The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless is a good wireless gaming mouse. Its ambidextrous design is best suited for a claw or fingertip grip for almost any hand size, although if you have small hands, you might not reach the scroll wheel using a fingertip grip. It has a fairly wide CPI range, although the adjustment steps aren't as precise as other gaming mice, and its click latency is decent but slightly higher than other similarly-priced gaming options. Its software is fully compatible with Windows and macOS, and you can connect to it via Bluetooth or its USB receiver. Unfortunately, it's somewhat heavy for its size, even after you optimize its weight by removing one battery.
Our Verdict
The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless is great for office and multimedia uses. Although it isn't as comfortable as some more ergonomic mice, its symmetrical design feels comfortable enough for long days. It feels excellently built, has two programmable side buttons, and is fully compatible with Windows and macOS. Unfortunately, the scroll wheel doesn't have L/R tilt buttons, and there's no thumb wheel for horizontal scrolling.
- Excellent build quality.
- Very comfortable symmetrical design.
- Well-built and comfortable.
- Scroll wheel has no L/R tilt buttons or free-scrolling option.
The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless is a decent mouse for FPS gaming. Its symmetrical design is best suited for a claw or fingertip grip, and its PFTE feet provide a smooth gliding experience. Its click latency is only satisfactory and isn't quite as responsive-feeling as many other models at a similar price point. Unfortunately, it's pretty heavy even when removing one battery to optimize its weight.
- Excellent build quality.
- Very comfortable symmetrical design.
- Well-built and comfortable.
- Heavy for its size.
- No wired option.
The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless is good for MMO gaming. This very well-built mouse has a symmetrical design that feels comfortable enough for long gaming sessions. It has a wide CPI range, although you can't adjust the set CPI as precisely as some other gaming mice. It also doesn't have as many side buttons as dedicated MMO mice, and people with large or extra-large hands can't use it with a palm grip.
- Excellent build quality.
- Very comfortable symmetrical design.
- Well-built and comfortable.
- Only two programmable side buttons.
- No wired option.
The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless is great for travel. It's a very well-built mouse, and its wireless design makes it easy to use while on-the-go. You can easily store the USB receiver in its battery compartment for safe-keeping. Unfortunately, it's somewhat heavy for its size, and its tall back might make it a little harder to slide into your laptop bag.
- Excellent build quality.
- Wireless.
- Well-built and comfortable.
- Very portable design.
- Heavy for its size.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 16, 2022: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.3. This update adds a new Sensor Latency test and makes minor changes to several of our existing tests, resulting in test result changes in several sections. For more information, you can check out our full changelog here.
- Updated Aug 17, 2022: Following the update to Test Bench 1.2, some of our test results have changed within both the Weight and CPI sections. We've added or modified some of the text in this article to clarify these changes.
- Updated Aug 15, 2022: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.2. This update simplifies our Weight test and expands on our CPI test from Test Bench 1.1, resulting in changes to test results in both sections. For more details, you can see our complete changelog here.
- Updated Jun 22, 2022: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.1, which revamped our click latency test methodology. We've updated the text to reflect our new results in various sections, including the Click Latency test box, Usages, Introduction, and other locations where we discuss click latency.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
There are no variants of the SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless and it's only available in black. You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Mouse Comparisons
The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless is a wireless version of the SteelSeries Rival 3. While its click latency over USB receiver and Bluetooth isn't as low as many other wireless gaming mice, it's more than sufficient for casual gaming. Unlike many gaming mice that only have companion software for Windows, the SteelSeries Engine 3 software is fully compatible with both Windows as well as macOS.
See our recommendations for the best mouse, the best FPS mouse, and the best wireless gaming mouse.
The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless is a better gaming mouse than the Logitech G305 LIGHTSPEED. The SteelSeries feels better built, has Bluetooth support, and has an RGB lighting zone in its scroll wheel. However, the Logitech's set CPI is slightly more consistent and can be adjusted more precisely.
The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless and the SteelSeries Rival 3 look and perform very similarly. The Wireless is better for travel thanks to its wireless design and wireless connectivity options, and its minimum CPI is lower than the Rival 3. The Rival 3 is wired-only, it's lighter than the Wireless, and its click latency is slightly better.
The Razer Basilisk X Hyperspeed and the SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless are two gaming mice that perform somewhat similarly even though they have very different designs. The SteelSeries is much smaller and lighter, and it has an ambidextrous shape that's very well-suited for a claw grip. On the other hand, the Razer has a right-handed design with a thumb rest, and it's well-suited for most hand sizes using any grip type. It also has a better click latency and features more programmable inputs as you can set an HyperShift button.
The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless and the SteelSeries Sensei Ten are both very good gaming mice with a similar style. The Wireless' USB receiver click latency is slightly lower than the wired Sensei Ten, and its body feels less slippery. Also, the Wireless is better for travel thanks to its wireless design. On the other hand, the Sensei Ten is a lighter-weight wired mouse that has a wider CPI range and more precise adjustment steps.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
