The SteelSeries Rival 310 is a great wired gaming mouse. It looks and feels similar to the SteelSeries Rival 500, but with a less bulky design and less programmable side buttons. It's very comfortable to use with a palm grip for all hand sizes and has a low click latency. Its max CPI isn't quite as high as the Rival 500 but is likely more than sensitive enough for most people, and the mouse is fully compatible with both Windows and macOS, which is great.
Our Verdict
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is a good mouse for office use. Thanks to its right-handed ergonomic shape, it's very comfortable to use for extended periods, and the two programmable side buttons can help you navigate work software quicker. It's also fully compatible with both Windows and macOS, so you can use it on your work PC as well as your laptop, even if they use different operating systems.
-
Fully compatible with both Windows and macOS.
-
Very comfortable.
-
Durable and well-built.
-
No L/R tilt or horizontal scroll.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is a great FPS gaming mouse. It's very comfortable to use for extended periods and its wired connection ensures low click latency. While its max CPI isn't as high as some other options, it's still likely more than sensitive enough for most people, and its CPI can be adjusted by increments of 100. Unfortunately, some FPS gamers may find it a bit heavy, and its rubber cable is somewhat rigid.
-
Very comfortable.
-
Low click latency.
-
Durable and well-built.
-
Max CPI isn't as high as some other options.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is a very good mouse for MMO games, though it doesn't have nearly as many side buttons as dedicated MMO mice. It's comfortable enough for long gaming sessions and has low click latency. You can also install the SteelSeries software on both Windows and macOS, which is great if you like to play WoW on your MacBook.
-
Very comfortable.
-
Low click latency.
-
Durable and well-built.
-
Not as many side buttons as dedicated MMO mice.
-
Max CPI isn't as high as some other options.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is a fairly heavy mouse that isn't nearly as lightweight as dedicated ultra-light gaming mice. It's a good gaming mouse thanks to its low click latency and excellent sensor performance, but fans of very lightweight mice will likely want to look elsewhere.
-
Very comfortable.
-
Low click latency.
-
Durable and well-built.
-
Not nearly as light as dedicated ultra-light mice.
-
Max CPI isn't as high as some other options.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 isn't recommended for travel. Like most wired gaming mice, it's quite bulky and won't fit into most laptop cases. It's also fairly heavy, and its wire is cumbersome when using in a tight space, like a plane.
-
Fully compatible with both Windows and macOS.
-
Durable and well-built.
-
Bulky wired design.
- 7.2 Office/Multimedia
- 8.0 Video Games (FPS)
- 7.9 Video Games (MMO)
- 7.8 Ultra-Light Gaming
- 5.2 Travel
- Updated Oct 16, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Jun 19, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Jun 15, 2020: Early access published.
- Updated Jun 03, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated May 27, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated May 23, 2020: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Compared To Other Mice
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is a great wired gaming mouse. It's similar to the SteelSeries Rival 500 but has fewer programmable buttons and a smaller and less bulky ergonomic design.
Check out our recommendations for the best gaming mouse, the best wired gaming mouse, and the best mouse overall.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 and the SteelSeries Rival 600 are both very good wired gaming mice but with different designs. The Rival 600 is bulkier and heavier and has more aggressive styling. It also has three side buttons, compared to two with the Rival 310, and has more RGB lighting. Both mice perform very similarly, but the click latency is slightly lower on the 600. While you can use the 600 with any grip type by people with medium or larger hands, people with small hands will likely have an easier time holding the 310, especially with a palm grip.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 and the SteelSeries Rival 3 are both great wired FPS gaming mice. The Rival 3 is a bit lighter and has a more ambidextrous design that's best-suited for a claw grip. On the other hand, the Rival 310 has a slanted right-handed design that's better-suited for all hand sizes with a palm grip. The 310 also has a wider adjustable CPI range, but we measured a slightly lower CPI variation with the Rival 3.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is a predecessor of the SteelSeries Rival 5. The Rival 5 is a better gaming mouse overall as it's lighter, feels sturdier, and has more side buttons, including a toggle switch up/down inputs. It also has an updated sensor with a higher maximum CPI and a lower lift-off distance. It's ideal for all grip types but isn't suitable for smaller hands. On the other hand, the Rival 310 is better suited for small hands using a palm grip but is only recommended for a fingertip grip for extra-large hands.
The Razer DeathAdder V2 performs slightly better for gaming than the SteelSeries Rival 310. Both mice have about the same size and weight, but the Razer has better feet and more programmable inputs. It also has a wider CPI range that you can adjust more precisely, a lower lift-off distance, and a much better click latency. The SteelSeries has less CPI variation, and it’s fully compatible with both Windows and macOS. However, it’s not meant for a fingertip grip.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is a better wired mouse for FPS gaming than the Logitech G502 HERO. The SteelSeries is quite a bit lighter, is more comfortable, and is better suited for people with small hands, as they can still grip it well with a palm grip. On the other hand, the Logitech has more programmable buttons, including L/R tilt buttons on its scroll wheel. It also has a lower lift-off distance, a wider and more adjustable CPI range, a lower click latency, and a more consistent sensor.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 and the SteelSeries Sensei Ten are two great gaming mice that perform very similarly. They both weigh about the same, have similar sizes, and are well-suited for most hand sizes using a palm or a claw grip. That said, the Rival 310 has a right-handed slant, while the Sensei Ten has an ambidextrous shape with two side buttons on both sides. The Sensei Ten also has a slightly better sensor with a wider CPI range that you can adjust more precisely and less CPI variation.
The SteelSeries Rival 100 is a predecessor of the SteelSeries Rival 310. The Rival 100 has an ambidextrous shape, while the Rival 310 has an ergonomic right-handed shape. Performance-wise, the Rival 310 also has a much wider CPI range, a CPI that's more precisely adjustable, and a better click latency. It also has onboard memory. The Rival 310 is more suitable for a palm or claw grip for most hand sizes, whereas the Rival 100 is best suited for a claw or a fingertip grip for almost all hand sizes.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is a better wired gaming mouse than the Razer Basilisk. The SteelSeries is lighter-weight and slightly more comfortable thanks to its slanted, ergonomic shape. It's also fully compatible with both Windows and macOS, while the Razer is only partially compatible with Mac devices. However, while the click latency is slightly lower on the SteelSeries, the Razer has a wider adjustable CPI range, a lower lift-off distance, and more programmable buttons.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 and the Razer DeathAdder Elite are both great wired FPS gaming mice. The Razer has a wider CPI range that you can fine-tune by increments of 1, which is excellent. Also, it has a more consistent sensor and lower lift-off distance. On the other hand, the Rival 310 has a slightly lower click latency and is fully compatible with both Windows and macOS, while the Razer is only partially compatible with macOS.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is slightly better than the Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury. The SteelSeries is lighter, more comfortable to use, and has a wider CPI range. However, the Logitech has lower click latency, a more consistent sensor, and its CPI can be adjusted in smaller increments.
The SteelSeries Sensei 310 and the SteelSeries Rival 310 are nearly identical, but they differ in shape and how many buttons they have. The Sensei 310 has an ambidextrous shape that's ideal for all hand sizes using claw grip, and it has two side buttons on either side. On the other hand, the Rival 310 has an ergonomic right-handed shape best suited for all hand sizes using a palm grip, but it only has a pair of side buttons on the left. The Rival 310 we tested also had a more consistent sensor, but this may be due to manufacturing tolerances.
Test Results
The SteelSeries Rival 310 has a straightforward design that looks very similar to the SteelSeries Rival 500, but with fewer buttons. It has textured rubber on each side and RGB lighting on the scroll wheel and rear logo. While our unit is all-black, this mouse is also available in PUBG or CS:GO color variants.
As with most wired gaming mice, the SteelSeries Rival 310 isn't the best for portability. This likely won't be an issue for most people, as it's designed to keep with your gaming setup at home.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 gaming mouse is fairly heavy and has no weight optimization options.
The build quality of the SteelSeries Rival 310 is excellent. The entire mouse feels very sturdy with no loose or squeaking parts. It's made of good quality plastic, with a matte finish and rubber grips on either side. The PFTE feet are okay but aren't as good on some other mice, like the GLORIOUS Model O. Overall it feels as well-built and solid as the SteelSeries Rival 500.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is very comfortable to use. It has a right-handed ergonomic slant that allows it to fit very well in the hand. Overall it feels like the SteelSeries Rival 500 but with less bulk.
The SteelSeries Rival 310 is very well-suited for a palm grip. Anyone should be able to use it comfortably with this grip, regardless of hand size.
This mouse is suitable for a claw grip for everyone except those with small hands. People with small hands will likely find it difficult to comfortably reach the scroll wheel and front side button.
This mouse isn't recommended to use with a fingertip grip. People with very large hands may be able to use it with this grip, but they'll likely find it uncomfortable and difficult to game with.
This is a wired-only mouse.
The cable of this mouse is the same as the one found on the SteelSeries Rival 500, and is only mediocre overall. It's coated in rubber and maintains some kinks from the packaging.
This mouse has two additional side buttons, for a total of eight programmable buttons. While you can set a button to switch profiles, it will switch to a specific one so you'll need to set multiple buttons and can't simply scroll through your various profiles. For a similar gaming mouse with hot-swappable left and right-click switches, check out the ASUS ROG Chakram Core.
The mouse wheel is decent. Like with most SteelSeries mice, it's fairly low profile and doesn't stick out much. It's incremented with soft bumps, but unfortunately, there are no L/R tilt buttons.
The click latency of this mouse is quite low and most people likely won't notice any lag.
The software for this mouse is superb. It's fully compatible with both Windows and macOS and allows you to fully customize your mouse. The mouse also has on-board memory to save your settings between computers, though unfortunately, our settings didn't save when switching the mouse from Windows to macOS, and we had to reprogram the mouse on the Mac.