SteelSeries Rival 650 Quantum Review: Precision And Grace

Today’s catch is the SteelSeries Rival 650 with Quantum Wireless™ technology that piqued the interest of gamers. It features 1ms lossless performance, lightning-fast charging capabilities, and the most precise gaming sensor ever made, as per SteelSeries.

Accuracy and Efficiency Combined

Last night I had a dream. I was swimming in a sea brimming with peripheral goodies. Good ones, trying to help me, and evil ones, hissing at me, the bastards. It didn’t take a shrink to tell me that my dream had everything to do with my new mouse hunt.

The fear of getting caught in money traps can do this to you. Everyone wants to avoid the ‘great-on-paper-yet-awful-in-real-life’ piece of gear.

The good thing is that some companies, like SteelSeries, take gaming seriously. When they release a high-end gaming mouse, the community is all ears.

Today’s catch is the SteelSeries Rival 650 with Quantum Wireless™ technology that piqued the interest of gamers. It features 1ms lossless performance, lightning-fast charging capabilities, and the most precise gaming sensor ever made, as per SteelSeries.

I love a good challenge, so I whipped out my gamer goggles and dove in to find out what makes the Rival 650 so unique.

9.4
SteelSeries Rival 650 Quantum Wireless Gaming Mouse
  • Quantum Wireless technology allows accurate, reliable lag free performance on par with SteelSeries' top tier wired mice, while allowing you to remain untethered
  • 24 plus hour battery life on a full charge or 10 hours from 15 minute rapid charge
  • SteelSeries' most advanced optical sensor, TrueMove3 plus, provides true 1 to 1 tracking, while a secondary depth sensor adjusts the lift off distance to control movement with esports precision and accuracy
  • Personalize with 256 unique center of gravity weight tuning configurations to fit your preferences
  • Ultra durable gaming switches guaranteed for 60 million clicks. Lift off distance-customizable, 0.5–2 millimeter

Ergonomics And Design

Remove the cord, and the Rival 650 Wireless becomes the spitting image of the Rival 600. And like the 600, SteelSeries has built this rodent to fit you whether you are a palm or a claw gripper. The shape is universal and will cater to both camps. With a size of 2.7 x 5.2 x 1.7 inches, it could fit well into small to medium hands.

I also like how they furnished the mouse’s body with a soft-touch plastic finish. It is pleasing to the eye and screams premium quality. The same anti-slip material covers the side grips and palm rest.

Not just the body, but left and right mouse buttons also feature a matte finish. There is a quite pleasant mild concave shape that follows the contour of your clicking fingers. The scroll wheel is also rubberized, offering a nice feel and a notched action.

Rival 650 glide is superb, due to the high-quality Teflon feet: less friction may lead to more precise aim in the heat of the battle, which simply means more chicken dinners in PUBG.

Features And Performance

Buttons

The Rival 650 has seven buttons and a clickable scroll wheel. Though it can barely qualify as an MMO dedicated mouse, it is enough for casual macros. Just don’t compare them to Razer Naga Epic Chroma, which has tons of buttons at your disposal.

The primary mouse buttons of the Rival 650 are detached from the main body, and I was quite happy with the tactile feel. The switches that SteelSeries used are rated for 60 million clicks, so MOBA players should be good to go.

There are also three slim thumb buttons on the left side. That raises some concerns for me. I have no problem with how solid they feel. However, I can’t help but find their placement inconvenient.

To be honest, I only find the closest back button to be conveniently accessible. I think claw grippers and those with smaller hands will have an easier time with this mouse. They can move their thumb forward without straining and extending their index and middle fingers to reach the front of the mouse.

Sensors System

The Rival 650 boasts with having a double sensor system. The SteelSeries TrueMove3+ Dual Sensor System performs outstanding: it is capable of up to 12,000 DPI, and it is undeniably accurate. The Logitech G Pro still beats the Rival 650 with its 16,000 DPI, but I barely noticed the difference. During testing, I still managed to execute headshots at CS: GO and made my squad proud.

Depth Sensor

The secondary sensor of Rival 650, dubbed as Depth Sensing Linear Optical Detection, claims to be the world’s most precise with the lowest lift-off detection at 0.5mm – a great bonus to FPS players who have the habit of constantly lifting their mouse during gameplay. This feature will upgrade your skill to the next level, as you will have more accuracy, control, and shorter reaction time.

Primary Sensor

The primary sensor, TrueMove 3 Optical Gaming Sensor, is aiming to set the standard for all gaming sensors. During my hands-on experience playing Apex Legends, my crosshair was incredibly accurate and made my Bloodhound carry the team. I’m also happy to report that I experienced no acceleration, no tracking errors, and no lag during my gameplay. I must say it is indeed one of the best mice for FPS gaming.

Connectivity (Quantum Wireless™)

SteelSeries has equipped the Rival 650 with the newest state-of-the-art lag-free system that gives you 1ms latency (1,000Hz polling rate), and professional caliber of frequency optimization. Called the Quantum Wireless™, it is quite perfect for a serious gaming session with high stakes. I know that looking for a good wireless gaming mouse is hard, so I cheered when this one came my way.

The Quantum Wireless™ in question lived up to its hype and claims. I noticed no hitches during my gameplay. I’m a brave person, so I ran Dark Souls 3’s boss fight against Midir, using this mouse with a twist. I tried running it without sparing any potential interferences – I plugged in every electronic device I spotted in the vicinity, and as a geek, I have plenty of these.  The mouse never wavered nor flinched, and it really deserved the word quantum in its name.

Balance And Weight

Like its predecessor, the Rival 600, this mouse has extra weights included. It has eight 4g weights that fit inside a small rubber case, and if the Rival 650’s weight of 121g is not enough for you, you can have the weights distributed freely, from left to right and front to back.

If you love your mouse hefty and bulky and opt to have all the weight in, it will be a total of 153g. Quite heavy, compared to the cheaper Logitech G403 Prodigy that only weighs 87g.

Charging And Battery

SteelSeries claims that the mouse can run for up to 24 hours on a single charge. Quite impressive, especially for gamers who game heavily. But what makes it impressive is the fact that if you charged it up for only 15-minutes, it could juice up for about 10 hours.

Software And Lighting

The Rival 650 Wireless has 8-zone RGB lighting, though at first glance it only looks like it only has four. Don’t get confused because there is the scroll wheel, the logo, and the two strips on the palm rest. Each lighting strip has three programmable zones, which makes a total of eight zones. If you love aesthetically pleasing gear, you can get pretty wild with your lighting choices.

This rodent is also supported by SteelSeries Engine 3 software for your settings and customizations. The software is user-friendly, and you can tweak it pretty much to your liking.

Final Verdict

The SteelSeries Rival 650 is designed to be a premium-class mouse. From design to performance, this rodent does not disappoint. The Quantum Wireless™ technology upped SteelSeries in this one. It is, of course, not totally flawless. This mouse is quite heavy for FPS inclined players, even without the weights on, so this might raise some concerns. Especially if you are into lighter ones like the Razer Mamba Hyperflux.

The odd side button placement might also annoy palm grippers. Nevertheless, these are minor misfires. If you are willing to pay for a premium wireless mouse, then the Rival 650 is some serious contender.

9.4
SteelSeries Rival 650 Quantum Wireless Gaming Mouse
  • Quantum Wireless technology allows accurate, reliable lag free performance on par with SteelSeries' top tier wired mice, while allowing you to remain untethered
  • 24 plus hour battery life on a full charge or 10 hours from 15 minute rapid charge
  • SteelSeries' most advanced optical sensor, TrueMove3 plus, provides true 1 to 1 tracking, while a secondary depth sensor adjusts the lift off distance to control movement with esports precision and accuracy
  • Personalize with 256 unique center of gravity weight tuning configurations to fit your preferences
  • Ultra durable gaming switches guaranteed for 60 million clicks. Lift off distance-customizable, 0.5–2 millimeter
Tracy has been working for RealGear since the first day it went online. She reads every e-sports related newspaper and website. She is a huge Twitch.tv fan and a gamer with a soft spot for Lineage 2, WoW, and Guild Wars 1 and 2. She says she does not suffer from PvP insanity, she enjoys every minute of it. Tracy defines herself as a person who’d spend two hours customizing a character rather than indulging in an activity that would not be as nearly rewarding as playing games and testing hardware.

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