Mad Catz R.A.T. M Mobile Gaming Mouse Review

Final Thoughts
I think that Mad Catz has a very solid product in the R.A.T. M gaming mouse, it’s just should it really be called a gaming mouse? I know many hardcore gamers who use a laptop as their primary gaming device and they would never use a wireless mouse. If you are more than a casual user you are going to notice the slight lag that this mouse gives you. It is something you are going to need to adjust to in your games. It would have been nice if Mad Catz gave you the ability to use the R.A.T. M as both a wireless and wired mouse. So if you were doing some gaming you could use it wired and if you were just web browsing you could use it as a wireless mouse.

Talking about gaming features the R.A.T. M is packed with them. Starting with the buttons, you have a total of 10 programmable buttons! That sure is a lot for a mouse this size. All of the buttons are easily set up in the software, but there are no profiles. So for each game I am playing I have to go back into the software and setup my mouse each time. Also the “5D” button while I do love the idea it is just too small (and I have small hands). When I was in an intense game I found it hard to correctly hit the right direction on it. I would accidently hit up instead of forward etc. This mouse is much heavier than many other mobile mice that I have used and I am sure many gamers will appreciate that. The fact that you can extend the back part of the mouse out to make it feel like you have a larger mouse is also a huge plus.

This mouse blows the socks off many other “basic usage” wireless mice that you will find. For basic tasks users will definitely appreciate all of the buttons and the quick DPI switch. I am glad that Mad Catz did include a Bluetooth Smart USB dongle because Bluetooth Smart is not backwards compatible with previous Bluetooth standards. Using the dongle is simple and the mouse will function out of the box without having to install anything.

Mad Catz claims 1 year of battery life with the two AA batteries, which obviously we cannot test, but seems believable as I used the mouse for about a day and the software said I still had 1 year left on the batteries.

I guess I just see this mouse as a mix between a gaming mouse and a mobile mouse. I mean I guess that is what Mad Catz was going for, but true gamers would not use a wireless mouse, they just wouldn’t. At the end of the day the R.A.T. M is one of the highest quality mobile mice out there and has many features gamers are going to love. This is also one of the most expensive mobile mice out there. Right now it is selling for around $114 online. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Mad Catz R.A.T. M Mobile Gaming Mouse an 8 out of 10 score.

rating8 10 small

Pros:
– Solid quality construction
– 10 programmable buttons
– Palm rest extends out
– Works out of the box
– Long battery life
– USB Bluetooth Dongle included

Cons:
– “5D” button could have been implemented better
– Hardcore gamers would not use a wireless mouse
– No profiles
– Price

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