Overall and Final Verdict

Okay so at the end of the day I have written a LOT more about the Sensei 310 and Rival 310 than I normally do. Part of that is because both mice have made a lot of changes though I did also spend more time than normal because of how familiar I am with the old Sensei and I had extremely high expectations from the new design. Most of the improvements checked off what I would like to see in a new mouse. The new sensor is a drastic improvement over the original Sensei. I bashed the naming and felt like some of the marketing is a little crazy but the actual performance was solid with the only issue I had was a little bit of drifting, something you see a lot. They also went with quality Omron 50 million click switches on both mice and they split the triggers from the top of the mouse, giving a solid click and a good feel. They didn’t talk about it much but the scroll wheel also seems to be improved with silicon being used over the rubber grip we normally see.

But beyond those aspects, I was really concerned with the shape and feel of both mice. Both the Sensei and the Rival have dedicated followers so I was worried they would stray from the norm all in the name of an updated look. With the Sensei they did change up the look but it didn’t end up changing the feel of the mouse. The Rival, on the other hand, didn’t move as far on the look but they did change the shape to be a little more friendly for someone like me who likes a neutral design, hopefully, it still works for people who love their original Rivals. The silicon based grips on the sides were another big concern and if you look in the pro’s and cons below I actually complain about them and talk about how good they are at the same time. I don’t care for the gray color, black would give us a cleaner look and with the Sensei I would still prefer to not have any grips at all. But I will say these are the best mouse grips I’ve ever used. The Silicon should hold up better over time and the texture isn’t noticeable in hand. I did experience a little sliding when my hands got oily, but overall they did really well.

I don’t think I’ve ever listed a mouse cord as a major pro before unless it just didn’t have anything else going for it. With both mice though I really do love this new cord. It is very flexible and dropping the sleeving was a good call, it should hold up better and people who fight with their cord pushing back shouldn’t have as many issues with this design. My only other note was that I do wish they would tone back the lighting slightly. Actually, it's not even the lighting so much as the bright white logo that is there even when you turn the lights off. The hidden SteelSeries logo on the older designs was the best implementation of a backlit logo, in my opinion, it would be great here. I don’t need everyone seeing what brand I’m using, plus it is under my palm most of the time.

So… With all of that covered what’s the verdict? Well, I actually really like the new Sensei design and the Rival, although not my preferred shape, is a great mouse. SteelSeries seems to be listening to the community as well as the competition and this is the type of mouse they need to compete. They even priced both mice at a price point that I think is fitting. At $59.99 they aren’t going to break the bank. Dropping the laser sensor and the sleeving on the cord helped improve the design and lower the price all at once, talk about a win-win. I’m planning on keeping the Sensei 310 as my main mouse, it might actually finally replace my Sensei. If you like the Sensei and the Rival, I think the 310 version would be a good pickup. I hope we see the revival of the Kinzu as well as a maybe a wireless version of the 310 rather than just adding extra weight/features to make a high-end model.

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Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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