JM—February 10, 2017
I'm very pleased with this mouse. I've been a razor customer since mice used balls and recently I was not happy with the quality of their products. I thought I'd give Mad Catz a shot and I'm glad I did. The sensor is phenomenal. The customization options are very nice and the build quality is great. Pros: - Build Quality from mouse to cord is very good - Customization for the hardware is great - The RGB Lighting scheme is perfect (nobody gets a good orange glow correct ... too yellow... but not a show stopper) - Changing profiles is easy but you'll never hit the rocker buttons by mistake - Changing to the 1 though 4 dpi settings per profiles is great but not possible to hit by mistake - The sniper button (a red round button on the forward part of the thumb rest) allows you to switch to a dpi you specify, default is 100 dpi. Boom - headshot! - Change to any 4 profiles with a simple click. This button is impossible to hit by mistake. - The mouse is heavy, which I like. The smooth feet allow it to glide easily. The mouse starts off at a heavy 145g and goes up to 163g with the added weights. See cons. - The mouse is not small, but can be made to fit very wide hands/grips. Cons: - Only 4 profiles can be saved. More then enough for me, but maybe not enough for someone else. Just thought I'd add it. - Its very heavy. People that pickup their mouse a lot to re-position it might find it too heavy. See above as it's a pro if you like heavy for exact weight(s). - The palm rest is adjustable but not height wise - only length. I'd love an option to adjust its height and tilt. That would make it perfect. Read more
Kevin—October 24, 2016
TLDR: This mouse is awesome. Buy it. Pros: -Customizable in ways I didn't even know were possible -Comfortable -RGB lighting -Decent price -Reliable materials Cons: -Profiling software is clunkier than the last generation's. Not a huge fan of it, but it's not a dealbreaker. I preordered this, as my old RAT 5 has been faithfully by my side for many years now, and is about ready for retirement. I paid about $70 for that (wasn't on Amazon), and I have to say this RAT 8 is an absolute steal compared to that. Out of the box, I got the mouse (obviously), plus an actually helpful quick start guide, 2 spare palm rests, and 2 spare pinkie rests. One of the palm rests is completely bare, just like the old style of RAT. The other rest has textured rubber, which is super helpful if you game with a palm grip and need extra control. One of the pinkie rests is textured rubber as well. The other pinkie rest is actually very wide, with almost a ramp-like slope at the back. Since your hand realistically sits above the mouse, your pinkie rests on the downward slope of the ramp, proving to be surprisingly comfortable. The cord is a bit longer than previous generations as well, leaving a decent amount of extra. I've only had it out of the box for about an hour or two, but I have to say I'm very excited to start using this. I'm confident it will be able to last as long as my old one. Read more
GimpDaddyRob—November 18, 2016
As an avid PC gamer I am all about hardware. I am constantly upgrading and tweaking my gear to improve my competitive advantage online. I was always a fan of Logitech or Corsair mice, and my last purchased mouse was an M-65. I liked it, but it always felt small in my hand, and seemed somewhat jumpy and jittery at higher DPI settings. I did some research and discovered the R.A.T. series, and a friend had a R.A.T. 5 I could borrow to help me make up my mind. After using the R.A.T. 5 for a week I ordered the RAT 8 and waited for delivery. The R.A.T. 5 was a huge improvement over the M-65 for me. Being able to adjust it to fit my hand was great and it was super smooth at all DPI settings. My friend had removed all but one weight when he brought it over so I didn't get a chance to test different configurations. But I was sold. I could see an instant improvement during online games. When the RAT 8 arrived I was excited. Unboxing was straight forward, cut the tape tabs and slide it out. I was a little surprised that it didn't come with a bag or box to store spare parts, but I actually have a tin for the extras that came with my headset and keyboard so they will all live together now. Just as with the R.A.T. 5 the build quality is excellent! The adjustments on the thumb rest make it fit my hand even better than the R.A.T. 5. I also installed the large pinky rest and I have to say its like a Lazy Boy recliner for your finger. I tried the 2 extra palm rests that came with it and decided the one that came on it felt best. The other 2 were slightly taller and changed my grip from a palm to a claw so I just reverted it back. I had read a review that said the new RAT's felt cheap and plasticy but I would have to disagree. Yes there is a lot of plastic but the quality of it is great and the aluminum frame holds everything securely. Oh, and lets not forget the RGB led's that you can change to suit your tastes. Now there are a couple things that I didn't like. Not a fan of the red accents they added, but it doesn't change how well it works so I can totally live with them. Also they went from an all matte finish on the mouse body to a shiny finish in some places. Again it has no effect on how well it works so I'm ok, but I liked the utilitarian look of the R.A.T.5 with its silver trim. The Flux software gets the job done, but its not as user friendly as some might need. Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of things you can do with it but some might find it less than intuitive, especially if you have never used anything like it before. I had the basics figured out in a couple minutes. Final word: I look forward to many years of noob slaying with my new rodent friend. Mad Catz has another customer for life! Read more
