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SteelSeries Rival 600

We've been testing out the new wired gaming mouse from SteelSeries.

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Our first impression of the Rival 600 wasn't the strongest, and the initial unit we were sent had to be replaced because it didn't work. The second, however, worked like a charm, and since then we've been using the new mouse by SteelSeries almost every day - a mouse we can see ourselves carrying on with for the foreseeable future because it's actually excellent.

The casing of the Rival 600 doesn't feel luxurious at first touch, but the fiber-reinforced plastic used to make the casing is indeed of a decent standard, and while the soft finish might be unassuming to both touch and look at, it's indicative of what this mouse offers overall - a no-nonsense but extremely capable gaming mouse that represents good value for money. Because it's a wired mouse it's light in the hand, so perhaps that was another thing that contributed to our initial impression, but nevertheless, it didn't take long for us to come to enjoy the look and feel of this latest offering from SteelSeries.

The lightness of the mouse wasn't an issue at all, because it's very simple to add more weight to the Rival 600. The magnetic side panels can be removed with zero fuss, and underneath each panel there are four slots built to house 4-gram weights. Essentially you can add up to 32-grams of heft to the unit, giving it a touch more weight to suit your personal tastes, although fixing the weights into place is quite a fiddly affair and if you take a panel off, chances are one or two of the weights are going to come loose with it and need replacing. Otherwise though it's a neat and accessible way of adding weight to the mouse.

The Rival 600 is right-handed, so the slightly concave left-hand panel therefore also houses three buttons that can be easily accessed by your thumb. However, they're positioned so that you won't be accidentally clicking back and forth when you don't mean too. In fact, the buttons are all rather robust, with the side buttons and the central button behind the mouse wheel all feeling solid to touch and, importantly, satisfying to click. It's actually a streamlined setup compared to the Rival 500 in terms of input options, but that probably works in its favour.

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SteelSeries Rival 600

Perhaps the most impressive thing about SteelSeries' new mouse is the consistency it offers in terms of performance. There are two sensors underneath the mouse: the reliable TrueMove 3 sensor we've seen used to good effect in other models, and a secondary one that reduces cursor drift if, heaven forbid, your mouse leaves the playing surface for a second. Naturally, the USB cable makes response times snappy, and that coupled with the reliability offered by the two sensor setup makes the Rival 600 an excellent all-around gaming mouse.

For those who like a touch of visual flair, there's RGB lighting on offer, and if you really want to stand out from the crowd you can download the Engine 3 software that SteelSeries keeps up-to-date. Not only can you really hone in on the more detailed technical features (such as adjusting cursor sensitivity, for example) with this, but you can also add a dash of decoration to the mouse. There are actually eight different zones that can be coloured individually so, if you're super classy like us, you can have bright orange bars of light running down the side of the mouse with a bright blue logo at the back.

Considering the pricing of the Rival 600 when compared to its nearest rivals, you're getting a lot of mouse for your money (it's around £80 / $80 USD at the time of writing). While at first glance it didn't scream quality, after having spent an extended period of time with it we can safely say that this is a fully-featured option that's ideal for someone looking for a reliable gaming mouse but who doesn't want to spend a ludicrous amount. It's not got all the bells and whistles that some people insist on having these, but it's got quality where it counts.

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SteelSeries Rival 600
09 Gamereactor UK
9 / 10
overall score
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