I’ve been a proud owner of the Cyborg RAT 7 for some time now, and it has come to be my favorite mouse I’ve ever owned. When Mad Catz first showed how much customization this little thing would offer, I immediately became interested. Seeing as I have rather large hands, I originally purchased this mouse to fit my obscenely large hands. Since then, I’ve been very happy with it.
The Better:
This mouse is what it claims to be; Customization at any cost. The mouse can be changed in any way you like, such as adjustable weights, interchangeable side panel and palm rest, the ability to change the distance some parts are from the mouse, and much more.
Some of the alternative panels and rests are grippy, which is really nice for longer gaming sessions, because the mouse will hold on to your hand with stronger force. Due to the obscene size of my hands, the ability to move the palm rest back to more properly fit my hand is a huge plus.
So, the customization is definitely there, but is the actual functionality?
I would say yes, for the most part. The Cyborg software doesn’t even compete with that of the likes of a Razer product, but with the “precision aim” button, sideways scroll wheel, and 2 buttons the mouse offers, the extremely precise and customizable software isn’t really that necessary. The software is easy for things like changing sensitivity and binding single keys to buttons, but is lack luster with little more. Thankfully, they offer downloads with packs of profiles they professionally made that very well fit the games and programs they’re made for.
The actual buttons and scroll wheel were definitely well thought out. The scroll wheel allows for things like smooth interchanging of weapons or attachments, the side buttons allow for quick heals or reloads, and the precision aim button is fantastic for sniping.
The Worse:
As mentioned before, the software is lackluster. Creating custom profiles is unintuitive, and there are no guides or tutorials to help comprehend the software.
The mouse occasionally had some hiccups where the x or y axis stopped working. This usually only lasted a few seconds, and could be quickly remedied by unplugging the mouse and plugging it back in.
The mouse also has a really, really bad bug where, if plugged into a computer with a touch screen and the Windows native “TouchPad” interface, it will skip terribly in any games. I’ve contacted Cyborg about this problem, and they had no solution, but happily replaced the mouse (Although this did not solve the problem).
The Verdict:
This mouse was great for my needs, and I’m very happy with it. Since I spend so much time on a computer, I felt that spending a large amount of money on a mouse that spends so much time in my hand was well justified.
After beating the heck out of this mouse for 8 months, I can proudly say that I’m very happy with it, and would recommend it to most people.
For a ranking, I give it an 8.5 out of 10, and a solid $80 out of the mouse’s $89.99 cost at the time of this review on Newegg.
