Cyborg R.A.T. Mouse

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.

is there something wrong with a cloth pad? i tend to like them.
 
It's not a problem with the pad, I like cloth pads too. The problem arises when you use the Twin-Eye with a cloth pad. Since the surface is soft, varying pressure from your hand and arm can cause the distance between the sensor and the surface to change, especially when clicking. When this happens, this causes the cursor to move diagonally and can make it harder to click where you want and hit your targets. This is because the Twin-Eye is capable of tracking the z-axis. Razer tried to alleviate this with a Teflon ring around the sensor which basically acts as another mouse foot.
 
Well shipped mine out today for a refund. Id like to try it again but ONLY if these issues are fixed and documented!
 
I read through this thread and decided to give this mouse a try anyway, and I'm glad I did. I've only been using it for about an hour, but so far I like it. The mouse that it's joining is a first generation G9. I downloaded the latest software and drivers from the website and installed those, ignoring the included CD. To address the most common issues reported here:

1) Picking up the mouse: I pick up the mouse infrequently but not rarely when gaming. If I just repeatedly pick up and put down the mouse, I will experience the large diagonal shift maybe one out of twenty times. Most of the time it either doesn't move, moves but returns to the original position, or moves a tiny amount in a random direction. In the course of normal usage, I don't notice the sensor drift at all. I much prefer this rare drift to an accelerating sensor - mouse acceleration drives me crazy.

2) Left-click cursor drift: Rapidly left clicking does not produce any cursor drift at all. The cursor stays exactly where it is.

3) Extended pinky rest: This one is an issue. The weird raised ledge with the sharp edge digs into my pinky and is uncomfortable to the point that I went back to the default pinky attachment. Maybe it's just how I hold it, but that could have been done better.

I'm using a 6 year old 3M Precise Mousing Surface mouse mat on a solid wood desk, so that's probably why I'm not experiencing any cursor issues. I also followed the advice of pressing firmly on the middle of the mouse when tightening the thumb rest adjustment screws, so the base of the mouse is flat.

One issue that I *am* noticing, however, is that the retention screw for the thumb piece is not flush. The portion of the screw towards the front of the mouse protrudes ever so slightly from the thumb piece, enough that I can feel it as a small protrusion against my thumb. The rear portion of the screw is flush. Mad Catz Rich, any advice on how to resolve this? It's a shame because the rest of the mouse is assembled so cleanly.
 
I've been having problems with smarttechnology.com crashing every time I run it too. Any ideas? I'm running XP, .net framework 3.5. I tried emailing Madcatz but no reply...
 
Hi,
First I would like to congratulate MadCatz for making such an amazing mouse.. I love all the macros and the DPI switch- very handy. However, I have two problems with the mouse that occur at startup.
I am using Win 7 64 bit, and when I log into my account after starting up my computer, the mouse will not track. LMB and RMB work, but I cannot move the mouse. (I have it plugged into my Logitech G15 Keyboard) Unplugging and plugging back in works, but is very annoying to have to do this at each start up of my computer.
Also, My profile that I have setup with all my macros does not automatically load.. I am sure this is my fault in just not knowing how to get it to load a profile at startup, but I could not find anywhere that told me how to do so.
Madcatzrich, is there any way to fix the tracking issue or the profile not loading?
Thanks
P.S. except for these two problems, I have experienced nothing but pure awesomeness from the mouse, I would recommend it to any hard core gamer.
 
.Net Framework 3.5 isn't enough - it needs to be .Net 3.5 SP1 and you can tell if it's installed because XP will list SP1 specifically in the list of programs under the Add/Remove Programs icon in Control Panel.

Use Windows Update or the auto update on this page to make sure you're running the latest version:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...2f-5d1a-413d-8319-81da479ab0d7&displaylang=en


Making a profile load on startup is mentioned in the manual (under the Support tab in the software) but here's how to do it:

1. Click the R.A.T. icon next to your clock
2. Right-click on the profile you want to do this with
3. Click "Set as Startup Profile"
 
Bought my rat7 about a week ago. been using it the whole time on many different types of games. have had none of the problems ive seen in here, all the parts fit, no striped screws, thumb rest is solid and mouse sits perfectly flat. i got this mouse for the shape and ability to add a pinky rest that actually works for the way i hold my mouse and doesnt hurt my pinky after a while like the g5 did.

also bought a razer veslpula mouse pad to go with the new rat. moves smooth as silk on the smooth side of the mat.
 
I just experienced the issue today where the mouse tracks in the horizontal plane but is very erratic in the vertical. I exited out of a full screen youtube video and L/R were fine but the cursor just did not want to track U/D. It would erratically jump up or down if I moved the mouse several inches but otherwise it was pretty much stuck. After about a minute it seemed to reset itself and resumed normal operation. If this had been during a game I would have been extremely upset by it.

PS: Still working on getting the pictures of the thumb piece retention screw.
 
Hi, Could you please add a version number for the software/driver download page so that I can see if/when an update is available thanks.

The horizontal/vertical sliders in "Programming" still don't do anything (although it remembers the setting). Not sure if it would actually be useful anyway, as H/V controls are already available in "Settings".

I know you've made a big deal about not having mouse acceleration enabled but I find it useful when working in windows (rather than gaming) and so an option for it in "Programming" would be great (rather than enabling/disabling it in the windows control panel).

Otherwise, I am much more used to the mouse now and moving the thumb rest outwards has helped with the grip and control. Cheers.
 
Yes, we're looking at adding version numbers to the downloads page and we can take a look at offering acceleration options in the interface.

Still confused as to why the sensitivity setting isn't doing anything for you though - especially as everything else seems to be working fine. Glad you're finding the mouse more comfortable now - that's exactly why we made it as adjustable as it is!
 
I'm going to pick up a RAT 7 and I'm wondering if my mouse pad will have an tracking issues. I've got a Steel 5l pad, does anyone know if this is going to be a problem? This is the color scheme of my pad, if it matters:
steelpad5lboxshot.jpg
 
is this mouse any good compare to the Mamba? the look is awsome tho, not sure about peformance.
 
is this mouse any good compare to the Mamba? the look is awsome tho, not sure about peformance.

Uses the same sensor as the Mamba so should be about the same. I do like the way my RAT 7 feels in my hand except the scroll wheel stopped working after 2 days of use. Tried emailing tech support but have yet to receive a response after a week.
 
Here are the main ones:

ussupport [at] madcatz.com - US
uksupport [at] madcatz.com - UK
desupport [at] madcatz.com - Germany
frsupport [at] madcatz.com - France
eusupport [at] madcata.com - Rest of Europe

If you've had no response by next week then let me know (and which team you're trying to contact) and I'll give the appropriate team a 'ping' to escalate it for you.
 
Hi, posted my review a while ago and thought i'd give a short video of what i meant by drifting. In the video you'll see the cursor moving, however while the cursor is moving the mouse is not. This happens randomly sometimes more often than not. Sometimes it will also move faster than others. I'm wondering if it is a sensor or driver problem? also, using this mousepadand, there is nothng on or around the desk that is causing vibrations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eNGXJw400Y


I won this mouse in a contest so whether this is an easy fix or not will determine if i continue to use it or buy another mouse. (probably a new deathadder)

stuff I've tried:

different mouse surfaces (glass,wood, cloth, plastic, wood, paper)
different usb ports/nothing in the usb plug
updating drivers
nothing blocking the sensor
 
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I just experienced the issue today where the mouse tracks in the horizontal plane but is very erratic in the vertical. I exited out of a full screen youtube video and L/R were fine but the cursor just did not want to track U/D. It would erratically jump up or down if I moved the mouse several inches but otherwise it was pretty much stuck. After about a minute it seemed to reset itself and resumed normal operation. If this had been during a game I would have been extremely upset by it.

Just experienced this issue again, only reversed: mouse would not track in the horizontal plane but was fine in the vertical. If this keeps up it's going to go back to Amazon, my G9 exhibited no tracking issues ever in the almost two years that I've been using it.
 
Just bought the RAT 7. Looks good except the center scroll wheel seems a bit loose, you can put a finger on it and it wiggles a bit. Could other owners check there's for me?

Thanks!
 
Just bought the RAT 7. Looks good except the center scroll wheel seems a bit loose, you can put a finger on it and it wiggles a bit. Could other owners check there's for me?

Thanks!
My scroll wheel does not wiggle. I'd take it back.
 
Although I don't use mine anymore I can verify that the scroll wheel does not wiggle. send it back
 
Thanks for checking for me, much appreciated. Hey also anybody else having trouble trying to download the latest driver/software from Cyborg site? When I try to save the driver file to my desktop the download time bounces all over the place (from minutes to hours) and eventually I get an Internet Explorer Error saying it's timed out and cannot download. I have a very modern, super clean, i930 system so I don't think it's my gear.
 
Thanks for checking for me, much appreciated. Hey also anybody else having trouble trying to download the latest driver/software from Cyborg site? When I try to save the driver file to my desktop the download time bounces all over the place (from minutes to hours) and eventually I get an Internet Explorer Error saying it's timed out and cannot download. I have a very modern, super clean, i930 system so I don't think it's my gear.
Here you go: http://acallander.com/rat_drivers/Cyborg_RAT_SD7_64_Drivers_pfw.exe
http://acallander.com/rat_drivers/Cyborg_RAT_SD7_64_Software_pfw.exe
 
The regular site must be up and working cause i got mine today :) Ill keep it for a few more days just to get used to it. Tried the pinky thingy and just cant get used to it as before i used my finger to fine control movement of the mouse. And i find that if i move the wrist thing down too much it lifts the front of the mouse up. I want the thumb rest to move up more but it wont unless you break off a small piece underneath. When i go to change the DPI, i sometimes hit the right mouse button and 1/7 times the red button doesnt work when im sniping someone.

Gunna try deleting all the drivers and re-installing.
 
I thought I'd post about my experience with the mouse, I registered to do so.

Mine was the R.A.T. 7.
First off, the mouse is comfy, I enjoyed being able to make it fit my hand, and it was probably the nicest feeling mouse I've used.
Tracking was great, worked well with my mouse mat, no issues with skipping or freezing of the mouse cursor.

That was the good, now the not so good:
The pinky rest didn't do much for me personally, if I rested a bit of weight onto the rest it would make the left side of the mouse come off the mat, very distracting when playing games. The issue was solved by putting some Teflon feet under the pinky rest, so if I put some extra pressure on the rest it wouldn't make the whole mouse raise up, that should have been something added by themselves.

Secondly when I tightened the thumb rest I had that annoying wobble which some people also complained about in here, I even pressed down when tightening the screw like someone suggested and it wouldn't work, but again this issue was again solved by putting something under the left side of the back Teflon pad to raise it up a little higher and stopped it wobbling on mouse clicks entirely.

Now the worst part:

I had the mouse for 2 weeks, I was browsing through web pages when all of a sudden I felt a loud click in the scroll wheel and it completely broke, there was no clicking when you scrolled the wheel anymore, it was just a loose sensation, in about 5 or 6 years I've never ever had to RMA an item before I got my full use out of it, which goes from peripherals to components. Luckily it broke within the month so I could get a full refund and take my money else where. Still looking for a new mouse now, will probably go back to Razer, Logitech or maybe try Roccat. My Razer mouse has lasted me 2 or 3 years and it still works flawlessly.

For the money of this mouse it was extremely disappointing, issues which should have been fixed in Q&A especially regarding the rocking of the mouse hitting the mouse buttons and the pinky rest not having pads under it to connect to the mouse mat in case you added some extra pressure by accident.
 
The mouse glitched again on me tonight, first the H axis then 5 minutes later the Y axis. I can't accept being in constant worry that I'm going to lose an axis of motion in the middle of a fight, no matter how rare it is. Going to exchange this one, but if it doesn't help, then I'll have to just return it. Too bad, it's a really awesome mouse.
 
Bought the mouse, loved it and now i hate it.

Out of the blue it decided to stop tracking properly, would disconnect, unplug it plug it back in and it would be fine for a while again, then would have to repeat. Finally one time it just stopped altogether. Now if i leave it unplugged for a day or so then plug it in i can use it for like 5 minutes and then it stops, but the LED's are still lit, leave it plugged in a bit longer and it just cuts out altogether but still appears in windows. Clicking is random on whether it will work or not as well during those times.

I've emailed madcatz a few times now and haven't heard any response from it, really really pissing me off. It sucks because i'm now outside the 30day return period so i can't just get a refund for the POS. Couple people warned me before not to get it and i didn't listen, teaches me huh LOL. So i guess i have a 80 dollar paperweight and no response on it, lovely company they run, bunch of ripoffs
 
Yeah I don't even use mine anymore. Just sits on the shelf. it's a shame , because it was the most comfortable mouse ever. I just couldn't get past the way it tracks. I'm not even going to try and sell it . I'm afraid it would be a waste of time. and although there is nothing physically wrong with it Basically new out of the box . I just wouldn't feel right selling it knowing the tracking stinks. But I knew that this might of happened before hand so it was not a big loss to me. If they ever go to a different sensor on future models . I might try again. but as long they insist on this sensor. I will never buy again.
 
So I impulsively picked up a RAT 3 at Fry's today. I've been using it for about 5 minutes as I still wait for the software for it to download (57.5MB, really?)

Positives
-It's very comfortable
-It weighs roughly the same as my IE 3.0
-Low liftoff distance on both of my cloth pads (Puretrak Talent and Fry's Supermat)

Cons
-There is acceleration, I verified this in Paint.
-It doesn't like my Supermat. Cursor acts twitchy in fine movements.

More later when the software is done.

Edit: Installed drivers and software, acceleration is still present with no way to disable it. Disappointed as I really like the feel of this mouse. There is also no option to raise polling rate in the software. The box says "Dynamic up to 500 hz", but this is simply untrue. Mouserate.exe shows up to 160 hz max. This is misleading on Mad Catz part.

Here's a link showing the acceleration. The top line is a fast swipe, while the bottom is slow. Both were done with equal distance. It looks like it's not that much, but it hit the edge of the screen before I stopped.

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad149/Cabbs90/RAT3accel.png

I'm going to return this mouse by day 30 if software updates don't fix the acceleration issue. Polling rate can be upped another way.
 
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Moose517 - PM me the email address you've been using to contact tech support and the country you're in and I'll get this escalated to the correct team.

@Cabbs - I take it you've got pointer precision turned off in your mouse options? Also try running this little tool from our blog to see if it helps.

Edit - forgot to address the dynamic polling rate. The mouse will increase the polling rate if you move the mouse faster. It's kind of hard to do with Mouserate because it only picks up movement within that small window, but if you circle the pointer really fast in that window then you will see it reach 500.
 
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I have the MarkC acceleration fix, I'll give that a try though. And yes, pointer precision is off.
 
There's so much I want to say about the Saitek / Mad Catz R.A.T. 7 gaming mouse but I'll try to keep it short (edit: fail!). I got this mouse a month ago. I wanted a mouse that was:

a) good for prolonged daily use (i.e. during and after work).
b) good for gaming.
c) good for my productivity whilst working.

If you are after the same thing, here's my experiences for your reading pleasure. If anyone has doubts about what I'm about to describe or believes I am wrong, I have no problem with that, just reply in a mature way and keep in mind what I wanted the mouse for!


ERGONOMICS: Comfortable? Sort of. It's a personal thing. I spent a few hours tweaking all of the adjustable bits and it was as comfortable in the hand as most other mice I have owned. No more, no less. Ergonomics of the "premium" functions (those that help to make this mouse an expensive one) however are terrible. I'll give you 3 examples of why I think this...

(1) sniper button. Adjust the left side of the mouse so the back and forward buttons sit nicely under your thumb. Time to snipe! To hit the sniper button I have to move my hand up and over the mouse a bit. This unsettles the mouse (made 1000% worse by build quality/design - see later) and renders the whole implementation of the sniper button useless as it induces additional unwanted movement.

(2) thumb scroll wheel. Again, located in a really silly place where I had to move my hand back and to the side a bit to afford me sufficient grip and control. I found it very uncomfortable to use. It would've been great to use it to change tabs in firefox / notepad++ / other tabbed software and maybe for weapon switching, but after a while it was obvious it just wasn't working for me. I believe my hands to be fairly average in size and shape.

(3) cyborg mode button. Again poorly placed but I could live with the button itself. After a while of using it and switching between apps / modes, you will have no idea which of the 3 "cyborg modes" you are using, but it's OK because there is a multicoloured light that indicates this to you. Oh. Unfortunately someone at Mad Catz thought that a visible indicator should be placed facing away from you so that you cannot see the light. If anyone can explain the design reasoning behind that one, I'd love to hear it!

(4) yeah I know I said 3 examples, but I have to mention the pinky rest. Great idea. Terrible design. Due to the angular nature of it I found it uncomfortable. Why not make it a smooth graduated "S" curve? Surely that'd work for many more people without causing discomfort?


DRIVERS/SOFTWARE: 100% pointless for day to day use. For the past 8 (ish) years I have always configured my mouse buttons on a per application basis i.e. a different profile for photoshop, visual studio, firefox, notepad++ etc. Problem with the R.A.T. 7 is that you have to MANUALLY switch mouse config profiles. Imagine: ALT+TAB to a different app (can't use the thumb scroll to do this, too uncomfortable!). I gotta go and MANUALLY change the mouse profile. 20 seconds later ALT+TAB back. I gotta go and change the profile again. I sometimes have more than 15 apps running at a time. The programmability of this mouse is almost 100% useless for me whilst I am working. Logitech have had this nailed for years with automatic profile switching based on current window that has focus. Unfortunately I can't tell you which version of the Mad Catz / Saitek software I was using as I have already uninstalled and they like to keep the current version number a secret when you visit their download section on their website.


BUILD QUALITY: It weighs more than most other mice and that gave me the impression that it is solid and well built. My experience though says this is not the case. Here's why...
When tightening the left side screw after adjustment, the mouse becomes unsteady and will rock about when I alter hand position on the mouse. When it rocks, the sensor detects the motion and moves accordingly. Is this a problem? Well, I need to alter hand position to hit the sniper button due to its poor placement. So when I hit the sniper button the mouse moves around by rocking. This combination of poor design / build quality makes it pointless to try and use the sniper button. Likewise when I manoeuvre my hand to use the thumb scroll I get unwanted wobbling and induced cursor movement.

BTW, the potential "FIX" for the "wobbly R.A.T. 7" problem posted here by Mad Catz Rich: He suggests pushing down in the centre of the mouse (where the rat7 logo is) whilst tightening the screw... it does not work or affect it at all. At least for me. Good effort from Mad Catz Rich for contributing on this forum - a small glimmer of hope may still exist.

All of this I found after 1 and a half days of use. I was disappointed. But I really wanted this mouse to work. It's innovative and deserves more effort. So I persevere and decide to chill and get used to its quirks & design flaws. I settled into a bit of gentle CIV V. A few hours into my CIV sesh, I zoom the view into a battle with the mouse wheel. The wheel makes an odd noise and goes into "FREE SPIN" mode. What's this? I didn't know Mad Catz had copied Logitechs free spinning mouse wheel? COOOOOOOL I really like that feature!!!! As it happens Mad Catz hadn't implemented a free spin mode. It had broke and no longer scrolls at all, just spins around making a squeaky noise. A bit like a mouse.

So my sorry experience with the R.A.T. 7 comes to a close by me desperately trying to like this mouse and using it for 2 more days (without a functioning scroll wheel). I try hard but the relationship is over. I send it back. I so wanted to avoid getting another Logitech as I have had them fail on me after a few years of use. Owning a Mad Catz R.A.T. 7 has put that into perspective for me. I've had a Logitech G700 for 2 weeks now. In my experience the G700 is superior to the R.A.T. 7 in almost every respect.

This has been the worst value mouse I have ever owned. Most of the "added value" functions of this mouse are so poorly designed and implemented as to be unusable. I really wanted this mouse to rock. As it happens, it did, but in an unwanted design flaw way rather than actually being any good.

IMO the Saitek / Mad Catz R.A.T. 7 gaming mouse has huge potential and it really is a massive shame that it has been so badly implemented. But my experience leads me to say that it's a poor mouse for gaming and when using it in my work environment, it functions like a 10 dollar mouse. If you paid 80 dollars for it, you paid 70 too much.

I realise all this sounds very negative so I'll end with all of the positives I found during my time using it:
The braided USB cord is really nice. It tracked OK on my desk when I wasn't using any buttons. I installed the drivers without any problems. I'm struggling a bit now. bye all.
 
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