Why You Can Trust CNET SteelSeries Rival 5 gaming mouse is made for your favorite games
Whatever you play, this nine-button lightweight mouse has you covered.
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SteelSeries' Rival 5 gaming mouse packs on the buttons.
Gaming accessory-maker SteelSeries on Tuesday announced the Rival 5 mouse, a nine-button wired mouse that's designed for gamers who don't stick to just one genre. Its size, shape and 85-gram (3-ounce) weight are made to accommodate any hand size or grip type while its mesh-covered cable helps give it the feel of a wireless mouse.
The $60 (£60, AU$70) mouse also features 10 zones of RGB lighting that, along with its buttons, can be fully customized with the company's GG software. Sensitivity maxes out at 18,000 counts per inch with its TrueMove Air sensor and the top button to the rear of the scroll wheel is preprogrammed to cycle through five CPI presets.
The right side of the mouse is fairly flat.
SteelSeries used Golden Micro IP54 switches and split triggers for response clicks no matter what grip you use. That said, I found it difficult to hold the Rival 5 comfortably with anything but a claw grip. The left side is fairly straight and I'm used to having a mouse with a bit of a curve to tuck my pinky into. Using a palm grip was just uncomfortable for me without putting a bend in my wrist. It is light enough for a fingertip grip, but you might want to add some grip tape.
The button panel on the left side appears to have only four buttons, but the top button above the forward and back buttons can be quickly flicked up or down for separate actions. The layout overall worked really well, with all of the buttons easily triggered without having to change my hand position or resort to any thumb contortions.
The SteelSeries Rival 5 is available now on Amazon.