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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.
Never heard of them, but I read some issues as you said on the earlier versions. I just ordered the Rat 5, Rat 7 costs too much.
I gotta say, these really do look friggin good. I need an upgrade, but id like to try them myself.
Brilliant review KG, i was looking at the RAT3 in pcworld last week and almost bought it, but I saw the madcatz name and didnt bother. shall pick it up at the weekend. news years treat !
They certainly put a lot of effort into the design of the Rat 7. thats phenomenal work. but I still dont trust the name ! I see so much crap by this company that I immediately assume the worse.
Still, good review, and it got me thinking.
I have the RAt 9 and its easily the best mouse on the market. costs a small fortune, but worth every penny. I game in a clan and I wouldnt be without My Rat 7 (which I use for the clan as cabled is better).
I have the RAt 9 and its easily the best mouse on the market. costs a small fortune, but worth every penny. I game in a clan and I wouldnt be without My Rat 7 (which I use for the clan as cabled is better).
Well at least its different. every time I see a new mouse from razer for example it looks like a rebadged older model with a different colour or something.
Well this has certainly perked my attention. I didnt like the XAI and like the author im still using my Ikari as I can find nothing else to beat it. I would like a hands on with the RAT 7. any chance ? 🙂
Hi guys enjoyed your review, the RAT 3 is not entorely devoid of physical adjustment, if you remove the small finger rest by removing the allen key, u will see a small screw which is on the underside of the palm rest, if you remove this screw the palm rest slides back and forth the same as the RAT7 and has numerous holes for the screw to anchor the palm rest at the desired position.
I bought the RAT3 from PCWorld in the UK, and 2 months later it failed.
Technical support told me to return it to the point of purchase, but PCWorld told me it wasn’t classed as “electrical goods”, and therefore only had a 28 day warranty. Just so others understand, “electrical goods” in the UK have a minimum of 1 year warranty, mandated by law.
PCWorld refused to budge, and I didn’t feel like paying for a lawyer, so I opened it up myself (about a bazillion minature screws), and the fault was sooo laughingly simple… The USB lead inside had worked loose from the 01inch headers on the PCB. Just pressed it home again, and the mouse was fully functional again.
HI Allan, I wish I could say i was surprised, but a few people I know have had similar experiences with PCWORLD. Their customer service is shockingly bad. I think this is why Amazon get such a good reputation as they will often accept returned goods and send out a replacement even before the faulty unit is received.