Best SteelSeries Rival 500 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

SteelSeries completes its Rival mouse series with a newcomer thought this time for MMO and Moba. Imposing, the Rival 500 relies on its numerous buttons (15 in total) and its vibration notification system to stand out from the competition, without encroaching on the flowerbeds of other Rival mice.

Best SteelSeries Rival 500 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. SteelSeries Rival 500 MMO/MOBA 15-Button Programmable Gaming Mouse – 16,000 CPI, Black

2. SteelSeries Rival 500, Optical Gaming Mouse, RGB Illumination, MMO, 15 Buttons, Tactile Alerts, (PC / Mac) – Black

3. SteelSeries Rival 500 Mouse and Arctis 5 Headset Bundle

4. SteelSeries Rival 500 Mouse and Apex M750 Keyboard Bundle

5. SteelSeries Rival 500 Mouse and QcK Prism Mousepad Bundle

Ergonomics

Often generous in buttons, the mice dedicated to MMOs are generally quite large. The SteelSeries Rival 500 is no exception to the rule with its length of. 119 mm, its width of 78 mm and its height of 43 mm. A size that brings it closer to that of its direct competitors, like the Corsair. Scimitar (120 x 77 x 49 cm) and especially the Razer. Naga ( Chroma or Hex V2  : 119 x 75 x 43 mm). Once in hand, the Rival seems a little more imposing than the latter two, probably due to its relatively high mass. Indeed, with 130 g (cable excluded), it is clearly heavier than the Razer. Naga mice (105 g), everything is lighter than the Scimitar (147 g). 

We remain however well below the giant ROG Spatha of Asus(137 x 89 x 45 mm) which can nevertheless partially justify its 175 g by the presence of a battery (wireless operation). The Rival 500 is for its part well and truly wired and its 2-meter cable non-braided and thin enough is there to attest.

The connection of the cable on the mouse nevertheless seems solid and one does not fear too much as for its longevity. This is also the feeling that predominates after examining the quality of manufacture, since the materials appear robust, with plastics well assembled and sufficiently rigid. The shell adopts a soft touch coating, pleasant under the fingers, while the main buttons benefit from a touch a little more “gum”, more non-slip – but also more messy.

More

With such a width, the SteelSeries Rival 500 offers not surprisingly a grip rather oriented towards comfort and suitable for use in claw grip , or even in palm grip if you do not have too long hands, or on the contrary in finger tipif you are not too put off by the width and mass of the mouse. The pronounced tilt of the mouse body to the right also allows a more natural hand position and the fingers easily find their place. 

To improve adhesion, the straight edge is covered with elastomer with small pins giving relief to the surface. Material found in the center of the left edge to accommodate the thumb. You have to do without ear and even ring support, the mouse is not designed to support the last fingers of the right hand – because, you will have noticed at first glance, this mouse is reserved for right-handers .

Others

On the other hand, everything is done to make the thumb feel comfortable. In addition to the small non-slip area dedicated to it, the thumb benefits from no less than. 6 buttons arranged around it. Because unlike competing Moba / MMO mice like the. Razer Naga and Corsair Scimitar, the SteelSeries Rival. 500 does not offer a numeric keypad or an arc made of buttons, more difficult to identify by touch. SteelSeries here adopts a philosophy closer to that chosen by Asus for its Spatha, with buttons of various shapes, easier to identify and therefore to memorize. Unlike the Spatha, on the other hand, the buttons of the Rival 500 surround the thumb and are therefore even more easily identifiable and easy to handle. It’s hard to go wrong, it doesn’t take long to get used to their positions. 

On the other hand, not all are on an equal footing when it comes to speed of activation. But it depends on the dexterity of each person’s thumb. Note, however, that the button closest to the palm is a little harder to activate, probably because of its arcuate shape and its large size. Conversely, you can easily inadvertently activate the two lowest buttons on the mouse if you put your thumb too much on it. No worries, however, on this point, SteelSeries has thought of this scenario and offers a mechanical switch that locks these two buttons. These can then support the thumb without ever activating, during office use. For example. but it depends on the dexterity of each person’s thumb. Note, however, that the button closest to the palm is a little harder to activate, probably because of its arcuate shape and its large size. 

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Since there is no reason that the thumb should be the only one to benefit from additional buttons. The Rival 500 also offers four others on the top: two on the left, for the index; one in the middle, above the dial, for the middle finger; a last on the right, for the ring finger. The wheel, for its part, remains of course clickable and adjustable laterally (two more switches), for a total of 15 switches, all programmable via the SteelSeries Engine 3 software (see box below). What to associate most of the functions of his favorite games, in addition to those associated with the keys of the keyboard.

If SteelSeries does not specify the endurance of all the additional switches, the main switches are guaranteed for a minimum of 30 million activations.

Despite a slightly clumsy appearance, the SteelSeries Rival 500 moves smoothly on the desk – preferably with a good mouse pad all the same – thanks to three large PTFE pads.

In terms of aesthetics and customization, finally, the Rival 500 benefits from a multicolored backlight (RGB) on two areas (wheel and logo), which can be configured in the mouse software to admire beautiful light effects, but which can also be used to indicate effects in games. Ultimate coquetry, the small rubber piece, located at the base of the mouse and marked with the name of the “Rival” series, can be replaced by a 3D printed piece with, for example, the player’s nickname. Why not, but it increases the mass of the mouse a little further, which really didn’t need that.

Final

However, it is probably not this small appendage that most influences mass. The greatest responsible is rather inside the beast and has the role of making it vibrate under certain conditions. Not to give pleasure to its user, that nay. But to inform him of particular events during his fierce games of video games. Several effects are available and can thus be associated with a critical level of health (simulation of a heartbeat), immobilization (constant vibration until the end of the spell), the end of the cooldown of a spell (simple , double or triple vibration depending on the fate), etc. 

A function that may at first seem like a gadget, but which ultimately turns out to be well thought out to assist with visual alerts that are not always clearly visible.Counter Strike: Global Offensive , Dota 2 and Minecraft ), but nothing prevents you from configuring alerts manually. In practice, the vibrations may surprise, but they are localized at the level of the palm and remain weak enough not to disturb the movement of the mouse; precision does not suffer.

Precision

SteelSeries has chosen the excellent Pixart PMW3360 optical sensor to equip its Rival 500. A proven model with excellent qualities, among which a good tolerance for different office coverings and carpets (except glass and other transparent materials) or too bright), first-rate precision and excellent responsiveness. Unable to unhook it (maximum acceleration of. 50G), the pointer follows the most abrupt movements (capture speed of. 300 in / s, or 7.62 m / s) and remains stable during mouse repositioning thanks to a height relatively low cutoff. Thus avoiding parasitic movements.

As usual, the 16,000 dpi maximum sensitivity is just there to shine on the data sheet, since at this extreme level, a movement of 2 cm is enough to make the cursor move the width of 3 Ultra HD screens ! Certainly, who can do the most can do the least, but as much to say that we will rather use the mouse at much lower sensitivities (professional players are content most of the time with less than 1000 dpi). You can alternate between the two sensitivity levels of your choice (adjustable from. 100 to 16,000 dpi) by simply pressing a button (by default, the one located above the dial).

The exchange frequency with the computer reaches 1,000 Hz (adjustable to 125, 250 or 500 Hz also) and you can also adjust the acceleration and deceleration parameters of the pointer, as well as an angle snap parameter to smooth the movements of the pointer.

STRONG POINTS

• Numerous buttons judiciously positioned.
• Pleasant handling.
• Good build quality.
• Excellent sensor, precise and fast.
• Interesting vibration system (tactile alerts).

WEAK POINTS

• Some will find it a bit heavy (130 g) and imposing.
• Only a few games are fully compatible with touch alerts.

CONCLUSION

Very complete, precise and pleasant to use despite its relatively large size, the SteelSeries Rival 500 will delight players who need a lot of buttons on their mouse. Well placed, they are easily identifiable in full and do not disturb in office use thanks in particular to a locking system of the two lower buttons. Without being essential, the vibration notification function has a certain interest, but inevitably weighs down the mouse a little. The Rival 500 is therefore less suited to very fast games, but excels in MMO and Moba (and RPG).

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