SteelSeries Prime Wireless gaming mouse review: Wireless wonder?

The Prime Wireless is another in SteelSeries' line-up of pro-grade gaming mice. It sits alongside the affordable wired Prime and the "tournament-ready" Prime+, each offering a mass of satisfying features and specifications that aim to please. 

The Wireless is a reasonably lightweight mouse that includes a number of different highlights: SteelSeries optical magnetic switches for consistent crispy clicks; Quantum 2.0 Wireless for optimised performance with zero packet loss; and a design that's "crafted for any hand" - read that as aiming at all grip types. 

But does this tiny understated gaming mouse stack up well against the competition? We've been gaming with it to find out. 

Pro-level specs in a wireless form

• 400 IPS tracking speed, 40G acceleration, 1,000Hz polling rate
• Prestige OM mechanical switches (to 100 million clicks)
• 18,000 maximum CPI (Count Per Inch)
• SteelSeries TrueMove Air sensor
• Claw, Fingertip or Palm grips
• Weight: 80g

The SteelSeries Prime Wireless is a sleek yet understated gaming mouse that might not be much to look at, but still packs a punch when it comes to use. Like its wired brothers, this mouse is built with some pro-level specs crafted to help you win at your game.

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SteelSeries Prime Wireless gaming mouse review

The first of these features is the TrueMove Pro optical sensor that's designed to ensure you get accurate tracking to go along with its 18,000 counts per inch (CPI) super-sensitivity. That CPI is adjustable in the software and via a button on the underside of the mouse, making it easy to customise to your personal preference.

More impressive are the Prestige OM switches housed within the shell of this mouse. The Prime Wireless packs optical magnetic switches on its main buttons. These are immediately noticeable if you've come from another lesser mouse with traditional micro-switches because these offer a satisfying and crisp click with each press.

They're also built to last and deliver accurate tracking with the optical tracking design. This means you get a lightning-fast response when gaming and your actions in-game respond as they should to your real-world inputs. 

It is worth noting that the wireless setup of the Prime Wireless does mean you're taking a hit in some spec areas. Specifically in terms of weight and max speed and max acceleration. The Wireless model manages 400 IPS and 40G acceleration - that's Inches Per Second, ensuring the mouse can keep up with your most rapid of motions - compared to 450 IPS and 50G acceleration with the wired SteelSeries Prime. It's also a touch heavier at a smidge over 80 grams compared to 69g with the wired model. These are sacrifices we're willing to make though, with the joy of wireless freedom. 

Wonderful wireless freedom

• Quantum 2.0 Wireless technology, 2.4GHz wireless
• Fast-charge capable (15 mins for 40 hours)
• 100 hours battery life per charge

The SteelSeries Prime Wireless is built with what SteelSeries is calling cutting-edge wireless technology in the form of Quantum 2.0 Wireless. The company says this offers dual-channel optimisation that ensures accurate performance that "feels just like wired". This dual-channel setup ensures that the signal from your mouse isn't interfered with by other wireless sources that could otherwise cause problems. Ideal.

The real-world result of this is also not only a lag-free, interference-free response from your mouse - but also a decent battery life too. The Prime Wireless can manage over 100 hours on a single charge while still offering a 1,000Hz polling rate (meaning its super sensitive). When it does need plugging in, you'll be happy to hear that the Wireless also has fast-charging capabilities - so just 15 mins plugged in gives you as much as 40 hours of extra juice. 

One downside is that despite having a USB-C cable, it's a fiddle to plug it in. An oddity of the design makes it just a little awkward for some reason, but then you don't need to do it very often so it's not all that bad. 

The Prime Wireless comes with a USB-C wireless dongle as standard and includes an adapter so you can connect it to a USB-A port with ease. This also ensures the dongle is in close proximity to your mouse if you're worried about signal problems, and the cable is within grabbing distance for when you do need a battery boost. 

Understated matte design 

• Premium ABS-polycarbonate frame
• Easy to clean and grip matte finish
• VDI30 Tactile microtexture body
• 100% Virgin grade PTFE glides
• One RGB lighting zone

As you can see from our photos, the SteelSeries Prime Wireless is a pretty understated mouse. There's no over-the-top RGB lighting, just a clean, comfortable and well-designed mouse.

The frame is an ABS-polycarbonate material with a matte finish. That tactile microtexture finish is easy to grip and doesn't get slippery or tough to hold when you're in a midst of a frantic gaming session. 

The Prime Wireless naturally has several PTFE glides - better known as Teflon by many, not that the brand name product is carried here - and is slick enough to nip about the desk with ease.

The one downside we've found with the design is the side buttons are a touch too small. The front thumb button especially is a tricky one to press - which is frustrating. 

The single RGB zone is a bit more useful than it first appears though. The mouse wheel changes colour when you switch between CPI levels so you know which setting you're on at a glance. There are five CPI levels as default - 400, 800, 1200, 2400 and 3200 - and you can remove levels or adjust them in 100 level increments all the way up to 18,000. 

Our one other complaint is that the CPI button is on the underside of the mouse which is a bit of a faff, but you can customise settings easily enough in the SteelSeries GG software. 

Software controls

Within this software, you'll find the SteelSeries Engine. This offers simple controls for the mouse with adjustment for the RGB illumination of the mouse wheel, changes to CPI levels, and more. 

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SteelSeries Prime Wireless gaming mouse review software

There are also controls in here to adjust sleep settings, a timer to dim the RGB lighting, and intelligent sleep mode. You can also make the most of smart mode which turns the RGB off when the mouse is moving. All this helps maximise battery life and thus your gaming pleasure. 

Button configuration is easy too. You can change all the buttons - including assigning actions to the side buttons, middle mouse and scroll up and scroll down. There's an easy-to-use macro editor and quick-switching for simple things like button presses, application launching, shortcuts and more. 

You can also easily setup multiple profiles with different configurations. These configs can even be set to automatically change when you launch specific apps - so you can have specific settings for certain games that are ready to go as soon as you click the shortcut to load your game. 

Source : https://www.pocket-lint.com/gadgets/reviews/158834-steelseries-prime-wireless-gaming-mouse-review