When comparing Steelseries Rival vs Zowie EC1-A, the Slant community recommends Steelseries Rival for most people. In the question“What is the best gaming mouse?” Steelseries Rival is ranked 9th while Zowie EC1-A is ranked 20th. The most important reason people chose Steelseries Rival is:
The Steelseries Rival gaming mouse has a built in Pixart PAW3310 optical sensor that offers great tracking control.
Specs
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Pros
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.
Pro Sensor and DPI options ensure fluid and optimal gaming performance
The Avago 3310 sensor used by this mouse is exceptional. It delivers a true portrayal of mouse movement with no jitter, acceleration or prediction. The available DPI choices of 400/800/1600/3200 are all native and should ensure an equally good performance, regardless of which one is chosen.

Pro Ergonomic, accommodating shape, especially for those with big hands
Though it may look tame, the mouse’s shape is quite ergonomic. Its subtle curves help your fingers position themselves while also allowing various grip types. For the same reason, the bulge of the mouse is located strictly in the middle, making it accommodating for the most amount of people, and even more for gamers that have big hands. Nevertheless, it may be more suited for palm grips because of the subtle curve at the right side which provides support for the ring and pinky fingers.
Pro Flawless movement, essential for gaming
The EC1-A delivers accurate mouse cursor movement that is essential to any gaming mouse. Virtually flawless, it has none of the precision-altering flaws that are apparent in other mice.
Pro Button switches click easily
Although the buttons have Huano switches, which are more stiff, the shell of the mouse somehow negates this and makes them click easily, just like typical Omron switches.
Pro Smooth mousepad movement
The mouse comes with two mouse feet that are larger than normal and ensure smooth movement over the mousepad.
Pro Includes a set of thumb buttons
The EC1-A includes a set of thumb buttons which are standard for most mice.
Pro Built to last
The switches don’t randomly break down, no component excessively rattles and the scroll wheel doesn’t degrade easily. Although the mouse has a rubber cable which is quite vulnerable to bending and damage, the mouse as a whole is well built and can be expected to last.
Pro Coating ensures a good grip
The mouse has a smooth plastic coating that doesn’t feel slippery. You can easily hold the mouse with a comfortable grip even without the rubber sides.
Pro Some customization options
The EC1-A has only a few customization options, all of which are sensor related. It is possible to change the lift off distance, polling rate and the DPI settings (400/800/1600/3200).
Cons

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.
Con Customization options are limited due to the lack of companion software
There is no companion software to this mouse, which means you cannot do thorough customizations, such as button remapping or custom lighting.
Con DPI colors annoying and can't be customized
The scroll wheel has an LED that changes color depending on your DPI setting, but the corresponding color cannot be customized.
Con Side buttons don't register easily
The side buttons require you to press deeply before it registers an action.
Con DPI switch can't be accessed during use
The DPI switch is a button that can’t be accessed while in use because it's located under the mouse.
Con The customization process is inconvenient
All Zowie mice are built to be straightforward and simple to use. However, its settings cannot be changed easily during normal use: you have to unplug the mouse and use a combination of different button presses while plugging the mouse in, which is unintuitive and a hassle to learn.
Con Not manufactured anymore
The Zowie EC-1 is no longer manufactured by Zowie but it still can be found on eBay and Amazon from third party sellers.
