I recently got my hands on a Cyborg R.A.T. 9 mouse by MAD CATZ, and was curious to see what this unique pointing device would be like to use, and how it would look on my desk. When I opened the box, I literally exclaimed out loud: RAD! This is one cool looking mouse. I want you all to see it; so here are some pictures I took:
The MAD CATZ Cyborg R.A.T. 9 Gaming Mouse is a work of art – (click to enlarge)
During the photo shoot, I started to see and appreciate some fine-points of the industrial design. The designers at MAD CATZ gave it a sleek, fast and mean appearance; I expected it to drive off the table. But how would this mouse work when I plugged it in? I was about to find out!
The charging dock plugs in via USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 – weight storage (top), battery charger (bottom) – (click to enlarge)
The design theme extends seamlessly through to the dock. It’s a wireless mouse and the dock looks fast. There’s a storage compartment for the extra weights (this mouse features adjustable mass!) and a battery charger as well. I love the idea of keeping one rechargeable battery in the wireless module and one in the mouse. That way, you never have to worry about losing your mouse during a pitched battle.
They charge the battery before leaving the factory so my RAT worked right out of the box. It has turned out to be a GREAT conversation piece.
Here are a few of the design features that I like/use with this mouse:
- Thumb buttons: forward/back (gray buttons), “precision aim mode” (red button)
- DPI mode button (behind wheel) – controls pointing accuracy and speed
- Ergonomic adjustments – including extending palm rest
Form meets function: The Cyborg R.A.T. 9 works great and looks great – (click to enlarge)
The number of features and design details incorporated into this mouse is extensive. With several modes that include custom programmable functions (switchable via dedicated button), swappable plates and panels, and software configuration options, you can plan on spending a while getting familiar with and mastering the capabilities of this mouse.
Here’s some of the specs for the R.A.T. 9 mouse:
- DPI: 6400
- 6 programmable buttons
- Twin-eye laser sensor with separate measurements for X and Y axes
- Acceleration: 50G
- Polling rate: 1000Hz
- Tracking speed: up to 6m/sec
- USB interface: USB 2.0
The RAT’s precision aiming mode is great for gaming; but I discovered it’s also great for traversing giant multi-mon screens (like this one) and also having the ability to perform precision (low-speed, high accuracy) pointing. Having the ability to instantly toggle between high-speed and precision pointing is a killer capability.
I’ll have to admit- my favorite thing to do with this mouse is look at it- it’s gorgeous!
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