Cyborg R.A.T. 3 and R.A.T. 7 Review – the ultimate mice?

[siopao1984]

---

Cyborg R.A.T. 3 and R.A.T. 7 Review – the ultimate mice? | KitGuru

There comes a time in every man’s life when he has to upgrade to a quality mouse. Thankfully, there are no shortage of killer products on the market from the likes of Steelseries, Razer, Roccat and even Microsoft. You would not immediately assume that mass market purveyor of distinctly forgettable peripherals ‘Mad Catz’ would be on this shortlist, but if the Cyborg R.A.T. range are to be considered even on appearance, then they are worthy of some KitGuru time.

The R.A.T. range are the successor to the ‘V.X’ products of yesteryear and today we are looking at two products in their range. The entry level R.A.T. 3 and the distinctly more expensive R.A.T. 7. They also sell a midrange R.A.T. 5 and a wireless version of the R.A.T. 7, dubbed the R.A.T. 9.


Cyborg R.A.T. 7 (left) and R.A.T. 5 (right)

Visually, we have to give Mad Catz an immediate pat on the back, because they are so incredibly different to anything else on the market right now, that it is hard to stop gawping, especially if you see them in a store. The R.A.T. 7 is also physically adjustable in size and weight, with a removable and adjustable thumb panel and an interchangeable pinky rest.

The R.A.T.3 boasts a 3200 dpi sensor with 20G acceleration while the R.A.T. 7 offers an even higher 5600 dpi sensor with 50G acceleration. The big question however that we will answer today “Are they actually any good?”

[siopao1984]

The Cyborg R.A.T. 3 box is literally a mini piece of art, with angular shapes cut into the tough cardboard.





The package is shut by a magnetic system and by tugging on the cover it opens into a gatefold presentation piece with a full view of the radical mouse design behind a protective plastic cover.



Inside there is literature and information on the product as well as others in the series. A software/driver disc is also supplied although this can be downloaded directly from the Cyborg R.A.T. website.





The R.A.T. 3 is the entry level model, however it looks stunning in the flesh with angular, robotic incisions cut into the chassis. There is even red coloured wiring on full view from the side, which lends an almost Gigeresque symbolism to the design. The R.A.T. 3 has a 3,200 dpi sensor onboard with a report rate of 1000 hz. Tracking speed is rated at 1.6 m/sec and acceleration to 20G.





From all angles, the design is rather striking and while it looks extremely uncomfortable I was stunned to find myself immediately warming to the feel and shape of the mouse, even when moving from my trusted friend the Steelseries Ikari. There are back and forward buttons positioned on the left finger rest with a ‘mode’ button top left, this is used in conjunction with the programmable software.





There are a total of 5 buttons with three modes available. Directly below the mouse tracking wheel is a button, which offers four dpi settings, programmable in software. The USB connector is gold plated and we are also pleased to see a full braided high quality cable being incorporated, even on this relatively inexpensive entry level version. This mouse costs around £35 in the UK and $49.99 in the US … not inexpensive enough to merit a ‘casual’ walkby purchase, but priced effectively to ensure a potentially high volume of sales.





Underneath, we can see the six flat positioned across 5 areas, to ensure smooth action on a variety of surfaces. The laser engine resides in the middle of the chassis.





The mouse wheel is visable from the underside although it is raised high enough as not to cause any issues when in operation. From the front the angular design with red cabling connects the various buttons to the central piece.

[siopao1984]

The software and driver installation only takes a few minutes and was faultless on our Windows 7 64 bit Enterprise Edition build. An icon resides in the taskbar and you can access the software and profile system from here whenever you wish.





The interface is visually very attractive, and thankfully the software is also very stable. From here you can set up profiles and four DPi settings which work together with the buttons on the mouse.



The software is not an extremely indepth design, but it offers enough options to fine tune the tracking and to cater for people who need to set up a small number of profiles. We will look at this a little more later in the review.

Test System
Motherboard: Sapphire Pure Black X58
System Memory: 6GB Kingston H20 @ 2100mhz
Processor: Intel i7 980x @ 4.5ghz
Video: nVidia GTX580
Monitor: illyama B2712HDS
Operating System: Windows 7 Enterprise x64

In regards to the mouse performance, the sensitivity options should cover most bases for almost everyone, apart from the extreme gamers who need more fine tuning of various settings. Unfortunately while the tracking of the R.A.T. 3 is first class, I found the mouse body to feel rather ‘light’ in my hand, which might suit some people but sadly not myself.

In the efforts to be thorough, I let several people play with the mouse over the course of a week, and I found it was extremely popular with a handful of younger gamers, including a female clan gamer who seemed to bond with the shape and weight. Getting it back to finish the review was actually rather difficult.

I found the R.A.T.3 more than acceptable for everyday use and while the shape looks dramatic in the pictures, it is actually surprisingly comfortable. It wouldn’t replace my Steelseries Ikari for everyday use, but I found the tracking to be extremely accurate and the shape easy to adapt to. Unfortunately as I am a big guy and used to heavier mice, I really found myself wanting to add extra weight to the body.
This is obviously going to be very much down to personal taste, however I feel confident after speaking with a handful of gamers who used the product for several days that the weight is not an issue.

[siopao1984]

The R.A.T. 7 is significantly more expensive than the R.A.T. 3 (over twice the price) however the box design is very similar, just larger.



The same gatefold design, sealed with an elegant magnetic strip down the side.





We are already beginning to see the benefits of the extra cost. The bundle includes literature on the product, the numerous features and other products in the R.A.T. range, as well as a software and driver disc. Additionally there is a very attractive, heavy duty steel case with all the ‘extras’ for the flagship R.A.T. 7 product. Removable and attachable ‘body parts’. Cool, eh?





Immediately, the similarities can be seen between the R.A.T. 3 and R.A.T. 7, however this model has many more options on offer. Along the side are two buttons for ‘back’ and ‘forward’ but the red button next to these is a configuration toggle for slow motion or ‘precision aim’ as the company have called it. This is adjustable in software and it slows down the movement speed of the mouse to a predefined fraction of the speed. This is meant to make head shots and precision targeting in games much easier.
Again, the cabling is high quality braided, with gold USB connectors. No corners cut on the build quality, thats for sure.



This nifty little device is a weight holder. It is empty because the mouse is already ‘fully loaded’ out of the box. Unlike the R.A.T.3 this is a heavy beast and I needed to remove some of the weights from the underside.





Firstly we remove the main ‘adjustment tool’ of the R.A.T.7 – stored at the front of the chassis. This not only allows us access to the weight chamber, but it can be used to adjust other areas of the mouse. We will look at this shortly.





A stopper holds the spring mechanism in place. This spring system ensures that even if the mouse is only populated with a single weight, that nothing will move under use, which would be rather annoying. Any number of weights can be used (up to 30g) and the remainder stored in the holder. It is a quality design idea and it works extremely well, only taking a few minutes to change over.









With the weights adjusted to your desires, you simply reseal the bay and enjoy the changes.

The R.A.T. 7 engine is a higher grade unit when compared to the R.A.T. 3. It is a Philips Twin-Eye 5,600 dpi sensor which offers incredible diversity of precision tracking. The report rate is 1000hz with a tracking speed of 5.4 m/sec and an acceleration of 50G.



Also included in the silver steel box are various parts to adjust the R.A.T.7 to your hearts content.









By using a lever on the front area of the mouse for instance, you can adjust the length of the product, or change to a rough, carbon fibre style front piece, which is supplied. The R.A.T. 7 even comes with an additional replacement palm rest.



Above, we have replaced the front piece and have extended it, so it will easily fit a larger hand. The programmable sideways thumb scroll button can be seen here also.





By using the supplied tool, it is possible to remove the side panel and to replace it with one of two other designs. The first is a thin piece similar to the one installed out of the factory (with the same bevelled texture as the secondary palm rest).





The other piece is a similar shape to the left hand panel and it means that you can rest your pinky finger on the horizontal surface while moving. It now looks a little more like a stealth bomber than a Cyborg Rat mind you, but all of these adjustable sections mean that this is easily the most adjustable mouse we have seen.





The R.A.T. 7 also allows adjustment on the left side panel, which can be slid back and forwards and rotated outwards to allow for a slightly different thumb position.

The video below shows the chassis design and various adjustments in real time. The R.A.T. 9 is an identical design to the R.A.T.7 but offers wireless connectivity.

Official Cyborg R.A.T. 9 Product Demo - YouTube

[siopao1984]

The software is an identical design to the Rat 3 interface, with the picture being the only noticeable change.







The interface is slightly more extended in these panels, offering 4 manually adjustable DPi settings, up to the maximum of 5,600 dpi. I really found the side ways scrolling bar to be particularly useful, not only in games, but when scrolling sideways on webpages for example. The software is extremely stable and we experienced no issues throughout all the testing. The precision aiming mode is a really fun idea, which is both practical and a talking point. Did I use it much ? Not really, but when taking the role of a sniper, it certainly helped boost my online score card.

Test System
Motherboard: Sapphire Pure Black X58
System Memory: 6GB Kingston H20 @ 2100mhz
Processor: Intel i7 980x @ 4.5ghz
Video: nVidia GTX580
Monitor: illyama B2712HDS
Operating System: Windows 7 Enterprise x64

Using this mouse was an absolute pleasure, as I was manually able to fine tune the weight to my desires – which was personally around 15g with the removable weights.

Earlier versions of the R.A.T. 7 had documented tracking issues, a point actually addressed by my good friend Olin Coles in his review over at Benchmark Reviews in August of this year. I am glad to report that on several surfaces, including an oak table, I never experienced the same problem. During testing I found a Steelseries 5L gaming surface to deliver a great experience with the Philips Twin-Eye 5,600 dpi sensor. I have also found a mouse that could comfortably replace my Steelseries Ikari.

Setting the tracking at 5,600 dpi proved to much for me, even when gaming, and I had the best experiences by setting the profiles to 1,200 dpi (1), 1,800 dpi (2), 2600 dpi (3) and 3,200 dpi (4). Using profile 1 for fine movement Photoshop path creation, profile 2 for general windows tasks and 3 or 4 for gaming suited me fine. I know some professional gamers love a 5,000+ dpi setting so this mouse will be an ideal purchase. Using the precision aiming mode at a mid way point also proved very useful with some online first person shooters.

[siopao1984]

When contemplating a new high performance gaming mouse, The Cyborg R.A.T. 3 and R.A.T. 7 might not be at the top of a list, but we urge people to reconsider. I was skeptical coming into this review due to the ‘in your face’ design, which appears to be extremely complex and rather uncomfortable. I admit I was wrong, as both of these mice are not only stunning in design, but practical to use both when gaming and when working.

The R.A.T.3 is the lesser of the two mice, specifically in the area of manual adjustment. While you can adjust the DPI settings to suit your sensitivity requirements there are no physical chassis changes possible, so you are stuck with the weight and shape. For me, the mouse feels a little small and light, but passing it around a gaming clan for a week proved that I was in the minority. I was told by the clan that I had rather large hands, so I would just offer a little caution to the prospective audience in the same size category as myself.

At £35 inc vat in the UK ($49.99 US), this is a high value for money product, with a fantastic laser engine offering fine levels of adjustment and tracking excellence.

The R.A.T. 7 bonded with me almost immediately, as I appreciated the extra weight and the adjustments available with the proprietary chassis design. The option to extend the body length for bigger hands means a more comfortable experience, letting your hand rest without adjusting the natural position of your palm or fingers.

The weight system is ingenious and works a treat, and the removable tool for body kit changes also adds to the overall value and diversity of the product. At £80, it certainly isn’t going to be a casual ‘experimental’ purchase, but if you want a customisable mouse which is built to the highest standards, then this is one of the best I have used. Braided cables, gold plated USB connector and a Philips Twin-Eye 5,600 dpi sensor are pretty much as good as you can get.

The R.A.T. 7 is certainly a superior product, but the extra price has to be factored into the buying decision. Many people will never (or can’t) spend close to £80 on a mouse so for less than half the price you can get the entry level model with the same Gigeresque eye catching design and class leading build quality. The laser engine is no slouch either.

While many enthusiast users will immediately consider these to be ‘form over function’, I really couldn’t disagree more. The R.A.T. 7 has achieved the impossible, it has replaced my Steelseries Ikari.

KitGuru says: Yoyotech are offering the R.A.T. 7 for £73 inc vat, which in my opinion is the early steal of the year.

[King]

cOoL!!!
bookmarked nato ni!