SteelSeries Quality Control?

sauce-c · June 25, 2017

So I am currently shopping for a new keyboard/mouse and have the SteelSeries 300/700 on my radar but I seem to be reading mixed reviews everywhere. Some people love their SteelSeries mouse, others complain about quality control and firmware. What experiences have you had with SteelSeries mice? The other mice I'm looking at are on my other post here.

scottyseng · June 25, 2017

9 hours ago, sauce-c said:

So I am currently shopping for a new keyboard/mouse and have the SteelSeries 300/700 on my radar but I seem to be reading mixed reviews everywhere. Some people love their SteelSeries mouse, others complain about quality control and firmware. What experiences have you had with SteelSeries mice? The other mice I'm looking at are on my other post here.

I have two SteelSeries Sensei MLG mice, one is new and the other is my primary (now retired). The mouse body itself is very solid, but the painted finish on the main body started to peel off (The rubber coating on the sides stayed good though). What made me retire it though was that the scroll wheel rubber grip stretched over time, so it would snag as you tried to scroll. It also caused me issues when it would snag and prevent the scroll wheel from being able to click (Which is death to me in my programs for panning around). I now use a MX Master (I'm still pissed they made a MX Master 2 after I bought it) and I haven't looked back for content creation (the unlocked scroll wheel is the best thing ever).

I've had no issues with the SteelSeries Software, aside from the fact it won't install anymore (My OS isn't supported...Windows Server 2016...I have to install it on my laptop with Windows 10 to program the mouse then move it back to my server).

All in all, great mouse overall, but if they had picked a stronger rubber for the wheel (It's a common issue apparently), it would stay alive much longer. I don't think anyone's managed to wear out the left / right click buttons on any mouse personally though...Mine don't suffer from double clicking as other failing mice have. Do note I'm just a content creator and not a hard core gamer. If anything, the scroll wheel sees the most abuse from me.

sauce-c · June 25, 2017

8 hours ago, scottyseng said:

-snip-

Interesting to hear that you didn't have any issues with the rubber on the side. From what I've read the Sensei has a great following and people have had good experiences with it. Unfortunately its not one of the mice I'm looking at. (Due to the laser sensor) I'm having a hard time figuring out if the issues people are having come from the mouse itself or the software.

Side note: Scroll wheel quality and performance seems to be quite overlooked imo, I love me a good scroll wheel lmao.

scottyseng · June 25, 2017

3 hours ago, sauce-c said:

-snip-

Yeah, the SteelSeries 300/700 is pretty new I think. I remember my cousin had the SteelSeries Rival and that lasted, but he sold it kind of early on because it was too small for him.

I agree, the companies love to brag about how the mouse click buttons have switches that last millions of clicks but no one mentions the scroll wheel lifespan (Which usually dies first in every mouse I've owned). Yeah, for a bit, I was desperate and replaced the scroll wheel rubber with electrical tape, it actually worked, but it started wearing down my finger really fast. Also I noticed that the scroll wheel ratcheting noise on the old sensei is quite a fair bit louder / rougher than the newer one I have on my server. Though I might end up getting a MX master 2 very soon and retire that sensei mouse as well.

Best of luck to you on finding more opinions on that mouse. I would hope it's fixable though.

Droidbot · June 26, 2017

ive owned both mice, 300 suffers from a bug where the sensor will spin out randomly. it happens on all 3310 based mice however

700 doesnt suffer from it but the weight is noticeable for me with the extra gimmicks

bughtoo · June 26, 2017

On 25. 6. 2017 at 2:36 AM, sauce-c said:

So I am currently shopping for a new keyboard/mouse and have the SteelSeries 300/700 on my radar but I seem to be reading mixed reviews everywhere. Some people love their SteelSeries mouse, others complain about quality control and firmware. What experiences have you had with SteelSeries mice? The other mice I'm looking at are on my other post here.

I have steelseries sense wireless for about 2 years now, the mice itself is SPECTACULAR, only problem i have is that the charging base and the contact points on the mice get dirty/corode a little after a while and u have to either put some liquid(YES LIQUID) on them in order for the electricity to go throur, or clean the mregularly with somethign against corosion. (Not a big deal, i got it wired when i need to charde and its the same EPIC mouse) Qualitywise TOP NOTCH

Another experience i also have Steelseries Siberia 650 headphones (amazingly confortable) and the soundcard that comes with them got shorted( i guess static charge buildup). U can use it with normal jack but it gives it an extra thump if u have the soundcard. I emailed steelseries support if they sell them or if i could buy it directly from them, their answer: I am sorry we dont make them anymore, we can send u a jack adapter for free if that helps (i was thrilled there was a solution from them, so i thanked them and told them to send it) After 1 month i got a package, guess what was inside? Brand new sealed in a bag soundcard!!!! FOR FREE, Bare in mind i didnt have warranty or anything else i just asked them for help. My best support experience so far with any company i ever had talked with over email!

This experience made me love them even more!