| Mad Catz Cyborg RAT-7 Laser Gaming Mouse |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Input Devices | |
| Written by Vito Cassisi - Edited by Olin Coles | |
| Tuesday, 03 August 2010 | |
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Mad Catz Cyborg R.A.T. 7 Laser Gaming Mouse ReviewPrecision is a trait that gamers from all walks of life strive to achieve. Having quick reflexes is vital when proving your worth online; your mouse becomes your weapon, and your virtual existence is held in place by the reliability of its performance. When there’s a thirst for pixelated blood that needs to be quenched, there’s no substitution for quality. Ergonomics, precision, endurance; it all screams one thing: fancy gaming mouse. Mad Catz has provided just the thing in their Cyborg R.A.T. 7! The humble mouse which revolutionised personal computer interaction has long evolved from the beige beasts of yesteryear. No longer are our mouses designed for the single purpose of moving a cursor - we have expectations from our hardware - many of which have only spawned in recent times. One of those expectations is pin-point accuracy, for tasks such as gaming. Having our movements directly translated to on-screen actions is crucial during high action games, and also less intensive tasks such as tedious image editing. Furthermore, we expect ergonomics to be taken seriously. It's an important consideration in a world where computer work (and play) is the norm. It must also be pretty and affordable! The R.A.T. 7 mouse is part of Mad Catz spin-off brand Cyborg, which specialise in enthusiast PC gaming gear. 'R.A.T.' is their second range of gaming mouses, the successor to the ‘V.x' range. Other models in the range include the R.A.T. 3 and R.A.T. 9. The former is a cut down version of the 7 with reduced DPI sensitivity, and the latter is a wireless version of the 7. Interestingly, this new range is completely different to the previous, in both style and technical specifications.
What Mad Catz offers with the R.A.T. 7 isn't just another run-of-the-mill gaming device, it's a serious attempt at creating something unique, innovative and very exciting! Most mouse devices on the market aim to cater for different people by producing different models of their product, or replaceable covers. This isn't the case with the R.A.T. 7; you get a one size fits all device, because this little peripheral is physically adjustable! The thumb panel has two degrees of freedom, the pinky rest is interchangeable, and the palm rest can be shifted to increase the length of the mouse. It also includes a set of weights to tweak its total mass. Mad Catz boasts a native 5600 DPI laser, and dynamic 1000Hz polling rate, to pull it ahead of its competitors. In case you're wondering, 5600 DPI is quite large (5600 pixels of cursor movement per inch of physical movement). Adjustable sensitivity without degrading tracking quality is also important for graphics artists and 3D modellers. Yes, gaming mice can be used for productive tasks! You've probably already noticed the intriguing pose of the R.A.T. 7 in the image above. Looks can be deceiving; what appears to be an unforgiving jagged compilation of bionic parts may well prove to have a heart of gold, and a comfort level of a million fluffy cushions stacked atop a heavenly cloud. Juggling expectations to produce a perfect product is something of a dark art. Pleasing keyboard warriors isn't an easy feat, and anything short of perfection is often tossed aside to rabid fanboys. Can Mad Catz win the ultimate gaming crown, or will they suffer the fate of many before them? Fellow gamers and gadget fanatics, follow our lead as we walk you through the craziest mouse to date!
Manufacturer: Mad Catz Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Mad Catz.
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Comments
I don't lift my mouse very often, but when I do, I expect it to work flawlessly.
I then placed it on a home made table, and it worked as it did when i got it, and used it on regular wood...
This is Razer's reply:
"Any mouse will cause the cursor to move when you lift it off the mouse pad. The Mamba does it in a more predictable fashion, always down and to the right. With higher DPI setting you will notice the affect more, but of course the higher the setting the less likely you are to lift the mouse. You should be able to lessen the affect you are seeing by using a lower DPI setting"
It doesnt answer much, but gives off the simple message of "The defect you speak of is a feature" where in this statement Razer "deliberately" included it with the mouse but the data stands that all Philips Twin-Eye mice have the same occurring defect.
The fact of the matter is, many people lift their mouse during use, and if it's going to lag or act in quirky ways upon laying it back down, then there's a very real problem with its functionality.
A review isn't supposed to tell you what to think, it's to facilitate your own reasoning process. If you feel that it's a non-issue, then you're free to purchase the device.
The mouse was tested like it were my daily device, to see how it behaves when under normal conditions such as productivity and gaming. The review reflects my findings.
FTR, I have no reason to "create a stir". I (and I'm sure, the rest of the Benchmark Reviews crew) always strive to remain objective.
I hope that sometime in the future, BMR is able to revisit the other mice which utilize the same sensor as the most recent. A number of known victims come from Razer: Mamba and the Imperator to cite a couple of examples, both CM Storm mice, the Inferno and Sentinel and a whole lot more. It's actually easy to tell if a mouse is with the Philips Twin Eye. It's always a yellow colored sensor.
I hope that by this, BMR will bring to light and instigate awareness about the tracking issues, Z-axis issues, and the incompatibilities with Cloth surfaces that the Philips Twin-Eye brings to all consumers.
Though it does exhibit the pointer move "down and to the right" when the mouse is removed from the surface I rarely find myself needing to lift the mouse with my 11x15 gaming pad and moderate DPI settings (800 or above).
The fit was pretty good on my relatively large right hand after the mouse was adjusted. The weight was good for me when I removed all the internal weights and the adjustment tool. I guess I like it light.
I do agree that the "small PTFE feet feel a bit clingy". I'll be looking for a way to resolve this issue.
If you can live with the issues its a pretty cool mouse.
I see no tracking issues for the surfaces I use it on. I used Paint and did multiple repeat clicking of the left mouse button with no tracking issues. I tried these tests on my black cloth like mouse pad and my wood keyboard tray. I also did not experience any sync issues after I picked up and put down the mouse. I was trying all different kinds of surfaces to see if I could find one it would not track on and the only one was clear case plastic case. So maybe it will not track on a clear surface.
I am using Windows 7 64 bit version and updated the Drivers and Software from the Cyborg website. I removed my old mouse software and drivers before I installed the RAT 7 software and drivers. I also made sure the surface I was using was clean.
Note to Olin:
I wish the Reviews here tested using Debian (based) Linux (and WinXP) and not just Win7, case in point: OCZ RevoDrive3 X2 SuperScale PCI-E SSD Review #benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=800&Itemid=60 . Obviously that Card demands a Linux Driver test (and ##iozone.org/ but I digress).
Knowing how well ANY Hardware works with Linux is useful info; you don't want us to look elsewhere as your Site has great reviews.
Thanks!,
Roy
thanks
As far a cleaning when my lags (or gets stuck) I don't see ANY dirt/dust at all but after the compressed air blow all is fine.
BTW, it worked fine on my desk (wooden) too.
When I first installed the mouse, I thought it was DOA. I was using my Icemat that I've used for the last five years, and on that surface the Rat 7 doesn't work at all (except for the mouse buttons) for a full 30 seconds or so after boot, and when it finally does respond, it tracks poorly.
I tried uninstalling/reinstalling both the drivers and the software. No joy.
From the complete failure most see on the Icemat, to the "it doesn't work on shiny black surfaces" seen by others, it's clear the problem lies with the laser. Yours works on one side and not on the other. That just means yours sucks less than mine, but it's still defective if it doesn't work on both sides of a mouse that vitually every other mouse on the market works just fine with.
I'm using a gray mouse pad, but it doesn't matter what I use because it does it on any surface.
The issue is that the cursor moves by itself when there is sound being played. Especially bass, and especially the louder it gets. I am not talking about extremes here, just moderate levels. The higher the DPI setting, the worse it gets. It even does it when I double click the mouse WITHOUT moving the mouse. Try double clicking a folder while the cursor moves a bit and you'll see how annoying that is. I've never had a mouse do any of this! It is not me. It is the mouse.
I've noticed it works a bit better with the double click issue when the mouse is on my black desk, but still horrible when any sound is causing minor vibration. The desk is not moving, the mouse is not moving. But the cursor is.. WTF?
I love this mouse though so that's why I'm going to see if the shop I bought it from can either fix it or let me get a new one.
What bothers me is that lately (mouse is about 2-3 months old) any single click with the left mouse button results in a double click. This is often bad. Marking text is next to impossible (manually possible, so no biggie). Some games got different abilities on one or two clicks (mark/attack). Rotating camera angel ingame result in losing target. Most of all, it's annoying as it shouldn't be like this.
It seems that it works properly if I click slow enough. Holding the mouse button down for a moment "skips" the second click.
##engadget.com/2010/10/21/exclusive-mad-catz-cyborg-rat-9-review/
They mentioned that RAT 9 has a filter which fixes the z-tracking problem, and they said that Mad Catz said that(sorry for bad wording) new RAT 7's will also have this fix. That review was posted in October, so I think the new RAT 7's should be out by now. I noticed that RAT 7, 9 and 3 are all unavailable on newegg, does that mean they are switching to the new batch?
It probably means they are tired of issuing RMAs.
The fact that I had to go out and buy a special super thin black mouse pad for the mouse to work BETTER, not properly, was annoying.
The fact that I can't have my Logitech gaming speakers up too loud or else my mouse will wiggle everywhere on things like explosions, hello FRAGs!
The fact that when I use any of my Logitech laser mice I have much better results in every department except for the design quality.
I realize that this mouse is nice, but seriously, it's the damn laser on it that is way too sensitive and delayed after returning from a lift.
There is no reason so argue with anyone, there's no reason why I should change anything I'm doing to resolve it, it should just work. If I put a Logitech laser inside the RAT 7. IT WOULD BE PROBLEM SOLVED!
I will guarantee that the people from Mad Catz will all agree that their device has issues, whether they would tell you that or not. It's a fact.
Anyone wanna buy a RAT 7? Best mouse out there!
Any days ago I've bought the Contagion edition of Rat 7.
When I've connected at my Pc, all works good up to the shutdown.
The day after, I've turned on my Pc and the LED of the mode button, start in red, but at first press, remain red, second press, turns off and third press return to red.
I remember that first day, start in red, then become blue and then purple.
I've tryed to install the drivers, then to unistall them, to format my Pc and reinstall only the necessary to try the mouse but nothing...the led remain RED. :|
Does anyone know how can I solve this problem ?
This mouse is enough expensive and I want that all the option working good.
I've tryed to write to the support of MadCatz/Cyborg but I haven't received one answer about.
Hope that you can help me.
Thanks in advance.
Two month's later and still the same. Sometimes the X axis or the y axis would not work at all or it would just freeze.
I contacted Mad Catz and they asked how old my mouse was I said 2 months and they said they could fix it but because it was out of WARRANTY I would have to assume all the costs,including shipping....oh and yeah I would be without a mouse for about two weeks.
This issue is well known to Catz and is in fact a design issue.Dealing with their customer service was a nightmare. Two tickets later and still no satisfactory service.I asked for an exchange as it is a design problem but I as told very politely no as it would establish that the fault is on their end then they would have to exchange all same types of mouse with said problem.
I will never ever buy another product of theirs again..They make a lot of high end junk..
Sorry I nothing good to say...wait yes I do,it was well packaged. Thats it.
1st one (gen 1, 5600 dpi) had y-axis tracking issues regardless of surface, and resync problems, sensor eventually died.
2nd one (next gen 6400 DPI) mouse buttons always double-clicked on single press, returned for replacement.
3rd one worked fine for 2 minutes, then would disconnect from USB every 30 seconds (lights on mouse go out, system beep, reconnect, disconnect)
Got so fustrated, I unplugged the mouse and ripped out the usb cord.
It now sits on my bookshelf as a reminder to never buy one again.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the design and feel of the mouse. The customizations were exquisite, and the drivers never presented a problem for me, it was the lack of quality parts that has soured me to this product.
A prime example of when good designs meet bad accounting/manufacturing.