# Steelseries Rival 100 Review - by Ino



## Ino.

*Steelseries Rival 100 Review*



http://imgur.com/yf7KsLM



Here I'm going to review the (new) Rival 100 by Steelseries. I got it gifted by a friend who already replaced the original mouse feet with MS3(?) ones so, but otherwise the mouse was in mint condition.

*Boxing*

Simple, small, nothing much to say here.

What's included:
Just the mouse

Box:



http://imgur.com/rkeL194





http://imgur.com/CTMlBqi



*Weight & Shape*

The Rival 100 is very similar in shape to the Kana



http://imgur.com/U3duZes



It also weighs the exact same with 90g which is also the same as the bigger ZA11.



http://imgur.com/TDfagwI



Weight: 90 g
Height: 37 mm
Width: 68 mm
Estimated width at grip position: 56 mm
Length: 120 mm
Number of buttons: 6



http://imgur.com/OuisVdb





http://imgur.com/yYOHhGL





http://imgur.com/BtyAufn



G100s - Sensei - Rival 100 - ZA11


http://imgur.com/2mzQJi2



Sensei - Rival 100 - ZA11


http://imgur.com/OAeUj0J



The shape in general works just fine, it's really like a better Kana (which featured the most ******ed side buttons in history). The back part does not offer as much support as the ZA series does, but I still found it easy to get a good grip on the mouse in a short period of time.

For reference, here is how I grip it:



http://imgur.com/qLPKEpI





http://imgur.com/cCahtDz





http://imgur.com/8sfZmXH





http://imgur.com/rSuHaPC



My hand is around 20 cm from the tip of my middle finger to the base.

Of course shape is completely individual preference, so everyone has to try for himself in the end.

*Sensor / Performance*

So yeah, here is where it get's interesting, especially because of the marketing mumbo jumbo that is done by Steelseries to shine a good light on their choice of a A3050 variant, the 3059. Let's see how well it does in the performance tests.

_ALL TESTS ARE PERFORMED ON THE ZOWIE G-SR_
The real cpi for each setting can be seen in the mouse tester print.

I only tested the mouse at 1000 Hz. For the tests in MouseTester I mainly tried to find the perfect control speed (PCS) for each step which is important to me because of my low sens and me regularly hitting speeds higher than 4 m/s. I summarized the results below:



http://imgur.com/gN8Zmwg



Well, that is something you don't really see with new designs that often, because most new sensors maintain a high PCS regardless of set CPI step. So why does the Rival 100 behave like that? Because it can only do a maximum of 127 counts per poll, which means at higher CPI steps the bandwidth is the bottleneck instead of the ability of the sensor to track. This is evident in the chart below showing the max counts per poll for each step.



http://imgur.com/t90h3Po



For 500 CPI the sensor lost the ability to track at around 4.6 m/s which was around 92 counts per poll. For all higher CPI steps it capped at 127 counts except for the 4000 CPI step. Why for that one? Because that one just doubles every count from the 2000 CPI step, so basically like setting windows mouse speed to 8/11. That's why it capped at the same speed as the 2000 CPI step which is an abysmal 1.7 m/s.

CPI steps are a bit off as well, but that might be due to new mousefeet.



http://imgur.com/CR9APss





Spoiler: MouseTester Screens






http://imgur.com/OIzAMMR





http://imgur.com/rooqxMp





http://imgur.com/tLJyC0C





http://imgur.com/6wPOf3o





http://imgur.com/CXHsv65





Another interesting aspect of sensor performance is cursor stability, or jitter test.
Again on 500 CPI it was all fine, but the higher steps&#8230; Just look at the examples below. I would not recommend to even use this at 1000 CPI let alone any higher step.



Spoiler: Cursor stability tests






http://imgur.com/kv1B7eT





http://imgur.com/ZdriKRg





http://imgur.com/hYapngz





http://imgur.com/S7TuFGN





Yeah right, that's how 4000 CPI performs. It's terrible.

*Speed related accuracy variance*




Judging from this it seems to be in the same ballpark as all the 3310 sensors, maybe a little worse.

*Lift Off Distance*

Around 2 CDs

*Buttons / Switches / Scroll Wheel*

There is not much to complain about here in terms of buttons, they feel fine. Main buttons are lighter than Zowies but also less crisp. RMB feels a bit different from LMB for some reason. Side buttons are good too and MWheel click is good. The wheel itself seems to be the same as the one in the Sensei Raw Rubberized I got.

*Build Quality*

Surprisingly good considering how much flak Steelseries gets for quality. I think the surprisingly higher weight here (compared to a bigger ZA11 that weighs the same) all goes into thicker walls for the shell which makes it quite sturdy. Even the side grips have a high quality feeling to them, much different from the ones on the original Rival.

*Conclusion*

The Rival 100 works quite well on 500 CPI and if someone really wants to have that shape I would recommend sticking to that step. All other steps are rather bad, but that was to be expected considering the low end sensor they chose.
Personally I see no reason for me to use the Rival 100 considering the ZA11 has a better fit and better sensor performance. If you are looking for a good budget mouse to use at low CPI and need higher PCS than a G100s offers this might be worthwhile for you.


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## vanir1337

Thanks for yet another great review!


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## Sencha

Yeah great review and pretty much the same as my thoughts!. Yeah those are MS3s.


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## trism

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ino.*
> 
> and actually even more customisation options even without software


How so? You can change lighting options, angle snapping, macros and button binds, CPI steps to cycle through and the polling rate from the Steelseries Engine.


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## daniel0731ex

Why is it capped at 127 counts? I was under the impression that most gaming mice declare more than 8-bits in their descriptor.


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## Zenith Phantasm

Can we get sensor latency (compared to WMO if you have one or 3366) and click latency graphs too?


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## Ino.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trism*
> 
> How so? You can change lighting options, angle snapping, macros and button binds, CPI steps to cycle through and the polling rate from the Steelseries Engine.


Not for Rival 100 it seems. I could change lights and CPI, no option for Polling or angle snapping. Or I just missed it? But I know I saw all these options for the sensei, so I guess they aren't there for rival 100?


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## trism

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ino.*
> 
> Not for Rival 100 it seems. I could change lights and CPI, no option for Polling or angle snapping. Or I just missed it? But I know I saw all these options for the sensei, so I guess they aren't there for rival 100?


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## Ino.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *trism*


Ahaha, I never saw that you could scroll there







Thanks for showing me, I'll correct that above.


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## plyr

Same as Xornet 1, only usable on 500dpi.


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## Ino.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *daniel0731ex*
> 
> Why is it capped at 127 counts? I was under the impression that most gaming mice declare more than 8-bits in their descriptor.


Yeah, I was wondering the same. My guess is they cheaped out somewhere.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zenith Phantasm*
> 
> Can we get sensor latency (compared to WMO if you have one or 3366) and click latency graphs too?


I'll see what I can do, but don't expect good results with either test. I haven't done the latency thing, so I need to read up on how that works.

Here's button latency against ZA11, only thing I have readily available

Rival 100 = A, ZA11 = B


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## subreach87

which switches are in the mouse?


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## a_ak57

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subreach87*
> 
> which switches are in the mouse?


Steelseries switches, whatever those actually are.


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## popups

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subreach87*
> 
> which switches are in the mouse?


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *a_ak57*
> 
> Steelseries switches, whatever those actually are.


If they are SteelSeries branded, I think those are Zippy switches.


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## qsxcv

any comments on cable? looks pretty flexible
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zenith Phantasm*
> 
> Can we get sensor latency (compared to WMO if you have one or 3366) and click latency graphs too?


i strongly doubt there is any sensor latency. doesn't look like there's any smoothing anywhere... 3050 should be very simple


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## Brightmist

3050 has a very raw feeling compared to say 3988.

Isn't 3059 an AM010/3320 variant also ?


----------



## popups

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Brightmist*
> 
> Isn't 3059 a AM010/3320 variant also ?


No. It's the very old ADNS-3050.


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## Brightmist

Well, 4.5 m/s @ 500 DPI for a 3050 variant sounds pretty good tbh, better than 3320/AM010 even.


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## Zenith Phantasm

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Brightmist*
> 
> Well, 4.5 m/s @ 500 DPI for a 3050 variant sounds pretty good tbh, better than 3320/AM010 even.


Implying PCS is the only thing that determines the performance of a sensor. If only we could strap G402's gyro and accelerometer on a MLT04...


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## Brightmist

It's an important point of evaluation for a gaming mice, especially if you're playing using low sens like me.

As far as I can tell this is a pretty decent mouse.

And it can get better if:
>You're OK playing @ 500 DPI
>You can solder some new switches
>You can put on some new feet on top of stock to lower the LOD a bit

Only if it were 115 mm or shorter


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## popups

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Brightmist*
> 
> Well, 4.5 m/s @ 500 DPI for a 3050 variant sounds pretty good tbh, better than 3320/AM010 even.


My Diamondback Plasma doesn't malfunction. However, it's perfect control speed is very low.


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## uaokkkkkkkk

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *popups*
> 
> My Diamondback Plasma doesn't malfunction. However, it's perfect control speed is very low.


Spent 20 minutes trying to get my pro solutions one(400 dpi) to malfunction the other night. The graph will look like a car exploded inside the mouse but it'll just truck right on not giving a damn. Kind of amusing.


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## Brightmist

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *popups*
> 
> My Diamondback Plasma doesn't malfunction. However, it's perfect control speed is very low.


Many sensors these days have their PCS equal to their Malfunction speed.

And even the sensor in the mouse you're using can recuperate from going faster than PCS, getting hit by negative acceleration or restart isn't feasible.


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## Zenith Phantasm

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Brightmist*
> 
> It's an important point of evaluation for a gaming mice, especially if you're playing using low sens like me.
> 
> As far as I can tell this is a pretty decent mouse.
> 
> And it can get better if:
> >You're OK playing @ 500 DPI
> >You can solder some new switches
> >You can put on some new feet on top of stock to lower the LOD a bit
> 
> Only if it were 115 mm or shorter


Welp in that case why not get a Xornet?


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## Brightmist

I'm using a G303 already.

I used Xornet for a good while but its PCS was **** and after G303 launched I liked it more in my hand compared to Xornet so just sticking with it atm.

I would like to try some alternatives tho, companies are just not producing smaller mice with side buttons (addicted to side buttons).


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## Zenith Phantasm

I thought the original Xornet was capable of atleast 4m/s?!?


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## Brightmist

Even Xornet II isn't capable of that


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## subreach87

Is this sensor worse than the 3310?


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## Zenith Phantasm

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subreach87*
> 
> Is this sensor worse than the 3310?


Imo it isnt because 3310 has smoothing


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## subreach87

but I like that **** :'(


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## subreach87

Im actually willing to give this mouse a try, think ill take it in white. All the stores near me have it on their catalog, just waiting for shipments to arrive i guess.


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## woll3

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zenith Phantasm*
> 
> I thought the original Xornet was capable of atleast 4m/s?!?


Depends on the surface.


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## Ino.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *qsxcv*
> 
> any comments on cable? looks pretty flexible


Ah yea, forgot the cable: seems very similar to Zowie cables, it is flexible. So at least that is a lot better than on the sensei.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zenith Phantasm*
> 
> Imo it isnt because 3310 has smoothing


3310 feels a lot better than 3050 though. The impact of said "smoothing" is very debatable.


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## Zenith Phantasm

Imo=In my opinion, in case you thought I misspelled your name. Better is rather a subjective word. I personally think non smoothed mice>smoothed mice because your brain need to compensate for the delay if you're used to non smoothed mice.


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## Ino.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zenith Phantasm*
> 
> Imo=In my opinion, in case you thought I misspelled your name. Better is rather a subjective word. I personally think non smoothed mice>smoothed mice because your brain need to compensate for the delay if you're used to non smoothed mice.


That is delay rather than smoothing as we commonly refer to here, and I think the only case where delay was proven was the FM (which many praised for cursor feel...)


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## uaokkkkkkkk

Well at least it's not DRTCM38 with an early 9800 srom. That thing had around 30ms cursor delay on it at release.


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## Zenith Phantasm

:/ Perhaps I should give 3310 mice another chance... FM left a bad impression T_T.


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## qsxcv

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ino.*
> 
> That is delay rather than smoothing as we commonly refer to here, and I think the only case where delay was proven was the FM (which many praised for cursor feel...)


nop all 3310 are smoothed:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1554228/visualizing-smoothing-in-mousetester/0_100#post_24192901

maybe the newer srom(s) aren't? plot a 1m/s swipe in mousetester and if you see 2 dot wide spikes, then yea it's smoothed

fm has extra from mcu though


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## Ino.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *qsxcv*
> 
> nop all 3310 are smoothed:
> http://www.overclock.net/t/1554228/visualizing-smoothing-in-mousetester/0_100#post_24192901
> 
> maybe the newer srom(s) aren't? plot a 1m/s swipe in mousetester and if you see 2 dot wide spikes, then yea it's smoothed
> 
> fm has extra from mcu though


Ah ok, it was the extra smoothing I recalled then. Anyway, 3310 performs just fine imo.


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## discoprince

nice review dude, thanks.

still going to stick with mine until the final mouse ambi comes out.

the shape/weight/side buttons are much appreciated for an ambi mouse atm.


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## leothelion

Getting this mouse soon and am so excited. Currently have a FK1 but the buttons are a bit too stiff for my liking. They work but I prefer omrons. This looks like the inbetweener of Sensei and Kana I've been waiting for, for so long. Good review too!


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## subreach87

Really want this mouse now actually. I had the kinzu v3, the sensor minus the low malfunction was pretty nice. a souped up version should be more than adequate for my purposes.


----------



## aerowalk30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subreach87*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Really want this mouse now actually. I had the kinzu v3, the sensor minus the low malfunction was pretty nice. a souped up version should be more than adequate for my purposes.


Just be careful it weighs ~20g more its pretty absurd. I thought the same thing coming from the Kinzu.


----------



## popups

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subreach87*
> 
> Really want this mouse now actually. I had the kinzu v3, the sensor minus the low malfunction was pretty nice. a souped up version should be more than adequate for my purposes.


Uhh... Doesn't the Kinzu v3 have a ADNS-3050?


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## Maximillion

I suppose he means the "improvements" that were implemented into the 3059.


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## popups

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Maximillion*
> 
> I suppose he means the "improvements" that were implemented into the 3059.


I still think that is just a marketing name.


----------



## Maximillion

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *popups*
> 
> I still think that is just a marketing name.


Oh no doubt. They couldn't advertise super-high DPI so they had to push the "new and unique" sensor.


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## Zenith Phantasm

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Maximillion*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *popups*
> 
> I still think that is just a marketing name.
> 
> 
> 
> Oh no doubt. They couldn't advertise super-high DPI so they had to push the "new and unique" sensor.
Click to expand...

Why not just use an Avago 9800 and interpolate it to 16400 dpi? Bigger dpi=bigger mouse marketing e-peen


----------



## uaokkkkkkkk

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *popups*
> 
> I still think that is just a marketing name.


The worst part? Even if it was unique, it would be still pathetic.


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## jsx3

Yup, nothing special. Just marketing buzz.


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## hasukka

Wait, Kinzu v3 has the same sensor as this?


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## aerowalk30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *hasukka*
> 
> Wait, Kinzu v3 has the same sensor as this?


Yeah 3050 just rebranded, different lens though.


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## LewisASTL

Nice review as usual Ino.

The sensor performs a little bit better than Xornet II pmw3320. At 1250 CPI the measured PCS is no more than 2m/s and on 3500 CPI I was unable to go past 1m/s even on black plastic.

Definitively these are sensor for low sens people at least, but i see why they have choosen to limit those sensor on purpose. With a 16 bit register per axis I suppose a 3059\3320 can perform too close to a 3988\3310.

How is the LOD? i was able to go under 1CD with Xornet II, LOD setting low, on CM Storm Swift RX


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## qsxcv

305x and 3320 can both do 12bit

if the rival100 or xornetii made use of that, there would be no issues with malfunction speed dropping with increasing dpi. why they don't... i'd guess negligence


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## espgodson

my kinzu v3 has an insane amount of negative accel did you have that problem with the rival 100 ino? theyre the same sensor soo o_o


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## Bashslash

Which would be better for a calw/plam grip hybird and someone who has really small hands.I also use 400 DPI 2.83 SENS in most of my games, so which would be better?
Rival100 or Xornet 2


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## falcon26

So when you say that 500 CPI is best, does that mean at 1000 CPI the mouse is total crap? I know out the of the box its 1000.


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## Maximillion

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *falcon26*
> 
> So when you say that 500 CPI is best, does that mean at 1000 CPI the mouse is total crap? I know out the of the box its 1000.


Well, it's not _completely_ horrid (in the context of the low-end sensor used in the first place), but there's really no reason to use any other step unless you have to (in which case I'm not sure why said person would bother with this mouse, considering what else is on the market). I think Ino said it best in the review..."_If you are looking for a good budget mouse to use at low CPI and need higher PCS than a G100s offers this might be worthwhile for you._"

That about sums up the realistic "pros" for this mouse, that and the shape.


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## 2shellbonus

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Maximillion*
> 
> Well, it's not _completely_ horrid (in the context of the low-end sensor used in the first place), but there's really no reason to use any other step unless you have to (in which case I'm not sure why said person would bother with this mouse, considering what else is on the market). I think Ino said it best in the review..."_If you are looking for a good budget mouse to use at low CPI and need higher PCS than a G100s offers this might be worthwhile for you._"
> 
> That about sums up the realistic "pros" for this mouse, that and the shape.


The scroll wheel is rather pleasent to use as well as the build quality in general feels good.


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## Timecard

500 and 1000cpi perform nearly the same, anything above is worst.


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## trism

1000 CPI is not good for 2d as the cursor jumps two pixels when changing the direction.


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## kurtextrem

http://techblog.steelseries.com/2016/01/15/new-in-3.6.4.html
I guess rival 50 is a child of the 100?


----------



## 2shellbonus

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kurtextrem*
> 
> http://techblog.steelseries.com/2016/01/15/new-in-3.6.4.html
> I guess rival 50 is a child of the 100?


Rival 50 = Rival 100 without leds and gamesense


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## Poodle

Im very interested about this mouse. Is this actually suited for competitive gaming at high level without excessive drawbacks? (cs go)


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## falcon26

When you are saying the mouse is fine at 500 CPI do you mean the polling rate or the DPI? I assume CPI is the same as DPI. What polling rate does the Rival 100 default too?


----------



## zekron

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *falcon26*
> 
> When you are saying the mouse is fine at 500 CPI do you mean the polling rate or the DPI? I assume CPI is the same as DPI. What polling rate does the Rival 100 default too?


He means DPI and yes your correct CPI=DPI. It defaults a 1000hz and has 500hz too.


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## falcon26

Aw OK. So he is saying keep the mouse at 500 DPI @ 1000 polling rate and its a fine mouse.


----------



## zekron

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *falcon26*
> 
> Aw OK. So he is saying keep the mouse at 500 DPI @ 1000 polling rate and its a fine mouse.


You can use it @ 500hz if you prefer the way mouse feels at this poling rate


----------



## hasukka

How is the Rival 100 shape/performance compared to Sensei RAW? Looking for the best performance I can get for a Sensei-ish shape with soft clicks. Not sure if I should buy a Sensei or Rival 100.


----------



## Timecard

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *hasukka*
> 
> How is the Rival 100 shape/performance compared to Sensei RAW? Looking for the best performance I can get for a Sensei-ish shape with soft clicks. Not sure if I should buy a Sensei or Rival 100.


The mouse clicks won't feel the same as sensei as the shell had more flexibility in the finger areas, how ever having said that sensei/xai was my favorite mouse shape and adjusting to this mouse was very easy as the shape is very similar and the performance of the sensor on low sensitivities is great. (500cpi, 500hz and 1000hz)


----------



## Ino.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *falcon26*
> 
> When you are saying the mouse is fine at 500 CPI do you mean the polling rate or the DPI? I assume CPI is the same as DPI. What polling rate does the Rival 100 default too?


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *zekron*
> 
> He means DPI and yes your correct CPI=DPI. It defaults a 1000hz and has 500hz too.


CPI is a more correct term for the commonly used DPI.

CPI = counts per inch, meaning the counts the mouse delivers to the pc when moving it for one inch

DPI = dots per inch, which is typically a resolution

In the beginning of optical sensor tech there was also PPI meaning pulse per inch... all mean the same thing though


----------



## hasukka

If I remember correctly you had used Sensei as well, which did you like better? Looking for a Sensei-ish shape with soft clicks and as good sensor performance as possible for the shape.


----------



## Ino.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *hasukka*
> 
> If I remember correctly you had used Sensei as well, which did you like better? Looking for a Sensei-ish shape with soft clicks and as good sensor performance as possible for the shape.


Sensei, but then again I'm one who actually prefers the ZA11 shape over the sensei shape.
Shape on the Rival 100 was fine though, bit small, but not by much.


----------



## hasukka

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ino.*
> 
> Sensei, but then again I'm one who actually prefers the ZA11 shape over the sensei shape.
> Shape on the Rival 100 was fine though, bit small, but not by much.


Was the sensor performance ~equal at 800dpi? I doubt the accel would be a big issue for me on the Sensei.


----------



## dstrk

Hey ino when u grip / hold the rival 100 and SS kanav2 which one feel more bulkier or smaller? Thanks


----------



## Zwiebi

The Rival 100 is bulkier. The overall dimensions are very similar, but the sides of the Rival 100 are higher, thus making it a bit more brick like. The front and back is also similarly higher. However, the difference is pretty small.


----------



## Ino.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *dstrk*
> 
> Hey ino when u grip / hold the rival 100 and SS kanav2 which one feel more bulkier or smaller? Thanks


The Rival100 feels better, but heavier. So in a way you could say it is bulkier. But I could never get used to the sidebuttons on the Kana, so if it were up to me the Rival100 is my choice between the two.


----------



## Elrick

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ino.*
> 
> But I could never get used to the sidebuttons on the Kana, so if it were up to me the Rival100 is my choice between the two.


You do know, that you can remove the side buttons on a Kana V2?


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## valentinovk

Hi all, I just bought this mouse today and already have some problem with it. Generally I love its size, small and fit my small hand ( my old mice is deathadder and it is way too big and heavy for me). I like its RGB color, working well, bright and smart setting. The color setting and CPI setting worked well, however no matter how I try to binding the key button, it always doesn't work. For example I set side button 4 as keyboard Q, it doesn't work anywhere (in game and out game). Or I disable the right click (button 2) of default configuring, I still be able to right click as normal.
I just bought the mice today in Taiwan. I choose rival 100 because its' simplify software and 2 configurable side buttons, now I can't binding key to them, what should I do?
Can't insert image so I upload them as attachment.

rightclick.png 1208k .png file


watchdogprofile.JPG 145k .JPG file


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## winmast

this mice need hidusbf


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