SteelSeries’s new Prime equipment are streamlined for high-level play

SteelSeries has introduced the brand new Prime lineup of high-performance gaming equipment designed alongside esports athletes. They’ve been “designed to win championships,” however they appear high quality sufficient for common individuals who simply take their gaming time critically, too. There are 4 new gadgets, together with the wired Arctis Prime headset and three totally different Prime mice, and so they all appear fairly priced. One factor they’ve in widespread is a reasonably simplistic design that places ease of use forward of bundling in so many options that you simply by accident hit the improper button when the second actually issues. Every of those equipment is obtainable beginning at present.

The $99.99 Arctis Prime headset has only a mute button and a quantity wheel. The left ear cup additionally homes a retractable growth microphone that’s straightforward to drag out and push in with one hand. By way of different options, the Prime headset plugs in with its included proprietary USB cable that outputs to your supply by way of 3.5mm. Subsequent to that, there’s a 3.5mm port situated so you may share audio with a teammate sitting close by.

SteelSeries modified up its ear pads to be higher at blocking out sound. They’re extra plushy now than earlier Arctis headsets, and the fake leather-based masking offers them a high-end look. The elastic ski band SteelSeries is thought for utilizing hasn’t gone anyplace, and as anticipated, the Arctis Prime is a cushty headset that rests gently on the highest of your head. Every ear cup has magnetic plates that may be eliminated, in case you need customized ones.

The Arctis Prime has broad compatibility with PCs, consoles, and cell gadgets with its 3.5mm jack. SteelSeries additionally features a longer cable for PC gamers to make use of, which accepts the three.5mm jack and splits it into devoted headphone and microphone jacks. My time with this headset has been restricted thus far, however its sound efficiency appears to be on-par, if not barely higher, than SteelSeries’ different Arctis headsets within the $100-$150 value vary.

Shifting onto the three Prime mice, they give the impression of being visually equivalent, although they every have some variations. On the high, the $129.99 Prime Wi-fi appears to be going after the identical crowd who is perhaps contemplating Logitech’s G Professional X Superlight. It’s equally easy in design, although the Prime Wi-fi stands out with its particularly excessive arch that caters to right-handed avid gamers in comparison with the Superlight’s ambidextrous construct. That is an 80-gram mouse that has a USB-C charging port that helps quick charging, and SteelSeries claims its battery can last as long as 100 hours. The corporate additionally claims that its magnetic optical switches are rated for as much as to 100 million clicks. These switches have a pronounced click on sound and really feel — extra so than mice I’ve tried not too long ago.

In case you solely belief the low latency efficiency of a wired mouse whereas gaming, the $79.99 Prime Plus is perhaps for you. It has the same design to the Wi-fi, nevertheless it’s 11 grams lighter in weight, and it has a secondary liftoff sensor that SteelSeries says permits for the “world’s lowest and most correct liftoff”. In different phrases, this could forestall the pointer from transferring when it is advisable shortly raise and reposition the mouse. The Prime Plus additionally has a bottom-mounted OLED display screen that permits you to toggle by settings like sensitivity, liftoff distance, illumination of the scrollwheel’s RGB LED, the mouse’s polling fee and extra. This fashion, you don’t essentially want to make use of SteelSeries’ GG companion software program on PC to toggle your most essential settings.

Lastly, the $59.99 Prime has the identical weight, sensor, and magnetic optical switches you’ll discover within the Prime Plus, nevertheless it lacks the secondary liftoff sensor and the OLED display screen. In case you don’t want these options, that is an reasonably priced choice in the event you’re a right-handed gamer who doesn’t thoughts a excessive arch in the course of the mouse.

We’ll be testing these equipment extra totally within the weeks to return to see if they’ll combat for a spot in our roundups of one of the best gaming headsets and greatest gaming mice.