Mad Catz is back! After the veteran peripheral manufacturer had to go into insolvency in April 2017, the company returned under new management in January 2018. In November 2018 some old products were reissued and since then Mad Catz is back to normal operation. Today, we want to take a look at one of these new editions in a test: The RAT 4+, an improved edition of the RAT 4.
It combines a Pixart PMW3330 (7,200 DPI) with an adjustable mouse back, a red LED light and six additional buttons. At the time of testing, the RAT 4+ costs around 50 Euros, currently the price is € 59.99 *.
Compared to its predecessor, the RAT 4+ has a better sensor and a slightly lower price. The following test will show whether this is enough to make the RAT 4+ a successful product, and how the mouse performs in practice.
Scope of delivery
As usual with mice, the accessories of the RAT 4+ are kept sparing: Apart from the mouse itself, there is a short product overview, the usual warranty information explaining the two-year manufacturer’s warranty, and six stickers with the manufacturer’s logo.
Design and workmanship
As usual from Mad Catz, the RAT 4+ also relies on an open, futuristic design. The reason for this is the multi-part construction: The two lateral finger rests and the back of the mouse are each separate plastic parts that are held in position by pins and screws or a hook mechanism. As a visual extra, two twisted rods can be seen between the finger rests and the back segment, which, contrary to the optical first impression, are made of plastic and not metal.
The RAT 4+ uses black plastic in a matt and a glossy version for the outer housing. The inner body, on the other hand, consists entirely of translucent plastic through which the lighting can be seen. The combination of materials chosen by Mad Catz is comfortable to hold in the hand, nothing to criticise. The use of high-gloss elements has solved Mad Catz’s problem very well: fingerprints on the glossy areas can be seen on closer inspection, but otherwise they are hardly noticeable. The RAT 4+ does not need to be polished more often than matt mice.
The mouse is ergonomically designed for right-handed use: This is ensured by the appropriately shaped side rests and the additional buttons on one side. The latter are installed in large numbers: In addition to the usual two additional keys for the back and forward function, there is a sniper key under the thumb, two DPI keys behind the mouse wheel and a separate profile key next to the left mouse button. Thus, the mouse is lavishly equipped with the buttons, only the obligatory advertising with buttons from Omron is missing. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad sign, as many other companies also build reliable switches. Merely the clicks, which the two main mouse buttons are supposed to withstand, should have been a bit higher than the stated 10 million.
The RAT 4+ scores almost flawlessly in terms of workmanship: the individual case parts are flawlessly finished and neatly connected to each other. But the minimal room to move of the mouse back when it is pulled out far is worth mentioning. This doesn’t bother us during use, though: We never had the feeling that any part of the mouse was unstable – and the easy movement was never noticeable during use.
Practice
The RAT 4+ uses the well-known PMW3330 sensor from Pixart. This offers a maximum resolution of 50 to 7,200 DPI, which can be set to an accuracy of 50 DPI. Mad Catz also makes full use of this possibility with the mouse.
| Sensor: | Pixart PMW3330 |
| DPI span: | 50-7.200 DPI |
| Step size: | 50 DPI |
| Max. Speed: | 150 IPS |
| Max. acceleration: | 30 g |
The choice of the PMW3330 is, due to its technical specifications, rather unusual in the price range of the RAT 4+: here, the PMW3360 with a maximum of 12,000 DPI is actually widely used, which has the better characteristics in many, if not all points. If you make extremely high demands on the sensor, you are unfortunately wrong with the RAT 4+, but for most applications the PMW3330 installed here is completely sufficient. It transmits movements precisely and without significant inaccuracies.
Mad Catz offers an unusual package when it comes to ergonomics: The back of the mouse can be shifted back by up to 20 millimeters in five steps, giving the mouse a variable length. This results in a very flexible design that can be adapted to the different grip techniques and then becomes very comfortable. Unfortunately, the ergonomics of the RAT 4+ is not perfect in all points, because with large hands (~over 19 cm from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger) you increasingly run out of space on the lateral finger rest. Apart from that, the mouse, with its comfortable support surfaces and adjustable mouse back, is convincing in terms of ergonomics.
At this point it is astonishing that Mad Catz fails to advertise with a further adjustment of the RAT 4+: Since the right side panel in particular can be easily removed, an adaptation by means of a 3D printer is conceivable. Offering optional side parts as accessories would have been another nice option to make the mouse unrivalled in terms of ergonomics.
The RAT 4+ delivers a solid picture when it comes to the implementation of the buttons: they are consistently easy to reach and offer a pleasant pressure point almost without exception. We would only exclude the DPI rocker behind the mouse wheel from this: The button can also be released precisely here, but the feeling of pressure is somewhat clouded by the slippery material of the cover. However, the mouse is also successful in this point due to the lavish button configuration and the sensible placement – at least if you can see a benefit for the respective additional keys.
Software and lighting
Mad Catz offers the so-called Flux Interface for the configuration of the RAT 4+. The software can be registered quickly and without any obligation to register. The program start takes a few seconds, after which the modern UI reacts quickly and without problems. The only point of criticism here is that the German translation is not the best – but the program can quickly be switched to English.
The software covers the usual range of functions: the various keys can be assigned multimedia functions, keystrokes or macros by drag-and-drop, which works quickly and easily. The macro function records a good 50 characters with time recording and over 100 characters without time recording, which means that all the usual functions are completely covered.
Mad Catz also offers the usual package for sensor and mouse settings: You can adjust the polling rate and DPI values as well as activate an optional angle snapping. However, this works quite aggressively.
The mouse has internal memory and can be used without the software after a single configuration without losing its settings. In addition, the RAT 4+ can accommodate four profiles, which can be changed using the button next to the left mouse button. The current profile is indicated by an LED installed there, while the current DPI level is visualized by four red LEDs. Mad Catz provides a simple, good solution here as well.
However, the manufacturer has to accept criticism for the illumination of the mouse: The software offers a few common effects here, but the illumination of the RAT 4+ is only monochrome red. Of course, there are numerous users who avoid the RGB hype as much as possible, but still the mouse lacks a feature that is actually absolutely standard in current gaming mice. But the lack of this feature is not really dramatic – everyone has to decide for themselves whether they can live with only red lighting.
Sumething
With the RAT 4+, Mad Catz delivers an extremely unusual combination. For the price of current € 59.99 * you get a mouse that uses many well-placed buttons and an adjustable mouse back. Both points help the device to stand out from the crowd. This is further enhanced by the open, futuristic design, which is likely to find both fans and opponents.
With these features the RAT 4+ distances itself from many other mice on the market. However, there are also unusual decisions to be made with regard to the technology used: namely the omission of Omron buttons, RGB lighting and a high-resolution sensor. The lighting is a matter of taste, the difference between the PMW3360 and PMW3330 should not be noticed by many non-competitive users, and the buttons offer crisp, pleasant pressure points even without the Omron brand label.
Whether the RAT 4+ is suitable for you would be determined by a few points. If you need RGB lighting or extremely high DPI numbers, you are wrong with this mouse and should look around at the competition or the RAT 6+. But if you can live with the sensor and the red illumination, you certainly won’t make a mistake with the RAT 4+: The additional keys are well placed and useful, and the adjustable mouse back brings plus points in ergonomics.
Mad Catz R.A.T. 4+
Workmanship
Features
Ergonomics
Software
Value for money
82/100
The Mad Catz RAT 4+ is an unusual mix, which combines clear strengths but also some points of attack.
