Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsNit-Noid Review: A Top-Tier Mouse that may not be for everyone
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2018
The Basics
Beginning of Jan I purchased the Rival 310. The mousewheel on my G403 had lost some tactility and the R310 checked virtually all the boxes. 3360 variant sensor, 50m omron switches, RGB and a safe shape. I used it for 6 days before writing this review. My Nit-Noidy thoughts are as follows.
The Good:
The mouse is very light but manages to feel well made and not hollow.
The mouse was balanced in the hand regardless of grip type, no "heavy butt" problems here.
The clicks all around feel good. Resistance is significantly more than a G403, but less than a Huano.
The side buttons are some of the best I've ever used - medium resistance and tactile without appreciable pretravel etc.
I appreciated that the middle click was one of the easiest to press in, some mice have a middle click so stiff that its utility is virtually eliminated. Some folks have said that the scroll wheel feels cheap, I differ on this point. There is no rattle or wobble and the tactility is excellent with very light resistance - that means it is good for both gaming and browsing.
One of my favorite aspects of the mouse vs the G403 are the subtle groove ledges flanking the scroll wheel. I tend to keep my fingers close to the scroll wheel and something about that ledge just felt right.
The plastic texture on the mouse is good, it gives you a feel of the mouse but does not quite evoke a feeling of "premium" like some of Corsair's products.
The sensor is outstanding as you would expect, I just wish it were placed a little farther forward.
Lift off distance is low.
The shape is very safe and comfortable, especially for a palm grip. It also works fine for fingertip and claw, but only assuming larger hands.
Last but not least, the software is EXCELLENT. I'd considered Logitech to be the gold standard here, now I'm thinking Steelseries. The Logitech G software is around 270mb last I checked, is clean, functional and lightweight. The Steelseries software was only a 108mb download and managed to be even more intuitive with more functions than Logitech's offerings for the G403. One thing that the R310 does not have that many Logitech mice have is sensor surface tuning, but I never missed it.
The Middling:
The cord is the least stiff of any I've tried and kinks were worked out very easily. However, the rubber on the cord is more "grabby" than most when it comes into contact with soft mousepads. (Not an issue with a decent bungee.)
The primary clicks are tactile, but not quite light enough to be considered properly "MMO spammable" in my opinion.
The DPI button is out of the way but a little too far aft of the scroll to be useful for time-critical functions.
The mouse has everything you need, not much you don't. That said, I'd have liked to see an equivalent "G-Shift" option in the software to add more possible macro functions. The mouse isn't as viable to cross over to productivity work like the G502 with all its bells and whistles, but it's still ok.
The Bad:
The silicone sides have a subtle mush to them, which is kinda meh. They do not feel great despite the nice patterning. They can retain a little bit of heat and do not fare particularly well for grip when/if the going gets moist...I think the choice is adequate for what it is intended for, and it SHOULD be fairly durable, but I'm not 100% sure. I would have much preferred the same textured plastic on the sides as on the top.
My copy had slight pretravel on the left click with definite differences in click sound and feel between left and right click.
My copy developed also developed a slight rattle on the aft thumb button after a few days.
The mouse is very long while being wider and relatively low compared to the G403. If you have average or smaller hands, fingertipping the mouse will lead to either clicking the primary buttons toward the rear of the mouse (meaning stiffer clicks) OR you'll continually have the butt of the mouse bumping into your palm when looking/shooting down in-game.
Using a claw grip for me meant reducing the thumb surface touching the mouse, making it feel less controllable. My in-game performance was still very good, but the mouse definitely caters to palm and/or large hands. For me, it felt like there was a whole lot of mouse wasted forward of the scroll and aft of the thumb and I ended up clicking about even with the back of the scroll wheel. If the mouse retained its basic shape while being shorter, it would be a more versatile option for more people, but might sacrifice awesomeness factor for big/palm types.
Conclusion:
Despite the questionable choice of silicone, the mouse is fantastic overall and performs as a top-tier option in my opinion. The software is probably the best I've ever seen. It is an easy recommend for any grip style, but with the caveat that your hand ideally be 18.5cm+ in length. It is because of the many good qualities of this mouse that the unsuitably large size makes me sad :(
Nit-Noid Grade: B+
