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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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Joshua_Goldman.jpg
Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
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Joshua Goldman
2 min read
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SteelSeries' Rival 5 gaming mouse packs on the buttons.

 Josh Goldman/CNET

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.  

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The right side of the mouse is fairly flat.

 Josh Goldman/CNET

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.

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