When comparing Steelseries Sensei [RAW] vs Steelseries Rival, the Slant community recommends Steelseries Sensei [RAW] for most people. In the question“What is the best gaming mouse?” Steelseries Sensei [RAW] is ranked 6th while Steelseries Rival is ranked 9th. The most important reason people chose Steelseries Sensei [RAW] is:
The Steelseries Sensei [RAW] gaming mouse is an ambidextrous mouse that is default set to right handed.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Ambidextrous
The Steelseries Sensei [RAW] gaming mouse is an ambidextrous mouse that is default set to right handed.
Pro Great for palm and claw grips
Users who prefer palm or claw grips will have no problems using this mouse.
Pro Available with a metal, glossy or rubberized finish
The Steelseries Sensei [RAW] gaming mouse comes in three selectable finishes, metal, glossy or rubberized.
Pro Driver software allows adjusting sensitivity, accent illumination and reprogram buttons
The driver software dashboard allows for numerous customizations such as illumination changes and programmable buttons.
Pro Great gaming mouse buttons
Tactile and light without being easy to press by resting your hand on the gaming mouse.
Pro On-the-fly two-state CPI switch
There is a button below the scroll wheel that allows for on the fly DPI switching.
Pro Braided cable the metal and glossy/rubberized editions
The Steelseries Sense[RAW] gaming mouse comes with a braided anti-tangle cord.
Pro Great tracking
The Steelseries Rival gaming mouse has a built in Pixart PAW3310 optical sensor that offers great tracking control.
Pro Works great on Linux, using the libratbagd software
Pro Satisfying clicks
Steelseries boast of new in house built switches used inside of the Rival. Use reports have claimed that the clicks as "satisfying".
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.
Pro Great value for money
At $59 the Rival gaming mouse has a great balance between build quality and value for money.
Pro Great grip and comfortable
Pro Customizable colors for scroll wheel and palm lights
The Steelseries Rival gaming mouse offers 16.8 million colors with two zone illumination.
Pro Absolutely the best for a gaming mouse claw grip
When You have relatively large hands.
Pro DPI can be doubled with software
The 5000 DPI of the Steelseries Rival can be doubled to 10000 with Steelseries firmware.
Cons
Con Far side buttons can be pressed accidentally at first
The side buttons on the far side (i.e. right if you're right-handed) can easily be pressed when the user simply tries to grip the mouse. This can be mitigated with practice.
Con Slight inconsistent positive acceleration at all tracking speeds
Is lessened on hard pads, Steelseries recommends a 4hd/9hd as the mouse was made and tested on it. Most people don't realize the acceleration until told about it and there are numerous professional cs go, Lol, dota, and starcraft players who have no problem with or don't notice the acceleration.
Con All four buttons are hard to integrate into daily usage, but they are not always necessary.
Con Mouse wheel can be a little finicky
The mouse wheel tends to sometimes scroll up one click when trying to scroll down, and vice versa.
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.
Con Cannot turn of lighting without Steelseries proprietary software
The lighting on the device can not be adjusted without the Steelseries software.
Con Labled DPI is incorrect
Steelseries labels the DPI as 6500 for the Rival when in fact it is 5000.