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Gaming Mice
It's a fact of life that no two hands are exactly the same. For this reason, peripheral manufacturers of the ubiquitous mouse have to design for the mythical "average" person. This is great if you have an average hand, but it's no fun if you don't. This might change with Mad Catz Cyborg R.A.T. 7 gaming mouse as this marvel of engineering is adjustable, allowing in theory the perfect custom fit. Is that what the Mad Catz delivers? Check out my full review to find out.
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Gaming Mice Mad Catz Cyborg RAT 7 Gaming Mouse Review
- Great sensitivity
- Independent X & Y axis tracking
- Extremely customizable
- Sturdy metal body
- Multiple weight system
- Good software
- Great precision aim button
- Metal accessory case
- Weight system needs smaller weight options
- No large, high grip, palm / pinkie attachment
- Feet are on the small side
- No low friction feet for pinkie attachments
- Right handed only
Jaw-dropping Design
At first glance, the Cyborg R.A.T. 7 looks only slightly different from what your typical gaming mouse. My first impression was that it was crafted by a Steam Punk aficionado. My second thought was that it was more like a Borg-inspired mouse! Just as you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, both of these impressions were completely and totally wrong. This mouse isn't a form over function design, rather its function takes precedence over its aesthetics. To say that the R.A.T. 7 is highly customizable and configurable is an understatement of epic proportions. In the past, other manufacturers have tried various techniques to broaden the comfort level as much as possible. While the Logitech G9x does succeed to a certain extent, its interchangeable "skin" pales in its abilities to this bad boy. Not only does Mad Catz include three different palm rests, three different pinkie rests, a weight system but also manages to cram in X and Y adjustment for the thumb and the palm area! The R.A.T. 7 literally can be used comfortably by "palm" and "claw" users alike with equal comfort.
Here's front and back view of the mouse.
The default "size". The pinkie rests consist of the stock "smooth" rubberized grip that should fit most, but not be perfect for everyone. It has a nice tacky rubberized feel to it, which does provide a very good grip. If this "standard" size fits your hand nicely and you want even more secure grip, the second pinkie rest is for you. It is the same standard size but has a more aggressive tread like pattern to it. If you prefer a palm grip, either of these pinkie rests will be good choices and it will come down to which feels better. If you are more a claw grip kind of guy, the third is the one you most likely want as it affords the Cyborg R.A.T. 7 much more support. It has the same rubberized feel as the standard grip but dwarfs the other two in terms of size. The only thing missing was a fourth option that combined the size of the large pinkie rest with the ultra grip of the diamond tread-patterned second option. Where the thumb area is more important than the pinkie area (as it has forward and back buttons and the precision aim button), this side of the Cyborg R.A.T. 7 gets the royal treatment. You may not be able to swap out the standard side panel like the pinkie rest, but you can adjust how far back or forward the buttons are. This panel literally is on a screw that can reposition it in nearly infinitely small increments. Taking the thumb side panel to the next level is the fact that it not only can move forwards and backwards, but also with a simple loosening of one screw it can swing in and out! See the rotating images on the right for demo.
This 'screw' is how to adjust the thumb rest angle.
The R.A.T. 7 comes with a nice accessory box for storing all these different parts.
While the ability to make the R.A.T. 7 thicker or thinner depending on your hand is nice, the palm swell that wraps this mouse up in a bow makes it into a veritable God's gift to users. Three palm swells (as shown in the image on the right) are included. With a simple push of a locking lever, you not only can swap it out but also adjust how long the mouse is and where your fingers and palm will rest on the mouse.
The customization abilities of the R.A.T. 7 are simply unmatched, but Mad Catz didn't forget about the "standard" features either. You get what is becoming the new standard in ways of buttons with dual thumb, left / right buttons, scroll wheel and a DPI on-the-fly changer. You also get an awesome precision aim button that can be set to slow the DPI settings down for making headshots almost too easy. Heck, they even threw in the ability to have different presets for all the buttons and the ability to change them via the "mode" button!
Close up of the precision aim, forward and backward buttons.
Close up of the main buttons, scroll wheel, mode button and DPI changer.
At first glance, the Cyborg R.A.T. 7 looks only slightly different from what your typical gaming mouse. My first impression was that it was crafted by a Steam Punk aficionado. My second thought was that it was more like a Borg-inspired mouse! Just as you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, both of these impressions were completely and totally wrong. This mouse isn't a form over function design, rather its function takes precedence over its aesthetics. To say that the R.A.T. 7 is highly customizable and configurable is an understatement of epic proportions. In the past, other manufacturers have tried various techniques to broaden the comfort level as much as possible. While the Logitech G9x does succeed to a certain extent, its interchangeable "skin" pales in its abilities to this bad boy. Not only does Mad Catz include three different palm rests, three different pinkie rests, a weight system but also manages to cram in X and Y adjustment for the thumb and the palm area! The R.A.T. 7 literally can be used comfortably by "palm" and "claw" users alike with equal comfort.
Here's front and back view of the mouse.
The default "size". The pinkie rests consist of the stock "smooth" rubberized grip that should fit most, but not be perfect for everyone. It has a nice tacky rubberized feel to it, which does provide a very good grip. If this "standard" size fits your hand nicely and you want even more secure grip, the second pinkie rest is for you. It is the same standard size but has a more aggressive tread like pattern to it. If you prefer a palm grip, either of these pinkie rests will be good choices and it will come down to which feels better. If you are more a claw grip kind of guy, the third is the one you most likely want as it affords the Cyborg R.A.T. 7 much more support. It has the same rubberized feel as the standard grip but dwarfs the other two in terms of size. The only thing missing was a fourth option that combined the size of the large pinkie rest with the ultra grip of the diamond tread-patterned second option. Where the thumb area is more important than the pinkie area (as it has forward and back buttons and the precision aim button), this side of the Cyborg R.A.T. 7 gets the royal treatment. You may not be able to swap out the standard side panel like the pinkie rest, but you can adjust how far back or forward the buttons are. This panel literally is on a screw that can reposition it in nearly infinitely small increments. Taking the thumb side panel to the next level is the fact that it not only can move forwards and backwards, but also with a simple loosening of one screw it can swing in and out! See the rotating images on the right for demo.
This 'screw' is how to adjust the thumb rest angle.
The R.A.T. 7 comes with a nice accessory box for storing all these different parts.
While the ability to make the R.A.T. 7 thicker or thinner depending on your hand is nice, the palm swell that wraps this mouse up in a bow makes it into a veritable God's gift to users. Three palm swells (as shown in the image on the right) are included. With a simple push of a locking lever, you not only can swap it out but also adjust how long the mouse is and where your fingers and palm will rest on the mouse.
The customization abilities of the R.A.T. 7 are simply unmatched, but Mad Catz didn't forget about the "standard" features either. You get what is becoming the new standard in ways of buttons with dual thumb, left / right buttons, scroll wheel and a DPI on-the-fly changer. You also get an awesome precision aim button that can be set to slow the DPI settings down for making headshots almost too easy. Heck, they even threw in the ability to have different presets for all the buttons and the ability to change them via the "mode" button!
Close up of the precision aim, forward and backward buttons.
Close up of the main buttons, scroll wheel, mode button and DPI changer.
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