In March 2017, an American company Mad catz, which was one of the leaders in the gaming peripherals market, filed for bankruptcy and completely ceased operations. However, already in January 2018, she triumphantly returned to service, showing her new devices on CES 2018… The manufacturer returned to Russia only last spring. It so happened that the other day a wired optical gaming mouse came to our test R.A.T. 8+, and today we will talk about it. The official cost of the product in Russia is 7990 rubles…
PACKAGING, COMPLETE SET AND APPEARANCE
The mouse comes in a black box made of thin cardboard with a plastic textured window in front. On the sides and back, the manufacturer indicated various information, including the main features and color options for the case. R.A.T. 8+ is sold in two colors – white and black.
A white version came to our test, although it can rather be called only partially white, since in fact white is used here only in places, mainly under the palm and fingers – the steel parts of the case are black. Inside the box, in addition to the wired mouse itself, you will find two additional pairs of supports for the hands and for the little finger. Also included is a set of Mad Catz logo decals, a quick guide with a visual description, and warranty information.
On the mouse itself you will find installed supports for the little finger and hands, a neatly hidden hexagon for adjusting and replacing the side supports for the fingers, as well as three 6 gram weights for adjusting the weight. The dimensions of the device are 119 x 88 x 39 mm. The weight of the mouse itself is 157 grams (with weights), and with the cable 189 grams. Cable length – 1.8 meters. The cable does not detach and sticks out of the front of the R.A.T. 8+. He’s a braided fiber cord. The device is connected via a standard USB Type-A connector, and the tip is gold-plated.
Outwardly, the mouse reminded me with its shapes and details of two Batmobiles – from the Nolan trilogy and from the Batman Beyond cartoon. It looks very futuristic, and it seems that the whole is dotted with sharp and sharp corners, but the manufacturer made sure that the user does not feel discomfort and slightly rounds off all the protruding parts of the case. The body is mainly made of matte plastic in white and black, although in some places you can see glossy parts.
The bottom base is made of a formatted cast piece of metal and has rubberized feet. In the cutouts on this plate, the scroll wheel, weights and, of course, the sensor in the middle are clearly visible. The manufacturer also decided to highlight the sensor with a special engraving with a maximum DPI value. The adjusting screws are also metal. The mouse shape is intended exclusively for right-handed people, so keep this in mind if you decide to purchase.
Of the external adjustments of the mouse itself, it is worth noting the thumb pad, weights and interchangeable supports for the hands and little finger. The right thumb pad has two adjustment options – the screw on the back allows you to move the pad back and forth, and the screw in the recess on the right changes the pad angle to the left and right of the main part of the mouse.
If we talk about supports under the arm and little finger, then there are three pairs of them. One set is already installed on the mouse out of the box, and the other two are in the set.
The installed base under the arm resembles a white racing helmet. The main part is matte white, and around it is surrounded by a black and glossy edging. On the white part there is an adjustment marking from 0 to 20 mm. The arm base can be adjusted back and forth in four positions thanks to the holes for which the pin built into the support is attached. The second arm support is made entirely of white plastic with the same adjustment markings. The third leg is also completely white, but it has a rubberized insert with a diamond texture.
As for the supports for the little finger, they are attached with a screw on the right side of the mouse to a screw with a hexagonal hole. They do not have any adjustments. The default version is made of black matte plastic with a small insert of white glossy, shaped like a hockey stick. The second leg has a matte black base and a large white rubber insert with a triangular texture, while the last interchangeable leg was the most comfortable for me. It is the largest and has a large area on which both the little finger and the ring finger lie well. It is made entirely of matte black plastic.
The manufacturer hid the weights from below. Three 6-gram round weights with a hole in the middle are attached to a metal pin in a special groove under the arm support. They remain in place with a spring with a plastic ring at the end, and are secured with a plastic nut. The cherry on the cake of this design is a hexagon that fits into the groove of the metal pin and is screwed onto it with a plastic cap at the end.
SENSOR, BUTTONS AND BACKLIGHT
The mouse boasts a state-of-the-art PixArt PWM3389 sensor that has proven itself to be excellent. This sensor has a resolution from 100 to 16000 dpi and a sampling rate of 2000 Hz, and also withstands acceleration up to 50G and correctly fulfills even the sharpest movements.
The switches are reliable and durable Omron, which is rated for 50 million clicks. In total, according to the passport, this mouse has 11 programmable buttons, including one in the wheel, and an additional scroll wheel near the logo. The standard right and left buttons are located exactly under the index and middle fingers. They are pressed easily and emit clicks of moderate volume. Between the main buttons, the manufacturer traditionally placed a white plastic wheel with a rubber embossed insert in the middle and a DPI switch button with built-in LED backlighting. I personally did not like the texture of the wheel, as it strains the pad on the index finger when used. The DPI button is pressed at the top and bottom. If you click on the top, then you increase the DPI, and if you click on the bottom, then decrease.
To the left of the main right button on a small surface at an angle, the manufacturer placed a button for switching profiles with a built-in LED. A very convenient solution, since the button is always at hand and during use it was never accidentally pressed. Four LEDs on the other side of the surface indicate which profile is currently selected.
On the thumb pad, in addition to the standard forward and backward buttons, the manufacturer added one more white color with a drawn crosshair, which was named “Precision Sight”. Thanks to it, you can quickly decrease or increase the resolution / sensor speed for more convenient aiming while playing shooters.
Another feature is the scroll wheel to the left of the illuminated R.A.T. 8+ in the middle of the mouse. It spins right and left, and can be used to easily and quickly protrude from cover and dodge attacks. In the same recess, just below it, there are also several more RGB lighting strips.
SOFT
The manufacturer does not have universal software, so for each device on the official website its own program is provided. It should be noted that although the products are presented in Russia, the software supports only 4 languages: English, German, French and Chinese. The program requires the installation of .NET Framework 3.5. When you turn it on for the first time, without any confirmation or prelude, the application downloads a certain firmware update. You will not find information about what it brings (and even its version in the application).
The application has 4 sections:
- Programming – is responsible for setting 11 programmable buttons: scrolling the main wheel up, pressing the main wheel, scrolling the main wheel down, the “Precision sight” button, forward key, back button, scrolling an additional wheel to the left, scrolling an additional wheel to the right, pressing the DPI button from the bottom edge, pressing the DPI button at the top and the main right button. You can set various actions on the buttons, such as “cut”, “copy”, “save”, “switch” track, etc. In addition, you can assign any button with keyboard, which gives flexibility in games.There is also the ability to create your own commands.
- Settings – is responsible for general and profile mouse settings. In general, you can adjust the trigger height of the sensor so that the cursor does not move if you lift the mouse on an uneven surface, and also align the angle of movement of the mouse vertically if you are used to holding the mouse not straight, but slightly at an angle, which causes displacement cursor horizontally. In the profile settings, you can adjust and create 4 mouse response profiles (DPI). Moreover, this parameter can be configured both along the X and Y axes simultaneously, or separately. Also here you can reassign the buttons for changing the sensor resolution and adjust the “Precise sight” option. Here you can also adjust the polling rate from 125 to 2000Hz, as well as enable the function of correcting minor deviations of the cursor.
- Chameleon – responsible for fine-tuning the 3-zone RGB backlighting. You can adjust the color, effect and speed of illumination both for all zones at the same time, and for each separately.
- Support – there are links to download drivers and software, as well as contacts and a link to a Facebook page, where posts about products, games and memes are posted almost daily.
There is another button in the lower left corner of the program, available in all sections. Here you can create and delete settings profiles.
TOTAL
Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ is an excellent gaming mouse with the widest possible customization options, both physically and in terms of software. In addition, it offers very good build quality, tactile materials and a state-of-the-art sensor, not to mention durability. Thanks to all this, this device is able to satisfy the needs of not only ordinary players, but also professional e-sportsmen.
Author: Sergey Dyakonenko (Madnfs)
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