Cyborg R.A.T. Mouse

If any of you find issues when the thumb rest is tightened, try the following:

1. Loosen the bolt
2. Adjust the thumb rest to where you want it
3. Place the mouse on a flat, hard surface
4. Press down very firmly on the middle of the mouse - the section where R.A.T. is printed
5. Tighten the bolt fully whilst pressing down on the mouse

See if that helps.
 
i have the cyborg RAT 7 and it's freaking awesome...eeveryone i know have to stop in thier tracks to look at my mouse hahah
 
For a place called the 'hard' forum, there sure seems to be allot of whiny babies here. I ordered the mouse despite all the commotion. I got big hands and nothing in the market really does it for me. I've switched between a mx500 and a razer diamondback 3g for years now and there both just fine(both optical), but I'm looking to something more big hand friendly. I also have a razer copperhead (laser), which may have been fine at first, but atleast on my two cloth pads, table or stack of papers, is squirlly as hell despite the different surfaces, firmware updates, and 'blowing like hell on the lazer'. So I know what working properly and working like shit is, and I've got it right here to compare.

The grid click test seemed fairly damning, but from the disjointed posting, it seems like that was caused by the bottom of the mouse being uneven due to slightly off center tighning down of the thumb side piece.

As for the lifting up the mouse and it going a few pixels southeast, we shall see. To the people who say you never need to lift.... uhhh.. have you ever circle strafed a tank in quake wars? when your running around sometimes you need to turn the same way for a long time and your going to run out of pad, it happens. Now, if it moves a few pixels when that happens, its not to big a deal to me, because your going to be flying around like a madman and need to correct for all kinds of things. Now, if it was bad enough, it could be a real problem, but I suspect that is unlikely, but I'll be sure to test it specifically. In the same regard, bouncing the mouse up and down repeatedly like bunny-hopping on a bike, that doesn't happen, and is a stupid test of anything, any mouse is going to wobble around the screen if you do that.

So this is my pre-product in hand notice. I'ma give it a fair shake, and if its good but you need to tighten the thumb grip in a special way, or even shave a little plastic off, I'm not going to cry about it. Its hard to get a good product out there, even if the engineers at cyborg mat katz or whatever were really great, they would have to deal with head in ass middle and upper mangement, etc. I'm certain a company could make a better mouse than this one already, but if it doesn't exist, you can't buy it. Its just reality. If it really does have insurmountable problems or real caveats, ill be sure to let you know. I have loyalty to no brand. I can already tell Mad Katz to suck it, because they dont have any linux support, my OS of choice. I've already read of linux issues and workarounds, but even that I don't care about, because I've been using linux for over a decade and can deal with it.

The rat should arrive on wendsday.
 
I've been using my RAT 7 for the past week now and I have to say that I'm thoroughly impressed. So far I haven't experienced any of the negative issues that's been previously mentioned.

I use the Ratpadz as my mousepad and haven't noticed any problems with the cursor during my TF2 and Mass Effect 2 gaming sessions. I also lift my mouse a lot so I would definitely notice if there was any unresponsiveness (that would drive me apeshit)

Actual performance aside, I really like this mouse because I have small hands and moving the palm rest all the way up feels so much more comfortable than it does for other mice. And since the thumb rest can be adjusted, I can actually reach both thumb buttons! The sniper button is still off limit for me though but even if I could reach it I probably wouldn't use it anyway.

My one gripe is that the mouse is a tad bit wide but not a deal breaker.

Mice preference is definitely subjective so this is just my two cents. I'll give an update if anything pops up in the near future.

Oh yeah. I got it at Newegg for about 70 bucks which made it a sweet deal for me
 
After reading this thread I was kinda concerned about this mouse, but I had a chance to try it at the Mad Catz booth at PAX and liked it. I bought it and have been trying it out in bad company 2 and it's been great.

The cursor jumps more than other mice when picking it up, but there is no delay in responsiveness when putting it back down, so unless you're extremely low sensitivity I can't see it being a problem. I never actually noticed it in game.

My thumb rest stays in place quite well even after messing around with adjusting it a few different ways.

I don't have any movement while clicking or drifting.

It's extremely heavy (even heavier than my MX Revolution) but it actually moves easier than my deathadder. The pads seem slicker for some reason. The thumb and pinky rests also help by making sure there's no extra drag from your hand.

The sniper button is easy to reach even with my small hands and is pretty useful. I can turn the sensitivity up higher than I usually use and the bring it back down again to aim.

This is easily the most comfortable mouse I've used. So far my only problems are the massive weight and the lack of a foot on the pinky rest.
 
Made an account just to post this..

Like Lanx and everyone else mentioned, the sensor issue is the biggest issue to this so called 10/10 amazing mouse (Maximum PC). I am surprised benchmarkreviews are the only guys that have spotted this as it pretty much breaks the mouse as a whole in terms of functionality.

Lift and drop would move the cursor to bottom right to a very noticeable distance. Fast swing of the mouse then lift and drop would cause a second of lag which the mouse will not respond to any sort of movement. I mean sure, the average user would not use the mouse to such extent to notice these issues, but for a mouse that has a premium price tag, you'd think these vital issues would be flattened out and such for release. I honestly doubt this will be resolved after heavy use of "wearing in" the mouse, but who knows.

I've yet to try the clicking test lanx tried on my own, but I think that is driver related as I don't think I've noticed something that bad. With that said, driver installation was flawless, did not have the issues lanx was having, and the software was easy to use i suppose.

Physically, the mouse has great potentials, being able to modify the shape of it directly. However this is not without its own share of minor problems. The little washer under the screw to adjust the thumbrest angle can come out if you accidentally unscrewed it too far in a bad angle such that the screw and the washer falls out. If you lose the washer then you're pretty much screwed as it will never tighten properly and thus the thumbrest will be loose. Luckily I was able to find mine after it dropped, but just thought it'd be something worthy to note. The pinky slot with pinky rest was awkwardly positioned for someone with a smaller hand making it practically unusable to simulate an ergonomic shape mouse. If you can adjust thumbrest, it'd make sense to have adjustable pinky rest area as well, so the lack of that feature was disappointing.

As well, one minor issue I personally found with ALL adjustable weight feature mouses is that they are too heavy! I mean, it's not a HUGE issue (which will most likely be overcome after heavy use of getting used to it), but it simply defeats the purpose of having adjustable weights if the mouse itself is too heavy. I found this issue with g500 as well, although not as much.

Using it to play TF2, CS was a pain with the sensor bug and weight (low sens, gotta lift a lot). Playing SC2 with it was alright, no issues.

With the sensor and weight problem, this mouse is practically unusable so it is a return for me. Its sad because having adjustable pieces was a very interesting and unique feature I planned on exploiting heavily... Overall, it was disappointing to purchase and use with all the hype in advertising and reviews and all. Oh well, back to my Xai (no, the sensor works fine on hard pads like my 9hd; no neg/pos accels and what not, only issue is the mouse scroll, where if you nudge it to the right a little it clicks, which is okay since mouse scroll is rarely used as hotkey in games unless desired)
 
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The lift issue bothers me I think, but even worse...

this mouse "sticks". By that I mean that I have had the RAT7 lock itself in a single axis repeatedly. It might decide to only move side to side. Or maybe up and down. I can pick up the mouse, put it back down, let it set, swish it around... it stays unresponsive on one of the axis. Even once it refused to move on either axis.

These are not short moments - although it does seem to happen in 10th-second bursts too, but today for nearly a full two minutes the darn mouse wouldn't respond in the X-axis at all.

I do a lot of graphic design and although I'll use my wacom - my mouse is my best friend. The other day I was tracing in photoshop (a common task) and the accuracy of the mouse was HORRIBLE. Jittery movements. Stopping felt imprecise.

I have both a mid-tone wood desk and I use a Razer Destructor mouse pad, which is black textured. The problems have happened on both surfaces and I love my slick mouse pad.


I LOVE the design. It is the best feeling mouse for my hands I have ever used. On a break, I'll load up a FPS or MMO and the only thing this mouse needs is to allow me to configure the rest of the buttons. It is odd that they fell short there. Never assume the user is going to want to use the device the way you think they should. Just make it open.


If anyone from Cyborg is reading this... how do I get a working mouse with this design on my desktop? This is going back to the store next week before my time is up. It has been two weeks of love and hate.

I like the design so much, I have seriously wondered if it would be possible to rip the sensor out of my Logitech G9 - which tracks FAR superior to this mouse - and drop it into the RAT7. Obviously it isn't that simple, but how I wish it was... how I wish it was....


Come on Cyborg.
 
When we post reviews on how the mouse sensor worked or didn't work, can we please include the mousepads that were used in the testing? My R.A.T 7 is still in the mail though.
 
kasdf said:
When we post reviews on how the mouse sensor worked or didn't work, can we please include the mousepads that were used in the testing? My R.A.T 7 is still in the mail though.
Click to expand...

My trials and tribulations on mousepads was included here somewhere, but for easy reference, i used steelseries sx metal aluminum mouse pad.
$50 mouse pad! (i am still using the mouse pad btw, it's pretty damn awesome)
 
kasdf said:
When we post reviews on how the mouse sensor worked or didn't work, can we please include the mousepads that were used in the testing? My R.A.T 7 is still in the mail though.
Click to expand...

You're going to want a solid pad for this mouse and any mouse that uses the Philips Twin-Eye.
 
It would be nice if the damn thing just worked on most surfaces like my Logitech mice do.
 
AnatidaeProject said:
this mouse "sticks". By that I mean that I have had the RAT7 lock itself in a single axis repeatedly. It might decide to only move side to side. Or maybe up and down. I can pick up the mouse, put it back down, let it set, swish it around... it stays unresponsive on one of the axis. Even once it refused to move on either axis.

These are not short moments - although it does seem to happen in 10th-second bursts too, but today for nearly a full two minutes the darn mouse wouldn't respond in the X-axis at all.
Click to expand...

Just had this happen yesterday as well. It happened twice in about two and a half hours. Not sure how long it would have lasted because picking it up and putting it down fixed it. I have a feeling it's because my desk is a terrible mousing surface as I've had similar problems with other mice on it. It's probably a combination of crappy sensor and crappy surface. Hopefully when my ratpad arrives it won't happen anymore.

Also, I've completely removed the wrench and weight mounting thing to make the thing a little less heavy.
 
Hi there...could someone pls tell me what are the dimensions (W x H x D in cm possibly) at "default" form for this mouse?

I've checked all the reviews out there, but nobody seemed to have the smart idea to just take the mouse and measure it with a damn meter stick or somethin' :p...
 
I got the Cyborg RAT 7 about 2 weeks ago and have been using it since.

Generally, I like it a lot. I have managed to adjust it so that it's comfortable to use and have found my ideal weight level (something that surprised me as I didn't think it would matter that much) - all weights in except one. The mouse wheel is fat, rubbery and has notches on it making it easy to use - just no "frictionless scroll function" which while I don't miss it, could have been an interesting feature. I like the feel of the plastic they used for most surfaces.

I haven't really had any problems using the buttons on the side of the mouse except I do find myself thinking that rear most of the two buttons seems a bit far back for my liking although I might get used to this with further hardware configuration. The mouse sensitivity buttons under the mouse wheel are well placed and work well as do the LED indicators.

The profile button however is fiddly to press and the LED indicator faces away from me and even though I can "pinch" click the button quite easily now, it's not so easy to see what setting it's on as the two colours red and purple are too similar (It goes RED, blue, RED+BLUE=PURPLE when RED, BLUE, GREEN would have been better).

I have not had any issues with the sensor (drifting on it's own, freezing, etc) but did notice that it's very sensitive when clicking and as such tends to drift slightly when clicking any buttons. The reason I know it's just the extreme sensitivity of the sensor is if you lift the mouse up (so that it doesn't register any movement) and click multiple times, there is no mouse movement. Also if you turn "Enhance pointer precision" in the MS Mouse control panel - not recommended for this mouse - it doesn't happen as much as the mouse speed is lowered when the mouse is moving "slowly". I am currently experimenting with the "sensor sensitivity" controls (available when looking at the bottom of the mouse in the cyborg software) and have turned them to minimum. This doesn't seem to have affected the sensitivity (dpi) but may have helped with the occasional clicking problem above. It's difficult to say as the documentation isn't very good. Seems to have improved the click/drift problem though.

Which brings me to the software. I have noticed several problems. If you set a command to latched in one profile, it stays latched in the other profiles as well (and visa versa). This means I cannot set one key to autofire for a gaming profile and then use the same key for single press strokes in another profile for windows. And what do the sensor sensitivity sliders do, exactly? And why have a button that rotates the mouse picture 360 degrees and that is all? :p And there are no other options normally available for mouse acceleration, which should be there and profile based. And no options to change the Aim button, DPI buttons and profile button, which would have been better (I hardly ever use the aim button and could change the other settings in software). Basically it seems a bit low on the options. While it stores DPI settings in the mouse these aren't profile based, and none of the other settings are stored in the mouse (I mean how much is a few KBytes of memory nowadays?).

Also, the support options send you to the wrong site. When you find the correct site, the version number of the latest driver and software download isn't available so you cannot tell if you need to update without downloading them first.

While the mouse itself feels quit solid, the palm rests feel flimsy, are difficult to attach/remove and move slightly when on! Not that good. The pinky ledge attachment doesn't really work for me and I wish it had been flat at the back so that my pinky could have actually lived there. It does seem to work quite well if I "palm" the mouse and put one finger on the left mouse button, one on the mouse wheel and one on the right mouse button, but normally I have two fingers off the mouse and there isn't enough room on the ledge with the raised bit at the back.

So overall good but could do with improvements to the software, support site, pinky slide grip (maybe accessories could be offered?) and the palm rest is bit wobbly and as such I am not sure if it was designed to last. Maybe some tape will get rid of any movement but it is annoying and I don't think it was that good a design in the first place.

But after all these complaints, I do like the heavy, overall solid feel to it, think it works well - very smooth movement on a Razer Goliathus mouse mat and I will be keeping it (unless the palm rests break!). Just hope they update the software.

Also, how do I make the thumb wheel horizontally scroll in firefox, IE, etc?
 
So any info on what the Sensor/Cursor Sensitivity Sliders do? They are profile based (each profile can have independent settings) but they do not seem to affect DPI. Is it a threshold setting? :confused:
 
Just to clarify - the button you're referring to as a profile button is actually a Mode button. This switches the modes within a profile rather than selecting different profiles. You can of course choose to do what you're doing by having different sets of assignments on each mode for different games, but the latch function is global rather than by mode.

As for sensitivity and DPI we treat them as separate things with DPI being a global setting that applies to your mouse in all modes and then you can adjust the sensitivity of the mouse in each mode (the precision aim button kind of activates an additional mode). Your word there - threshold - is a great analogy.

We will of course continue to update the software over time to address concerns that are raised.

For the movements when clicking, have you tried my suggestion at the top of this page to ensure that the mouse is flat?
 
ice_v said:
Hi there...could someone pls tell me what are the dimensions (W x H x D in cm possibly) at "default" form for this mouse?

I've checked all the reviews out there, but nobody seemed to have the smart idea to just take the mouse and measure it with a damn meter stick or somethin' :p...
Click to expand...

anyone? :(
 
ice_v said:
anyone? :(
Click to expand...

Top to bottom end of ratchet screw is about 12cm. Top to bottom end of palm rest at it's shortest position is about 10cm. The gripping width is about 7.5-8cm on my mouse (slightly more the most narrow angle) but changes as you change the angle of the thumb rest.
 
Mad Catz Rich said:
Just to clarify - the button you're referring to as a profile button is actually a Mode button. This switches the modes within a profile rather than selecting different profiles. You can of course choose to do what you're doing by having different sets of assignments on each mode for different games, but the latch function is global rather than by mode.

As for sensitivity and DPI we treat them as separate things with DPI being a global setting that applies to your mouse in all modes and then you can adjust the sensitivity of the mouse in each mode (the precision aim button kind of activates an additional mode). Your word there - threshold - is a great analogy.

We will of course continue to update the software over time to address concerns that are raised.

For the movements when clicking, have you tried my suggestion at the top of this page to ensure that the mouse is flat?
Click to expand...

Yes I meant the Mode button. How about a function to tie profiles to certain games so that they load automatically with those games, similar to the way MS Intellipoint works?

Why is the latch function global? Doesn't seem to make sense to me. Surely you either want a macro to repeat (latch) or you don't although using different profiles is certainly a way to get around this but inconvenient as you have to switch profiles manually. Maybe it would work better with automatic profile loading as suggested above but certainly would be better as part of the individual mode macro programming options.

The Sensor Sensitivity Sliders (horizontal/vertical) don't seem to make any difference to the DPI (stays the same in all modes no matter what you set the sliders to) so I was wondering if they actually did anything and if so, what?

The click/drift issue doesn't seem to be a problem any more, maybe I have gotten used to the mouse now or I have moved my mouse mat on to a more level part of my desk! Seems fine. Thanks.
 
How about the lifting & cursor shift issue? Is there any cure for this? For you gamers out there - is this a huge problem?

thanks
 
Has anyone managed to get these to do anything? Just to clarify, it's the Horizontal/Vertical sliders you see when looking at the picture of the bottom of the mouse in Programming options.
 
They work fine, but make sure that you have loaded the profile into the mouse. Anything under the settings tab is not profile-related so any changes you make there are live as soon as you do them; anything under the programming tab is profile-related so to enable the changes the profile would need to be loaded.
 
I have only one profile and that is loaded. Mode 1 (red) I have the sliders set to minimum on both axis, and maximum for the other two modes (blue & purple). It's remembering the settings between reboots, but it just doesn't seem to be having any effect on the cursor speed at the moment. My OS is Win7 64bit. Maybe I might try reinstalling the software or the drivers but that will have to wait. Is this working for anyone else I'm wondering?
 
I just received my Rat7 from Amazon.

My last two mice have been the Microsoft Sidewinder on my desktop and Logiteh G9x on my laptop. The Sidewinder is a great mouse and served me well for 2 years, but (even in my large hands) my palm gets sweaty from the smooth, rounded shape. Its sensor feels smooth and consistent, however since I prefer a ratio of higher mouse sensitivity and lower Windows sensitivity to maintain both high speed movement and retain sub-pixel accuracy, the Sidewinder's 2000dpi was somewhat limiting with higher resolutions (1920x1080+).

The G9x feels very easy to control with the rough-textured grip and smaller shape, and the left and right click buttons feel very responsive. The G9x sensor, IMHO, is the best sensor on the market. Smooth, and very, VERY precise.

The Rat7 is replacing the Sidewinder as my desktop mouse. The Sidewinder is going to the office to replace my old Logitech MX1000 that has many thousands of hours of use. Poor thing, lol...

Rat7:
At first, I was visually impressed with the Rat7. Then I was physically impressed, if feels higher quality in hand than it looks in pictures. I was a bit worried about the rubberized coating, durability is questionable, time will tell. Then I installed it, and tweaked around for about an hour, trying the different pieces and settings. After a few hours playing EVE Online and web browsing, I'm pretty happy with it. I opted for the textured pieces. The pinky shelf feels strange, I'm accustomed to using my pinky against the mouse and pad when I need precision. When my pinky lightly touches the surface, it helps to detect very small movements that my wrist/arm cannot. Using the pinky shelf caused the left side of the mouse to lift and rock since the shelf, stupidly, doesn't have its own slider pad. 3-4 weights provides the perfect friction/inertia on my wowpad.

Tracking/Lifting:
I've had no issue with the mouse performance, except lifting and setting it down that some have already mentioned. I get instant control upon set down, but the cursor does drop down/right a small bit upon lift. I get zero delay on set down. No tracking errors on the wowpad, and I've tried for many minutes of herky-jerky fast motion with lifting, half lifting, hard set downs, etc, and not one error. I've been able to avoid the diagonal jump by altering HOW I loft the mouse, lifting the left button corner at a slight angle first, and setting it down square. Once this becomes muscle-memory it won't be an issue. Even still, it's not a deal breaker for me. I wish they made the focal range of the sensor tighter.

Tracking overall has been sharp and consistent, however I'm suspect win7 still has some inherent mouse acceleration at very low speeds. It's very subtle, and I may be tricking the sensor by moving the mouse TOO slowly, but still, it feels very accurate when whipping the cursor across the screen at moderate to high speeds. Anyone whose played EVE knows how small the items/icons/text is, and this mouse does just fine with accuracy. I'd say it's 95-98% of the G9x's accuracy, which, is phenomenal. I've not used this mouse with MW2 or any other shooters yet as I've been into EVE lately. I'll run it through its paces in Crysis, Borderlands, and whatever else is currently installed.

MY ONLY REAL GRIPE:
Does Anyone else with the Rat7 see it appear under the "Safely Remove Hardware" taskbar icon? I've never seen a mouse appear here before. I only ever see USB sticks appear when they're connected, but a mouse? I've tried uninstalling drivers/software, but it always comes back...
 
I've been using a logitech MX518 for the past 5 years, but this mouse looks so sick. I'm using win 7 x64.

Rat 7 owners....should i get it?
 
Got it, no regrets so far. Actually giggled like a little girl when I saw it at the local retailer.
 
I am loving mine, It takes a few hours of use to dial in the perfect DPI settings and mouse adjustments.

My Rat7 is still appearing under the "Safely Remove Hardware" taskbar icon, I can't get it to go away, and its the only thing appearing in the list.. Grrr...
 
Just wondering if anyone has this mouse with an X-trac RIPPER XXL mousepad, or any other ripper mousepads (I assume the smaller ones are all the same material

My Logitech MX Revolution has absolutely horrendous tracking with this deskpad, Im assuming it is because it has a non-gaming laser sensor. Do you think a "Twin laser" sensor like the RAT would work better with my deskpad???
I know its hard to "predict" which is why im asking if anyone has tried these on a Ripper mousepad :(
 
Shipping mine back for a refund.... Heres my problems

1. Thumb adjustment screw stripped out. It never would stop moving, kept tightening it and then i felt the threads give out. Cheap made POS, it didnt take any torque at all before it stripped. The serrated washers are supposed to lock together BUT since they are cheap cast parts that are coated they just slide on each other. Design would work good if it was decent quality parts.

2. The pink wing has a terrible sharp angle that actually hurts your pinky. It should have been a smooth flowing design for your pinky to rest in. I cant figure out why they put that sharp angle right in the middle of it.

3. Every once in awhile the mouse stops working horzonitally but i only noticed it on the desktop. It just wont work, still goes veritically but nothing side to side. I have to pick it up and move it around like crazy before it starts working again.

Basically it could be an awesome mouse but its got some MAJOR problems. Back to good old logitech G500!
 
I run eyefinity and seem to be having a precision problem with the R.A.T. 7, whenever I mouse over the desired area I always need to make more adjustments. Not sure if its the eyefinity or something is fundementally wrong with the mouse.

- Could any suggest any trouble shooting steps

* I turned the mouse over and found what appears to be two bubbles within the laser is that normal?


Thanks in advanced
 
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its products like this that make me want to slap anyone who says computer mice are a thing of the past. this is beyond cool.
 
war_child said:
I run eyefinity and seem to be having a precision problem with the R.A.T. 7, whenever I mouse over the desired area I always need to make more adjustments. Not sure if its the eyefinity or something is fundementally wrong with the mouse.

- Could any suggest any trouble shooting steps

* I turned the mouse over and found what appears to be two bubbles within the laser is that normal?


Thanks in advanced
Click to expand...
Lower your DPI setting? And yes, that is how the sensor is supposed to look.
 
war_child said:
I run eyefinity and seem to be having a precision problem with the R.A.T. 7, whenever I mouse over the desired area I always need to make more adjustments. Not sure if its the eyefinity or something is fundementally wrong with the mouse.

- Could any suggest any trouble shooting steps
Click to expand...

Do you use a cloth pad? If so, try pressing directly downwards on the mouse without moving it across the mousepad. The idea is to move it along the Z-axis, but not the x or y-axis. You should notice the cursor moving diagonally. The Twin-Eye can track along the z-axis which can cause some weird tracking issues especially with cloth or other soft pads.
 
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