The new sensor has a CPI range from 100 to 18,000 that feels like every other modern sensor, as well as a max velocity of up to over 400 IPS if you’re using one of SteelSeries’ best RGB mouse pads and 400 IPS otherwise. It debuts the SteelSeries’ TrueMove Air optical sensor, an upgrade over the wired version’s 8,500-CPI TrueMove Core. That said, the Rival 3 Wireless mostly performed as expected. I’ve started to adapt, and this won’t be a negative for people who have yet to hop on the ultra-lightweight bandwagon. I’ve grown so accustomed to using an ultra-lightweight mouse (the wired rat is only 2.22 ounces) that using a ‘normal’ mouse feels strange. I’ll be upfront: I would probably like the Rival 3 Wireless a lot more if I hadn’t started using the HK Gaming Mira-M a few months ago. The Rival 3 Wireless only features lighting on the scroll wheel, however, likely helping to keep cost and weight down. The Rival 3 had RGB backlighting along the bottom of its case and via the SteelSeries logo but not on the scroll wheel. Of course, this wouldn’t be a mass-market gaming mouse without some form of RGB backlighting, but the approach here is a bit different. But in daily use, these issues weren’t distracting. On the other hand, there is some wobble on the primary mouse buttons, as well as a bit of pre-travel. The scroll wheel texturing is typical SteelSeries, the matte coating is grippy without being too rough and the buttons all feel satisfying to press.

Other aspects of the mouse feel mighty familiar. Luckily, that added weight also makes the Rival 3 Wireless feel a bit sturdier than its predecessor. Lighter wireless mice, such as the Logitech G Pro Wireless (2.82 ounces) and Razer Viper Ultimate (2.56 ounces) cost significantly more than the Rival 3 Wireless. The Rival 3 Wireless finds itself in good company at this weight: it’s similar to the Logitech G305 Lightspeed for example, as well as the Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless (3.49 ounces each). Some weight gain is to be expected when making a wired mouse wireless, however, because of the additional hardware requirements.