Cyborg R.A.T. 7 Review

Cyborg R.A.T. 7 Review

Manufacturer: Cyborg
UK Price (as reviewed): £68.80 (inc VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $79.99 (ex tax)

The R.A.T. series of mice has raised a few eyebrows with its odd shape, but it wasn’t until we saw the R.A.T. 7 – the most extravagant of the range – that we understood why it looks so odd. The surface is split into four areas, with three of these (the areas for your thumb, palm and little finger) being removable.

The thumb area and palm rest are fully adjustable, and the palm rest slides back and forth to suit your grasp. The thumb area pivots outwards from the front and can also be moved backwards and forwards.


The hex tool under the palm rest is used for the majority of the adjustments. The mouse also has detachable weights, but even with all of these removed, it was too heavy for our liking. Cyborg also includes two extra palm rests of different heights and materials.

There are two additional rests for your little finger, one of which raises your finger off the desk completely. After tweaking away to our heart’s content, we were surprised to find that the R.A.T. 7 wasn’t too ungainly in our hands, though it wasn’t nearly as snug as the CM Storm Inferno.

Button-wise, you couldn’t ask for more. There’s sensitivity adjustment behind the scroll wheel, with an additional thumb scroll near the two thumb buttons. In front of these is a mode button for toggling between three button-assignment profiles and a red button that switches to a pre-defined sensitivity. This could, for example, be used to switch to low sensitivity while sniping without the need to shift through a range of sensitivities first.


The configurator allows you to adjust the sensitivity of up to four profiles between 100 and 5,600dpi on both the X and Y axis. The USB polling rate dynamically ranges up to 1,000Hz, while the laser sensor features ‘twin eyes’, which Cyborg claims enhances accuracy.

After extended use, however, we still couldn’t get used to the R.A.T. 7’s odd shape. Even with the small palm rest, we found this part too high. The sensitivity adjuster was too difficult to depress for use in fast situations, and while the red button quickly lowered the sensitivity, it required too much force, which upset our delicate headshot skills.

More worryingly, there were issues with the sensitivity settings in several games. In Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the mouse was impossibly fast in the menus and while using the scope, yet when we were just walking around in the game, it was too slow. We tried another mouse, but this issue only occurred with the R.A.T. 7.

Conclusion

Sensitivity issues aside, the R.A.T. 7 is something we’ve been anticipating for a while. The adjustable construction – particularly around the thumb and little finger areas – is great in theory, as everyone holds a mouse differently. We can see people having endless fun adjusting the mouse to best suit their grip.

However, the R.A.T. 7 is excessively heavy and not very comfortable, despite the customisation options. Add to that the high price tag and tracking issues, and we’ll stick with the CM Storm Inferno or Razer Imperator.

• Design
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 5/10

• Features
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• 9/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
• -
• 5/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

Score Guide

Specifications

• Connection Wired, braided
  
• Material Metal chassis, plastic outer
  
• Buttons 7, scroll wheel, thumb scroll wheel
  
• Sensitivity 100 – 5,600 dpi
  
• Extras Alternative palm rest and little finger rests, movable casing sections