SteelSeries Sensei 310 Mouse Review: Ambidextrous Bliss

Our Verdict

If the SteelSeries Sensei 310 isn't the accented concluding word in ambidextrous gaming mice, it's at least pretty close to the finish of the book.

For

Excellent design
Bully performance
Reasonable toll
Fully ambidextrous

Against

Only ii DPI settings
Some lighting oddities

Tom's Guide Verdict

If the SteelSeries Sensei 310 isn't the absolute last word in ambidextrous gaming mice, information technology's at to the lowest degree pretty shut to the end of the book.

Pros

+
Excellent blueprint
+
Great performance
+
Reasonable price
+
Fully ambidextrous

Cons

-
Simply two DPI settings
-
Some lighting oddities

The SteelSeries Sensei is easily one of the most underrated mice on the market, and it's hard to say why people rate information technology low. It features a sleek design, excellent software and full ambidextrous back up, which is more than a lot of newer mice can say.

Enter the SteelSeries Sensei 310 ($lx), a new spin on an onetime standard of our all-time gaming mouse folio, complete with two sets of thumb buttons, RGB backlighting and a more comfortable grip than e'er. SteelSeries has even addressed the peripheral's cost, knocking $thirty off of the former model'due south price. If the Sensei 310 isn't the accented concluding word in ambidextrous gaming mice, it's at to the lowest degree pretty close to the end of the book.

Pattern

If y'all're familiar with the old Sensei (the wired i, although we liked its wireless counterpart too), you'll have a basic thought of what the new one looks like. Like its predecessor, the Sensei 310 is an ambidextrous mouse with two thumb buttons on either side, a clickable curl wheel and a dots-per-inch sensitivity (DPI) adjuster in the center.

All told, there are eight programmable buttons, although you'll probably utilize only 6 of them. (I found it was meliorate to deactivate the thumb buttons on my nondominant side; other users may find these buttons useful for less vital functions.) The thumb buttons themselves are compact and easy to differentiate, while the silicone grip below each i helped continue my fingers comfy and in the proper place. The contoured scroll wheel also prevented slippage, without the potentially obnoxious ridged design of some of the Sensei 310's counterparts.

The silicone surfaces put the Sensei 310 a notch above its precursor without radically irresolute the blueprint.

Features

The Sensei 310 runs on the SteelSeries Engine 3 software, which is still one of the meliorate programs out there for controlling gaming peripherals. Using the Engine, you tin can reprogram buttons, create private game profiles, adjust the DPI, command the RGB lighting and more. It's not strictly necessary to use the software, but this program is non very resources-intensive, and it works just similar information technology'southward supposed to.

My only real complaint is that SteelSeries (lonely amidst major hardware companies) gives y'all only 2 DPI settings to play with, rather than up to five. Granted, at that place aren't many situations in which you need five carve up DPI settings within a unmarried game, but they're pretty helpful if y'all don't feel like creating individual profiles for each plan you lot use.

You can too play with total RGB lighting for both the SteelSeries logo on the palm rest and the scroll bike. It'south hardly a make-or-break feature, simply you lot can sync it with other SteelSeries peripheral lighting, which is a dainty touch. For some reason, the default red-blue-greenish pattern isn't bachelor as a preset, so you'll either need to remake it yourself or completely reset a contour if you desire the default dorsum.

While I've mentioned already that the Sensei 310 is ambidextrous, I'd exist remiss if I didn't bring it up again as a distinct feature. Lefties get few enough mice every bit it is, and ambidextrous mice oftentimes separate the difference and wind up being uncomfortable for both dextral and sinistral players. The Sensei 310, on the other hand, is incredibly comfortable for either hand, especially cheers to the double silicone grips. At around iii.2 ounces, information technology's also calorie-free enough for utilize in esports, which may be enough to help lefties break into the burgeoning, enervating scene.

Operation

The Sensei 310 is an splendid mouse in every genre I tried. For esports titles, like Overwatch and Heroes of the Tempest, information technology responded to my movements quickly and accurately. I could turn the DPI down to make my aim more accurate as Doomfist or program my favorite skills to the pollex buttons while taking down enemy strongholds.

Single-player titles are also the Sensei 310'due south natural domicile. Whether I was summoning legions of the undead as a Necromancer in Diablo Iii or frightening criminals into submission in Telltale's Batman, the mouse was customizable, colorful and quick.

Bottom Line

The Sensei 310 is an impressive upgrade for a mouse that had little room to improve as information technology was. Not just does the mouse excel in-game; it's also attractive, comfortable and a adept $30 cheaper than its predecessor. If y'all're in the market for ambidextrous mice, the Razer Lancehead ($80) and Roccat Kova ($50) are also worth checking out. I don't accept a potent favorite among the three, but I exercise know that righties and lefties alike should exist perfectly happy with any i of them.

Credit: SteelSeries

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and applied science. After hours, you lot tin can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.