia 200 has its advantages. Strong bass is one of them, even if it's slightly sluggish, as is the headset's balanced reproduction above 1 kHz. The level stability is truly exemplary in this price range as well.

But there are some significant compromises made, including a reduction of mid-range response at ~480 Hz which limits the fullness of sound and robs many sources of their presence.

Fit and comfort are both acceptable, even if cost-cutting means this new version no longer lives up to the very high standards of SteelSeries' previous models. Rather, the Siberia 200 trends more toward class-average. In the process, it excludes anyone with a head circumference larger than ~60cm.

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With a street price around $250, SteelSeries' Siberia 800 wireless gaming headset is certainly not an affordable entry-level solution. It's top-end. At least, that's what we assume based on the price. But is the hardware built to match?

Inside the box, you get the headset, two replaceable battery packs, a base station (holding a transmitter, headphone amplifier, and battery charger), a power supply with four different options for various international outlets, an optical cable, multiple USB cables, and cables for connecting your host device of choice.

To help you keep track of what goes where, and to spare you repeated trips back to the manual, SteelSeries put neat little stickers anywhere the company believed more explanation was necessary.

Specifications

SteelSeries' Siberia 800 has been on the market for a little while now. Consequently, its price is fairly stable at around $50 below list.

Look & Feel

The headset itself feels quite full and compact, largely because of the electronics packed inside. Unfortunately, none of the heft comes from metal construction: the Siberia 800 is made of plastic. Silky-matte surfaces dominate, and the only piano lacquer finish is found on the ear pieces' removable covers. That's the opposite of what most folks would say makes sense, and indeed, every time the shells are opened, you're compelled to wipe everything down to get rid of fingerprints.

Those orange seams in the plush ear pads' faux leather not only look nice, but also match the fabric covering the drivers inside. Visually, there's little for us to complain about. Small gap dimensions speak to the quality of manufacturing, too.

Comfort

Let's start with the good news, at least for most folks. Foam on the ear pads is rather firm, and it adapts well to anatomic contours. Larger ears may have a hard time fitting completely under the pads, though, so the Siberia 800 ultimately gives you a mix of on- and over-ear coverage. Regardless, comfort shouldn't become an issue so long as the headband is adjusted to apply an ideal amount of pressure.

That takes us to the next point: adjustability, which turns out to be pretty good. Mechanical joints cover the vertical (end of the frame) and horizontal (suspension of the ear piece) axes, making it possible to achieve almost any position you desire. Size adjustments are handled by an extendible frame that can be pulled out pretty far.

All of this flexibility hits its limit for folks with head circumferences larger than 58cm, though. Beyond that, the results are not quite as comfortable. An increase in contact pressure makes the Siberia 800 difficult to wear over longer periods of time. And it's worse if you also wear glasses, since there is no mechanical solution to compensate for that.

SteelSeries' weight specification seems a little optimistic. The scales in our lab measure 325 grams, including the battery, rather than the datasheet's 319 grams. Either way, both values are considerable for a headset, making it critical that you adjust the Siberia 800 properly. Fortunately, customizations are held in place firmly to ensure your position of choice is sustained.

The headband's padding is thick and comfortable, yielding to your contours only where it should.

Functionality & Interface

The headset is designed for wireless operation. That much isn't particularly unique. However, SteelSeries also employs a multi-channel radio solution that, like Wi-Fi, selects the best frequency range to use and even switches to another one if it becomes necessary. Unfortunately, we were unable to determine whether this actually translates to the low latencies that are advertised. But we can say the Siberia 800's connection quality was above average throughout a large lab with lots of devices operating in the same frequency band.

Turning back to the headset itself, the volume knob offers one-button control. Apart from the chat (microphone mute) and on/off buttons, there are no other controls to worry about.

All other connections, along with the battery pack, are hidden behind the ear pieces' two removable covers. The design seems intuitive and neatly implemented, though the aforementioned fingerprints are a pain. In this price range, a carbon fiber finish would have been a better alternative to piano black.

The Siberia 800 relies on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, and SteelSeries give you two battery packs with a capacity of 1000 mAh each. Assume that ~800 mAh are usable in practice, which should be good for 6-10 hours of continuous operation depending on volume levels and how much you play with the controls. Once depleted, the batteries are recharged by putting them into a side opening on the base station.

As you might imagine then, SteelSeries calling the external black box a mere transmitter doesn't give it enough credit. Under the hood, there is also a large, high-contrast OLED display that looks great even in poor lighting conditions. Moving through on-screen menus is easy to master. One-button control makes navigation a breeze through a combination of pressing (to confirm) and twisting (to select). This is sufficient to reach every option you might need (and there are a lot of them).

The transmitter box also functions well as a mixer, adjusting the volume of various sources individually. For example, you can maintain a balance between in-game sound and chat I/O. It's also possible to affect the sound using various predefined profiles. Furthermore, this adds a rather convenient option for switching between audio sources.

Speaking of sound sources, they obviously require a variety of connectors. The rear panel sports two 3.5mm jacks for audio input and microphone output. In addition, you get an optical input and output, allowing the headset to either accept a digital signal or pass-through to a separate loudspeaker solution.

All of the cables included in SteelSeries' bundle facilitate connectivity with PCs, consoles, and mobile devices.

Conveniently, the ear pieces can be rotated vertically up to 90 degrees, allowing the ~7cm-tall headset to take up less space during transport.

The Siberia 800 also sports simulated Dolby 7.1-channel surround, though we prefer to not use that.

A complete charge takes fewer than 70 minutes to achieve. We imagine most folks will leave the spare battery plugged into the transmitter box, which not only stops charging when maximum capacity is reached, but also maintains the battery over time. When the headset starts beeping to indicate a low charge, simply swap the batteries and you're good to go.

Microphone

The omnidirectional microphone can be pulled out for use or pushed back into the headset when it's not needed. Pressing the mute button causes a small red LED in the mic to start flashing. We're glad that the Siberia 800 doesn't have any other lights.

A low cut at 100 Hz works well, and clipping at 10 kHz also seems rather reasonable. However, these specifications, which come straight from SteelSeries' website, aren't given a tolerance range. In reality, we measured an effective range between 125 Hz to ~8 kHz, which is still sufficient for a gaming headset's mic. Even the deepest male voices are fully covered, and sibilants never exceed 7 kHz to begin with.

Measurements & Sound-Check

To read about our test methodology in depth, please check out How We Test Gaming Headsets, particularly page 6 where we detail the measurements we take.

We're using the most neutral settings possible for our benchmarks, avoiding gimmicks like simulated surround sound that mess with audio reproduction. Testing is done with a pure binaural signal, while measurements are taken using a monaural signal (pink noise). The headset's curve, which turns out to be a bit bass-heavy, is free of spikes or other nasty surprises. The only notable peculiarity is a dominance at ~90 Hz. It's about 8 dB above the normalized average at 1 kHz. Fortunately, all other values remain within the tolerance range of +/-3 dB.

Bass boost, especially in the upper bass range, is a bit unreasonable. After all, the impacts and explosions typically found in battlefield noises occupy much lower frequencies. It's certainly enough to allow percussionists to bask in the presence of powerful bass drums, though. Otherwise, that's the only range we consider over-done. Everything else is much better. Even the deepest bass measurements are sufficient.

Transient response is acceptable; the small 40mm drivers fare well enough.

The mid-range is good, so we are, too. Since the lower-mids are slightly raised, many instruments and voices sound fuller than they normally would. You might love this, or you might hate it. In our opinion, the sound reproduction is somewhat too voluminous, though the acoustic resolution is good. It's not too detailed, but still differentiated enough.

We measure a stable upper mid-range to lower treble range, which rewards us with a respectable sound stage. This is beneficial for spatial location during gaming. The timbre of instruments, voices, and environmental noises remains largely neutral, too.

The slight peak at ~6 kHz and up results in an overemphasis of the sibilants, making several smaller instruments more audible. The sound seems cool, though not metallic. It's definitely better for gaming than for listening to orchestral works.

So, where does all of that leave us? Of course, it's possible to find decent hi-fi headphones with a good amplifier for a similar price. In that case, though, you're tied to a cable and left without a microphone. A headset with the Siberia 800's sound, similar build quality, but no wireless functionality would probably sell for $100 or so.

Thus, the only way to justify a $150 premium is the "transmitter" box and wireless radio. We might be compelled to call that acceptable, since the $300 list price is down as low as $240 on SteelSeries' website.

Conclusion

Averaging about $250 online, the Siberia 800 certainly isn't a bargain. But that price is justified if you're willing to spend top dollar on a wireless solution with features not found on mainstream headsets.

Its sound quality is a little bass-heavy. Otherwise, the Siberia 800 makes for pleasant listening. Level stability is quite good for a wireless device, and the batteries last a relatively long time. Once they're depleted, you recharge the old set and pop in a fresh pack.

The base station with transmitter, various options for manipulating the sound, and plenty of I/O is most certainly the reason SteelSeries' Siberia 800 costs so much. At the same time, this headphone amplifier takes center stage in the package. It's visually attractive, easy to navigate with one knob, Dolby-certified, and highly functional.

In the end, this well-manufactured headset with its sensitive microphone is far from ordinary in terms of price, functionality, and of course connectivity. Fitment on big heads is a bit of a problem, since the pressure becomes uncomfortable. But you either like the Siberia 800 or you go looking for something lighter. Everybody else may feel free to cozy up on the couch and listen to music without the constraints of wires (so long as money isn't an issue, that is).

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LAS VEGAS, NV -- After revealing the Rival and Sensei 310 mice, SteelSeries is following up with the flagship mouse in its new line, the Rival 600. Like its siblings, the Rival 600 is equipped with TrueMove sensor technology, although it’s a more gussied-up version than the previous TrueMove3.

Double Sensors

SteelSeries’ goal is to push mouse technology as far as it can go, in the service of a superior user experience. With the original TrueMove sensors (built with PixArt), the company wanted to offer true 1:1 tracking and eliminate the usual input lag and jitter reduction that often comes with it. Next up: fixing the drift that comes with lifting the mouse. The company aims to accomplish that feat with the TrueMove3+ sensor, which is actually two sensors--there’s a second optical sensor in the Rival 600 dedicated solely to tracking lift-off distance (LOD).

The problem, as SteelSeries frames it, is that whenever you lift up a mouse, its sensor inherently detects horizontal movement. No matter how minute that movement may be, it does create a drift of sorts. We’ve all grown accustomed to adjusting for that drift on the fly when we place our mouse back down on the surface, but the net result is a certain amount of inaccuracy and uncertainty as to where your cursor actually lands. In a fast-paced game, losing that edge can cost you a pwning, or a “Chicken Dinner,” or what have you.

The second sensor in the TrueMove3+ recognizes when the mouse is off the gaming surface and kills the tracking. When you put the mouse back down, the sensor turns the tracking back on. The second sensor can track as low as 0.5mm off of a gaming surface.

Further, according to SteelSeries, the type of surface is immaterial to TrueMove3+’s performance, be that roughness or color.

This feature may be controversial to some gamers; after all, it seems like this is a case of the mouse trying to outsmart the user. The same people who despise “cheat” features in mice could see this LOD cutoff in a similar light--which is ironic given SteelSeries’ proclamations about the need for true 1:1 performance in its TrueMove sensor-powered mice. However, SteelSeries product reps see it differently; they posit that it’s not a compensatory feature, but a way to remove the noise in the experience, thereby giving users a truer, more precise experience.

The Rival 600 Mouse

The dual sensor configuration is the marquee feature of the Rival 600, but it has plenty of other bells and whistles.

SteelSeries employed a system of removable weights in the Rival 600, but the idea is that you need to consider not just weight, but balance. Often, there’s one spot in a mouse with a variable weight system that houses the weights. Thus, although you can plop in, say, four or five 5g weights, you don’t get to play with balance. They’ll simply make one end--usually somewhere inside the palm rest--heavier. But discerning gamers pick their mice based on balance as much as weight. For example, a 90g mouse with the weight toward the front versus one with the weight gathered at the palm rest will feel completely different.

SteelSeries’ answer to that customization conundrum is to offer four slots per side of the Rival 600 and eight 4oz weights. That way, you can load up another 8g or 16g toward the back or front of the mouse, or center the extra weight right in the middle, or leave them out entirely. The Rival 600 is 96g when empty, so you can customize it from there up to 128g.

Other details include a split-trigger design, with two new SteelSeries-made switches rated for 60M clicks each. They have a double spring design and should feel heavier than the Omron switches commonly found in mice.

The Rival 600 will sell for $80; the previously released Rival 310 and Sensei 310 cost $60 each.

Update, 10/30/17, 6:55am PT: You know how sometimes you see a keyboard and think, "That would be cool if only it was available in a tenkeyless form factor"? SteelSeries is offering just that. The tenkeyless version of its Apex M750 keyboard is the aptly named Apex M750 TKL. It has all the same features as its larger sibling, including the linear QX2 switches, but without the numpad. It costs $120, making it $20 cheaper than the full size M750.

Original article, 8/15/17, 10:30am PT:

SteelSeries’ newest keyboard, the Apex M750, is the vehicle by which the company debuted its latest switch.

QX2 Switches

One of the oft-overlooked features of some of SteelSeries’ keyboards is the fact that the company has its own switches. For example, there’s the Apex M800, which is loaded up with the SteelSeries QX1 switch. The QX1 sports shallow travel (3mm) and actuation (1.5mm), and it’s a light switch at just 45gf. They also were topped by low-profile keycaps.

The next generation of the company’s switch, the QX2, is quite a bit different. On the Apex M750, the keycaps are standard height, for example, and the QX2 switches offer 2mm actuation and 4mm total travel.

The switch housings are clear, so the LEDs shine all over the backplate. That particular design feature is the same as the QX1, but whereas the QX1 has a centered LED for more uniform lighting, the QX2 has its LEDs positioned at the top of the switch housing.

Basically, whereas the QX1 was unique and innovative, the QX2 is a clone of the Cherry MX RGB switch, from the specs to the design.

Both the QX1 and QX2 are linear switches, and the QX2 maintains the same 45gf as its predecessor.

Software Fun

Other than the new switches, it seems that the defining characteristics of the Apex M750 are all around the new software capabilities in SteelSeries Engine (SSE). For example, it now offers Discord integration, so the keyboard’s backlighting will offer you notifications. It also lets you sync lighting between the Apex M750 and other SSE-supported peripherals, and the GameSense feature offers up reactive effects to in-game events and needs such as low ammo and health. Specifically, it’s integrated with a game called Gigantic, which SteelSeries said delivers “real-time, in-game reactive illumination and haptic feedback across all SteelSeries-compatible devices.”

There’s of course complex lighting features available via the PrismSync feature. You can enable numerous active effects (Wave, Breathing, ColorShift, Rippling, Firework, etc.) and reactive effects (Fade, Hexagon, Ripple, Runout, etc.). And through the software, you can bind keys and create and edit macros.

The keyboard also can serve as a music visualizer, which is to say it flashes its lights in various colors in response to your music. You can also load up any animated GIF, and the lights will replicate it as a customized lighting effect.

Wait, what was that? GIFs? Yes, GIFs. You can download one and play it back on the keyboard’s backlighting. In the pantheon of worthless but awesome product features, this one has a special place. It’s something that you can share with basically no one, unless someone is peeking over your shoulder, and it serves absolutely no purpose but to entertain you.

We were eager to test out the feature to see how delightful it may be, but alas, the app is not yet available. So it goes.

We believe it’s coming with the next SSE update, though. We noticed that the most recent version that’s available is SSE v.3.10.12, but the spec sheet for the M750 states that the software that has all these features is v.3.11+, which means the company hasn’t pushed the final update yet.

All of the above features are app-based; that is, you have SSE itself, but you can plug in various “apps” that offer additional functionality. There aren’t many just yet--SteelSeries is clearly hoping the community will make and share more--but what is available, you can find here.

New Look

In terms of the look and feel of the chassis, the Apex M750 is a bit of a departure from the M800. Both are full-size keyboards, have the teardrop-shaped sides, are all black, and feature black backlit keycaps, but there are key differences. For example, whereas the M800 has a more traditional “bowl” design, with the switches mounted onto a backplate with a top panel over it, the M750 sports the top plate-mounted design that’s become so popular.

Further, the M800 has an extra chunky spacebar; the M750’s is normal-sized. And, of course, there’s the aforementioned keycap height difference.

The M750’s top panel is “Series 500” aluminum alloy. Notably, it’s not brushed metal, and it’s not that matte finish that you see on Razer keyboards. Rather, it’s a slightly textured, sparkly finish--but it doesn’t appear to hide fingerprints any better than any other metallic finish.

The Apex M750 costs $140, which is a fairly good deal compared to other gaming keyboards with similar specifications and features. For another $15, you can get a wrist rest to go with it. The Apex M800 was $200, but it’s dropped down to $170.

Back in July, SteelSeries announced the Rival 310 and Sensei 310 gaming mice, which are equipped with the TrueMove3 optical sensor that the company developed with PixArt. You can read more about the TrueMove3 here, but suffice it to say that it’s designed to be a high-end sensor with 1:1 tracking, low latency/fast response time, and advanced jitter reduction, and now SteelSeries is bringing a version of that sensor to a new mouse called the Rival 110.

The little brother to the Rival 310 and Sensei 310, the Rival 110 is nonetheless similarly equipped, although its CPI and IPS counts are lower--7,200 versus 12,000CPI and 240 versus 350IPS, respectively. That appears to the be the differences between the TrueMove3 sensor in the bigger brothers and the TrueMove1 sensor in the Rival 110.

Here’s where the naming conventions need some explanation: The Sensei 310 is an ambidextrous mouse, whereas the Rival 310 is a right hand-only mouse. The Rival 110 is also an ambidextrous mouse, making its overall design more similar to the Sensei 310 than its namesake Rival 310.

However, like the Rival 310, the Rival 110 has just six programmable buttons to the Sensei 310’s eight. (The Sensei has two side nav buttons that both Rivals lack.)

The Rival 110 also features onboard memory so you can save config settings in SteelSeries Engine 3 directly to the mouse. The lighting is RGB. The device weighs just 87.5g, which makes it a featherweight even among the spate of light (90-100g) gaming mice.

It’s also just $40, which puts it $20 under the Rival 310 and Sensei 310 mice. It’s available now.

To hear SteelSeries tell it, there are four key features of its new Sensei 310 and Rival 310 gaming mice: 1:1 tracking, low latency/fast response time, and advanced jitter reduction, and they’re brought to you by a custom SROM (storage read-only medium) for the sensor that SteelSeries developed in partnership with PixArt.

The optical sensor, exclusive to SteelSeries, is called TrueMove3, and it boasts 12,000CPI and 350IPS. SteelSeries knows that the glowingly high CPI count is mostly just a marketing point with little real-world value, but company reps did tell Tom’s Hardware that they wanted to have some overhead to play with--hence the high CPI.

It’s on the lower end of the CPI scale, though, that SteelSeries promises its best feature. The company claimed that the TrueMove3 offers true 1:1 tracking because it eliminates the input lag and jitter reduction that most alleged 1:1-tracking sensors introduce.

However, that’s true only between 100-3,500CPI; after that point (3,500-12,000CPI), the TrueMove3 employs “advanced jitter reduction.” That’s a bit of turnabout from the notion that 1:1 tracking gets hampered by that very feature, but SteelSeries maintains that once you get past 3,500CPI, you need more of a balance.

The IPS is consistent from 100-12,000CPI, in any case, and SteelSeries promised ultra-low latency at all CPI settings, too.

SteelSeries dropped the TrueMove3 sensor into two mice, the Sensei 310 and the Rival 310 gaming. The primary difference between them is that the former is an ambidextrous mouse and the latter was designed ergonomically for right handers. Further, the Sensei offers eight programmable buttons (L/R click, DPI button, scroll wheel, left-side navigation x2, and right-side navigation x2) to the Rival’s six. The Rival lacks the right-side nav buttons.

The Rival 310:

Both mice has two RGB lighting zones (the logo on the palm and the scroll wheel) that you can control with the SteelSeries Engine Software, and you can save your settings and profiles to their onboard storage. Their matte finish has a bit of texture, and the silicone side grips that ostensible promote a strong grip even under the duress of your sweaty palms and hot gaming action. The mice both weigh just 90g and feature two-meter cables.

The Sensei 310:

Note, too, that the ambidextrous and right-handed models bear the same MSRP of $60. This is a wise move on the company’s part, because by eliminating the variable of a cost difference, SteelSeries can better track the demand for one mouse over the other. For example, if the Sensei was $60 and the Rival was $70, one would never know if more people preferred the latter or if it was just a cost consideration. (Cooler Master is taking the same approach to its latest fleet of mice, as well).

That’s not to say $60 is cheap for a mouse--it isn’t--but it’s certainly on par with the competition’s prices for similarly-appointed products.

Increasingly, we’re seeing a trend of RGB lighting being synced across devices. Usually, you see that among a company’s own batch of products, but MSI got together with SteelSeries to implement the latter’s peripherals lighting software with the former’s motherboard.

For now, the synchronization is limited to the MSI Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon, but one imagines that it could work in the future for any MSI motherboard that has RGB lighting.

Simply put, SteelSeries, like many peripherals makers, has its own software application that lets you configure RGB lighting--colors, effects, and so on--as well as things like macros and key/button bindings. SteelSeries’ version is called SteelSeries Engine3 (SSE3). MSI is just allowing SSE3 to control the lighting on the Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon, and then you can sync the lighting on your SteelSeries peripherals with that motherboard.

The two main lighting features of SSE3 are PrismSync and GameSense. PrismSync controls all the lighting effects, and GameSense takes that a step further by using events in the game you’re playing to set off various lighting effects. For example, the lights on the keyboard or mouse (and/or, in this case, your motherboard) could show you your health, or remaining ammo, or--you get the idea.

SSE3 is supported on several SteelSeries peripherals, including the Rival 700 mouse and Apex M800 keyboard.

If you don’t have (or don’t want to have) SteelSeries peripherals but rock a Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon, you can still control the motherboard’s lighting with MSI’s own tools--Mystic Light Sync or the MSI Gaming App.

RGB lighting feels like an organic being that keeps evolving. First, it was on some keyboards and mice. Then it was on a lot of keyboards and mice. And headsets! Then the configuration software began to get more sophisticated. The next step in the evolution was synchronizing the lighting across multiple devices in a company’s product stack using proprietary software. And then came the RGB motherboards and cupholders!

We suppose it was inevitable, but with this MSI/SteelSeries collaboration, now RGB lighting can be synced across products from multiple manufacturers.

Why not an MMO/MOBA-focused, many-buttoned mouse? SteelSeries fleshed out its “Rival” line with the Rival 500, a 15-button mouse that slots into the stack behind the recently-released Rival 700 and ahead of the Rival 300 and Rival 100.

The Rival 500 shares some key features with the Rival 700, most notably the haptic feedback and PixArt PMW3360 optical sensor, which we’re seeing all over the place these days. However, whereas several mouse makers (Corsair excluded) have built relatively inexpensive, less full-featured mice around the 3360, SteelSeries has gone the other way.

Fits Like A Glove?

We doff our caps to anyone who can keep track of all 15 buttons, not to mention deploy their functions on the fly in the middle of a game. But whereas some mice with more buttons than humans have fingers have a tight grid on the left side, SteelSeries went back to the drawing board to try and create a layout that more ergonomically suits the thumb.

The Rival 500’s design puts several buttons around the thumb rest area. The middle of this ring is no button at all, which means you can grip the mouse more easily without accidentally clicking a button. Below that are what SteelSeries calls “flickdown switches.”

The company stated in a press release that each flickdown switch, “...responds to your thumbs [sic] natural flick motion.” We have not had the chance to test this out ourselves yet, but although in theory that makes lots of sense, in practice we worry that the downstroke motion may cause inadvertent mouse movement even as it allows for a faster switch actuation.    

In any case, the overall layout looks superb. There are three more buttons in the “ring,” and they’re designed such that you can hit them just by rolling your thumb forward, back or up.

This design, though, means that SteelSeries had to find somewhere to put more buttons, so it stuck extra buttons adjacent to the standard left and right buttons; there are two long, thin buttons to the left of the left click button and one to the right of the right click button.

Configurate

As you might expect, with many buttons comes many options for configuration. For that, SteelSeries has its SteelSeries Engine 3 (SSE3).

In addition to configuring RGB lighting--the mouse wheel and palm rest logo have LEDs--SSE3 lets you tweak the DPI, polling rate, and lift-off distance. You can create, edit, and assign macros, and there are 17 button actions you can program. (It’s unclear if the left click button is configurable or not. Often, mouse makers leave that one unprogrammable. If it is not programmable on the Rival 500, there are 16 button actions.) These include mouse wheel functions: scroll up, scroll down, tilt left, and tilt right.

One feature that does not rely on software is a switch on the underside of the Rival 500 that can lock the side buttons so they don’t do anything, in case you don’t want or need to use them.

As did the Rival 700, the Rival 500 got SteelSeries’ haptic feedback feature. The company designed the “buzzer” so that it’s in the palm rest and therefore shouldn’t affect your aim when it goes off. You can use these “Tactile Alerts” to let you know about health, ammo and more.

You can also 3D print a nameplate for the Rival 500 if you want further customization.

The Rival 500 is $80 and available now from SteelSeries. That puts it $20 below the tricked-out Rival 700 and $20 above the Rival 300.

More companies are cramming more features into their gaming peripherals these days, and SteelSeries is pushing the envelope with its Rival 700 gaming mouse that offers, among other things, a tactile pulse to give you in-game cues and a little OLED display that can show game stats or flair.

Haptic Alerts

You can customize both the vibration types--the pattern, duration, and so on--and the in-game events that trigger them.

“You have complete control over how each one feels,” reads the Rival 700 product page. “Health, ammo, mana, disables, headshots, and stuns can all be individually set to start a Tactile Alert. For example the moment you get stunned, you can set an alert to go off and stop the instant the duration of the stun ends.”

Precision gamers may be concerned that the constant buzzing could throw off their movements, and that may well be a serious issue with the Rival 700, but SteelSeries, at least, is aware of it and attempted to adjust.

The product page states, “The Tactile Alerts have been carefully placed in the center of your mouse, so you feel the pulse strongly in your palm. By directing the pulse to only move up through your hand, as opposed to left and right, Tactile Alerts will never impact your mouse’s tracking so you can keep your pixel-perfect aim.”

OLED Display: Less Useful?

Even assuming the haptics on the Rival 700 are as useful as SteelSeries claimed, the OLED display seems more like a fun bit of flair than anything particularly beneficial. The screen is located on the lower left side of the Rival 700 mouse, right where your thumb rests. Although SteelSeries stated that you can see in-game stats “in between rounds and while waiting to respawn,” it also seems keen to promote more banal applications, such as your gamer name, logos and animated GIFs.

On the other hand, it can also display mouse settings, and you can adjust them on the fly without software. Really, then, it may come down to how slick the UI is to use and whether or not you can see the screen at all based on how you place your thumb on the mouse.

There is, in any case, software available, in the form of SteelSeries Engine 3. From there, you can adjust the number and type of settings you’d expect from a gaming mouse.

Other Features

Beyond the headline features, the Rival 700 features SteelSeries Switches (rated for 30 million clicks) with L/R buttons “built with a special reinforced plastic.” You can swap out the rear palm rest piece with a 3D-printed nameplate, and the palm rest itself can be exchanged for one made with different materials.

Under the hood is a PixArt PMW3360 optical sensor with up to a 16,000 CPI resolution. This is a hefty mouse at 135g--unsurprising given the extra components inside. It has seven programmable buttons, too.

You’ll pay for all of the aforementioned extras; the Rival 700 comes in at $99.99. You can buy one now directly from SteelSeries.

Can Your Brain Handle It?

The subtext here is what is perhaps most intriguing: The amount of data that people are processing while gaming continues to grow and evolve. In addition to onscreen information, people set up macros to trigger certain action or events, adjust various settings on the fly on mice, and so on. With additions like the ones on the Rival 700, gamers are now getting haptic data, as well, and they can also peek at the mouse’s OLED display for extra bits of data.

Are there gamers out there that can handle such a firehose of information? Or are the evolving methods of notification making it easier to process all the data coming at you in a fast-paced game?

Seth Colaner is the News Director for Tom's Hardware. Follow him on Twitter @SethColaner. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

Another day, another keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches aimed at eSports. SteelSeries announced the Apex M500, which it billed as the successor to its 6Gv2. The two certainly have the same price ($100), and both have Cherry Red switches (although the 6Gv2 has a Cherry Black option) and sport a simple, compact all-black design.

One key difference is that the Apex M500 has lighting whereas it predecessor doesn’t. The M500 has blue per-key LEDs, and there is a modicum of lighting features you can employ in the SteelSeries Engine (SSE3) software, such as brightness and breathing.

SteelSeries also stated that SSE3 affords full per-key programming, unlimited profiles, and the ability to create macros (including on-the-fly).

The Apex M500’s standard layout is designed so that you can swap in aftermarket keycaps, too.

The keyboard is available now from SteelSeries’ website for $99.99 with the promise of free 3-5 day shipping.

Seth Colaner is the News Director for Tom's Hardware. Follow him on Twitter @SethColaner. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

The SteelSeries Siberia V2 headset was a longtime favorite for PC gamers, and when the company discontinued it, fans from around the world demanded its return. SteelSeries heard those calls and relaunched the headset with updated internals and vibrant colors to choose from.

SteelSeries said that the community had a huge role in bringing this headset back to market, so rather than just update the internals and put it back on the shelves, the company looked for inspiration from gaming personalities. SteelSeries turned to its Ambassadors, comprised of professional eSports players and Twitch streamers, to come up with color options that reflected their personalities. 

The SteelSeries Siberia 200 will be available in seven different color options. There's a black version with an orange head strap and a white version with black head strap. These two colors are available now from SteelSeries website. The other five colors are those inspired by the select Ambassadors.

Sumail "Suma1L" Hassan Syed came up with the Alchemy Gold color scheme. Most of this headset is black, but there are subtle gold accents found all over it. Eric "Snip3down" Wrona created the Forged Red headset. This one is a bright, almost blood-red headset. Both are available for pre-order.

The remaining three options are not available yet for pre-order but will be in the near future. Proton yellow, which is mostly black and has subtle yellow accents, was designed by Kevin "Broken" Georges. Edwin "Castro" Castro's entry is called Gaia Green and features a lighter color scheme than most of the other options. The ear cushions are a pale yellow and the rest of the headset is gold with silver accents.

Kellsie "KayPea" Pelling is the only female Ambassador with a chosen design. Hers is mostly black, with some vibrant purple accents.

Other than the fancy new color schemes, SteelSeries has given the Siberia 200 headset some minor updates over the discontinued V2. The new headset features 50 mm speaker drivers with 10-28000 Hz frequency response to help create more immersive, realistic sounds. The retractable microphone is unidirectional with 40-16000 Hz frequency response and 2200 Ohm impedance.

SteelSeries has also included a 4-pole adapter in the box so you can use the headset with a mobile phone.

SteelSeries' Siberia 200 headset is available now for $79.99 in white and black. The specialty color options will be available soon for the same suggested price.

Follow Kevin Carbotte @pumcypuhoy. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

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.

Follow Kevin Carbotte @pumcypuhoy. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

SteelSeries launched a new affiliate program targeted specifically at streamers, who will act as advocates for the brand and its products. The company is now accepting sign-ups for the SteelSeries Affiliate Rewards Program, which will offer a generous commission on sales generated through unique banner ads and links provided to approved affiliates.

SteelSeries said it has the utmost respect for streamers, especially those trying to make it a full time job. The company said the streaming community has been very supporting of SteelSeries products, and that it wants to return the gesture. To celebrate the launch of the program, any streamer who signs up before October 30, and is approved as an affiliate, will receive 8 percent from all sales generated by their unique links.

"The streaming community has become an incredible group of SteelSeries brand advocates – far beyond those who are officially a part of our SteelSeries Stream Team," said Ehtisham Rabbani, SteelSeries CEO. "The new affiliate program is our way to award them for the work they are already doing – spreading the word about SteelSeries and our incredible products."

In addition to the 8 percent commission, the first 50 streamers who are approved will receive a SteelSeries Welcome Pack, which includes a headset and other SteelSeries swag.

The SteelSeries Affiliate Program signups are open now and are available to streamers from the U.S. and Canada. The rest of the world will gain access later this year.

Follow Kevin Carbotte @pumcypuhoy. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

SteelSeries is but one of the many hardware companies implementing custom lighting options for the keyboard, but it's taking a different angle to make the lighting experience just a little bit better. The company released a beta version of new software called GameSense, which will utilize some of the company's peripherals to display in-game information.

A video, released today, showed off how GameSense would work, using Counter Strike: Global Offensive as an example. The information stored on the keyboard was the player's ammo (function keys), armor (numbers) and health (QWERTY row).

At the beginning of the round, all three rows were fully lit, but as the weapon ran out of ammo and the player took more and more damage, the number of lit keys dwindled. When only the last key is lit, it blinks to indicate near death or that you're close to running out of ammo. Other stats that can be tracked on the keyboard include headshots and regular kills.

For now, GameSense only works in Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Minecraft. If you want to add more information and lighting to work on the keyboard, SteelSeries provides access to its GoLisp coding language. The company is also making it easy for game developers to encode GameSense capabilities to their games in an effort to spread the new software to more titles.

This type of lighting software is somewhat interesting. Instead of just implementing custom animations, or a mosaic of different colors on the keyboard, you can now have it react to what's happening in the game in real time. It seems like a daunting task if you're just an amateur programmer, but SteelSeries made it easier to incorporate it into games. However, it remains to be seen how many developers the company can attract and if they're willing to put a little extra effort into placing GameSense in their titles.

Follow Rexly Peñaflorida II @Heirdeux. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Tobii has been working with SteelSeries to develop the Sentry Eye Tracker for some time, and at CES Unveiled we had the opportunity to see it in action. Even though the demo was short and only provided a small glimpse of the device's full potential, it certainly has the ability to take off in the gaming peripherals market.

Our demo featured a man walking through the desert, and by using the Sentry Eye Tracker, players can press a single button to activate the device and use their eyes to pick up an object like a rock and crush it to bits. The lag time between eye movement and the action occurring on the screen was almost nonexistent.

The Sentry Eye Tracker can also be used as the game's camera. Players can look left, right, up, or down from their character to simulate the feeling of actually looking around instead of moving the mouse across a surface. Tobii also has plans to use the device to interact with NPCs in the game. By making eye contact with them, players can begin a conversation. Or start a fight. Whatever you're in the mood for.

The company originally stated that the eye tracker would be available after CES, but they showed us a ready-to-ship product that will cost gamers $199. Considering what we saw at the demo, Tobii is definitely on the right track with the peripheral. While it may not immediately replace mice in the near future, it's certainly an interesting device that adds another layer of immersion during gameplay.

Follow Rexly Peñaflorida II @Heirdeux. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Tobii, a company that's working with SteelSeries on the Sentry eye-tracking device, has announced that the SteelSeries Sentry will be available in January, shortly after demonstrating it at CES.

The SteelSeries Sentry is a device that you mount on top of your monitor that can track the movement and behavior of your eyes. It works in combination with specialized software to gather data about how you use your eyes in order to help you figure out whether your behavior is optimal for the game you're playing, or whether you're doing it all wrong. You might, for example, be missing a number of visual in-game cues, which leads to a sub-optimal performance.

The feedback on your eye movement behavior is also returned in real-time. Considering this, we're curious, actually, whether tournaments will put regulations in place against using these technologies. We might see them only being used during practices.

Of course, the main audience that SteelSeries is targeting with the Sentry are professional gamers. It might help casual gamers improve more than professional gamers, but it really suits pro gamers who need that extra edge in order to win tournaments.

There is no word on an exact release date yet, nor do we know what it will cost.

Follow Niels Broekhuijsen @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.