When comparing Zowie FK1 vs SteelSeries Rival 300, the Slant community recommends Zowie FK1 for most people. In the question“What is the best gaming mouse?” Zowie FK1 is ranked 5th while SteelSeries Rival 300 is ranked 23rd. The most important reason people chose Zowie FK1 is:
The standard lift off distance on a cloth mouse pad is 1.5-1.8mm though it will be a bit higher when using a plastic pad being 2.2 - 2.4mm. To enable the plastic pad setting a certain button combination has to be pressed on the gaming mouse itself.
Specs
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Pros
Pro A low lift-off-distance of about 1.5-1.8mm
The standard lift off distance on a cloth mouse pad is 1.5-1.8mm though it will be a bit higher when using a plastic pad being 2.2 - 2.4mm. To enable the plastic pad setting a certain button combination has to be pressed on the gaming mouse itself.
Pro Excellent 3200 CPI optical sensor
The Zowie FK1 gaming mouse uses an Avago 3310 optical sensor which is regarded as one of the best in the world. It has no built-in acceleration and no angle snapping. It’s practically jitter-less when set at 125 and 500Hz polling rate, and has barely noticeable jitter at 1000Hz.
The Avago 3310 has no native CPI, it is made to have each step of 50 CPI work as well as the previous one. With CPI steps of 400/800/1600/3200 for the FK1, all CPI choices should work equally well.
Pro Can be used by both righties and lefties
The Zowie FK1 gaming mouse uses an ambidextrous design with a wide base for the palm rest.
Pro Comfortable for most grip types
FK1 has a very universal shape and size, making it a safe choice for most people regardless of grip type and hand size. Except for people with large hands who use the palm grip, who may need a larger model of the mouse.
Pro No unnecessary functionality
Zowie has kept the mouse remarkably simple. There's no RGB lighting, adjustable weights, or superfluous buttons that end up only getting in the way. It's plug-and-play and requires no additional software. You can customize only the essential settings such as lift off distance, polling rate, or switch between left or right-handed modes with just a combination of specific button presses.
Pro Ships with a set of replacement feet
The Zowie gaming mouse has an extra pair of mouse feet in the box so users can replace their old ones when the time comes.
Pro Switches have a bit harder press so you don't accidentally kill your teammates
Pro Great for those with large hands and using claw grip
Pro Comfortable to handle
This mouse is very well balanced in weight, size and ergonomics making for a mouse that is easy and comfortable to handle.
Pro Great value for money
At $39 the Rival gaming mouse has a great balance between build quality and value for money.
Pro Highly accurate
The Steelseries Rival gaming mouse has a built in Pixart PMW3310 optical sensor that offers great tracking control. There's no angle-snapping, hardware acceleration, or jitter.
Pro Great accompanying software suite
Steelseries uses a software suite called Engine 3 that is low resource and used to customize their gaming mouse options.
Cons
Con Two of the side buttons are unutilized in normal use
While the mouse has four side buttons, only two of them can be used at a time, depending on which hand you are using it with.
Con A bigger model might be needed for large handed people who prefer a palm grip
Due to its short height and the small hump on top of the mouse, it might not be suitable for people with large hands who prefer using a palm grip.
Con Slight lens rattle
There is some lens rattle when you pick up the device and shake it.
Con Only 4 DPI settings
Even though the ADNS-3310 sensor supports DPI settings in increments of 50, the FK1 only lets you choose between 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 DPI.
Con Not quite as comfortable as a non-ambidextrous mouse
Due to its thoroughly ambidextrous design, sometimes the ring and pinky fingers can touch the side buttons. Even though they are deactivated and won’t cause mispresses, they are still not as comfortable as non-ambidextrous designs.
Con DPI switch can't be used on-the-fly
A DPI switch is available, but it's located under the mouse, so it can't be used on-the-fly.
Con Pressing the main buttons may feel tiring after some time
Though it’s usually a matter of preference, the main buttons are a bit harder to press compared to other mice, which some people may find tiring after long periods of use.
Con Cord can break easily
The cheap rubber cord might be prone to breaking easily.
Con Not extremely ergonomic
Not entirely fit for claw grips with small hands, and gets uncomfortable after a while.
Con Rubber grips get worn out very quickly
Con Rubber grips get slippery with sweaty hands
When using the mouse for long duration's the sweat from the users hands can make the rubber side grips slippery.