What's all this under my thumb? That's the first thought I had when using the SteelSeries Rival 500 mouse (available for $80 on Amazon ), and most likely the first thought anyone would have with this device-there's a lot to take in.

is a bit of a novelty mouse. Its tactile alerts are useful, but its tiny OLED screen isn't. Unfortunately, while it's a high quality product overall, I discovered a few issues with it in my review. I also thought the Rival 700 was priced too high, possibly because of its gimmicky OLED screen.

In looking for a new MMO mouse, my primary requirements were good build quality that should last at least 2–3 years, enough buttons to get by, and no wireless. As one of the few quality MMO mice not to use a 12-button thumb array, the Rival 500 has a memorable button layout so I don't usually find myself hitting the wrong buttons. The one niggle is the thumb button placement. I use a palm grip with wrist well back, resting on the table, and I've found the front two buttons to be barely reachable with my thumb. If you have a different grip or large hands this shouldn't be an issue but it may be worth finding one to try out before you buy.

The Steelseries Rival 500 reinvents the MMO and MOBA inspired gaming mouse.

Good button placement; Intuitive design; Useful software tools

Poor build quality; Chalky exterior

The drivers of the mouse are bugged and while playing games it randomly disconnects and stops working. The driver has been broken for about a month now and steel series hasn't issued the bug fix yet. DONT BUY TILL THIS ISSUE IS FIXED. refer to this reddit post to check it is fixed.

We recently reviewed the Steelseries Rival 700 Gaming mouse and found it to be an exceptional take on the genre. With superb lighting, swappable components, an OLED display and vibration feedback, it moved the gaming mouse goalposts considerably further on.

If you have spent some time studying biology, you will realize your thumb is the most important digit on the human hand. Because of its large range of movement and high relative strength, as well as the fact humans have what are known as opposable thumbs, we rely on it to do a whole lot of things.

We've spoken a few times here at Techaeris about getting a leg up on fellow gamers with better game controllers, keyboards, and mice. MOBA/MMO gamers are no exception and while there are a number of multi-button gaming mice on the market, the SteelSeries Rival 500 takes a new approach to the...

Easy to use, great customization features, comfortable; Has the ability to bind games and applications to configuration setups; Useful for both gaming and office applications

A braided cable, or swappable cables like the Rival 700, would be a nice addition; Only three games work with Gamesense

I love testing gaming gear and, in some way, for one of the strangest reasons: No one else in my house likes gaming gear. If I give them a headset designed for hours of comfort, maximum sound quality, and perfect voice capturing – they use speakers.

Overall, it's a mouse with a lot of options and plenty of style. It wouldn't look out of place in a gaming set-up or in a more professional environment, due to its sleek core design and more extravagant LED lighting.