- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Test Results
- Compared To Others
- Deals
- Discussions
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ is a unique looking mouse that has a very futuristic design. Its body is modular, meaning you can move around pieces to change its shape and size for it to better fit inside your hand. This design makes it pretty much universal for small to extra large hands, regardless of your grip. Its wired click latency, although higher than some other mice, and many customizable buttons make it a good gaming mouse.
Our Verdict
Very good for the office. Although it has a unique design that might too futuristic for an office, this mouse has excellent ergonomics thanks to its modular design that lets you customize the mouse's size and shape for it to fit your hand. It also has plenty of customizable buttons.
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Customizable shape and size.
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Universal for all hand sizes and grips.
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Excellent build quality.
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No left-handed variant.
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Not travel-friendly.
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Rigid cable.
Decent for FPS games. Its click latency is decent, but it's a very heavy mouse. On the upside, its performance is excellent and quite customizable to your preference. The mouse is also modular, meaning everyone should find a configuration that suits their hand for optimal control.
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Customizable shape and size.
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Universal for all hand sizes and grips.
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Excellent build quality.
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No left-handed variant.
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Not travel-friendly.
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Rigid cable.
Excellent for video games like MMOs. The mouse has plenty of programmable buttons, which is great for quick casting abilities. The mouse's modular body is great as you can change its shape and size to your preference, to feel comfortable.
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Customizable shape and size.
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Universal for all hand sizes and grips.
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Excellent build quality.
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No left-handed variant.
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Not travel-friendly.
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Rigid cable.
This mouse is pretty heavy and isn't really an option for ultra-light gaming. There are ways to reduce the mouse's weight, but it still won't be comparable to ultra-light gaming mice.
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Customizable shape and size.
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Universal for all hand sizes and grips.
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Excellent build quality.
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No left-handed variant.
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Not travel-friendly.
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Rigid cable.
Not suitable for traveling. It's an always-wired mouse that's big and hard to carry around.
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Customizable shape and size.
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Universal for all hand sizes and grips.
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Excellent build quality.
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No left-handed variant.
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Not travel-friendly.
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Rigid cable.
- 7.5 Office/Multimedia
- 7.1 Video Games (FPS)
- 8.1 Video Games (MMO)
- 5.6 Ultra-Light Gaming
- 5.1 Travel
- Updated Oct 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Dec 20, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.1.
- Updated Dec 11, 2019: Review published.
Test Results
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ has a very unique and futuristic look. The mouse looks modular and allows tons of customization options since you can change its shape and size. It also has RGB lighting that you can set inside its software.
This always-wired mouse is pretty big, which makes it harder to travel with. Also, we measured the Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ at its smallest configuration, meaning that it can get significantly bigger than this, too. This won't matter for people who are looking for a desktop mouse to use at home.
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ is pretty heavy, even when taking out the three optional weights that can be added. Even when stripping down the mouse from the palm rest and grips, it's still too heavy for lightweight gaming.
Although the mouse looks a bit weird and unique, it's built like a tank. The main frame is made out of metal with metal screws. The covering is made of plastic but still feels very well-built. However, due to the modular design, there could be potential longevity problems, but right out-of-the-box, it feels very sturdy. There are no squeaking or wobbling parts.
Thanks to the very large range of sizes and shapes you can give to the mouse, the Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+'s ergonomics are excellent. You're more than likely going to find a way to modify the mouse for it to fit your hand. However, there isn't a left-handed variant available.
Nobody should have any issues using the Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ with a palm grip.
Nobody should have any issues using the Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ with a claw grip.
Nobody should have any issues using the Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ with a fingertip grip, although it might be easier if you completely remove the back panel where your palm would rest.
This is a wired-only mouse that can't be used wirelessly. For a very similar mouse that you can use wirelessly, have a look at the Mad Catz R.A.T. DWS. For a wireless mouse with a different design, check out the Logitech G703 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Mouse with HERO Sensor.
The cable is just okay. It keeps a few kinks from the way it's stored in the box, which is annoying. It's fairly rigid, but less inconvenient than Razer's cables.
- Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ mouse
- 2 extra palm rest panels
- 1 side grip panel
- 1 side panel with pinky finger rest
You might off-center the sensor a bit if you drastically change mouse's shape and size configuration. If you're interested in a mouse with a similar aesthetic and overall performance, but with a maximum advertised polling rate of 8000Hz, check out the EVGA X17.
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ has plenty of customizable buttons, but the left click and profile switching buttons aren't. On the upside, you can even reprogram every scrolling direction on both mouse wheels.
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ has a vertical and a horizontal wheel, and both of them offer good feedback thanks to their incremented design. You can also remap the scrolling to whatever you want inside the software.
For a wired gaming mouse, the click latency is slightly higher, but this won't cause any issues for most players.
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ Software offers plenty of customization options. You can set your RGB profiles on three different lighting zones and remap all the mouse's buttons to your preferences. This mouse also has onboard memory, meaning you'll be able to plug it into another computer and keep your settings. However, this customization won't be available on macOS.
Amazing mouse compatibility, as out of the box, all the buttons work on both Windows and macOS with their default bindings. However, you can't customize those on macOS, since the software isn't available on that platform.
Compared To Other Mice
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ is a gaming mouse with a very unique design. It has many modular pieces, which make its shape and body customizable to suit your hand, regardless of its size and your grip. It also has a frame made out of metal, giving it a very high-end feel. However, its wired latency is a bit higher than most wired gaming mice, but most people won't notice it. Also see our recommendations for the best mouse for MMOs, the best wired mouse, and the best gaming mouse.
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ is slightly better than the Glorious Model D. The Mad Catz is better suited for people with small hands using the claw or fingertip grips. It also has a better-performing sensor and has many more programmable buttons. However, the Glorious is lighter and has lower click latency.
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ is slightly better than the Logitech G502 HERO. The Mad Catz is designed for any hand size with any grip type, it has less CPI variation, and it has a slightly wider CPI range. However, the Logitech has lower click latency, it has vertical wheel tilt, and it's fully compatible with macOS.
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ and the Mad Catz R.A.T. DWS are more premium models in the R.A.T. lineup, but the DWS is the only wireless model. The 8+ is lighter, and it has a lower minimum CPI, and you can adjust the set CPI more precisely in increments of 50 instead of the DWS' 100. Also, its maximum polling rate is higher. On the other hand, you can use the DWS over a USB receiver or Bluetooth, and its click latency over the receiver is lower than the 8+'s wired latency. Both come with interchangeable parts to modify the feel and look of the mouse, making them suitable for all hand sizes regardless of grip type.
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 4+ is a mid-range entry in Mad Catz's R.A.T. lineup, while the Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ is a more premium model. The R.A.T. 4+ is significantly lighter and has a slightly more flexible cable. It also has mouse feet that glide a bit more smoothly. On the other hand, the R.A.T. 8+ Feels sturdier and has several interchangeable pieces that alter the look and feel of the mouse. It also has two additional side buttons and a thumb wheel. Performance-wise, it has a much wider CPI range and a lower click latency. Both mice are universally suitable for all hand sizes using any grip type.
The Razer Viper Ultimate is much better than the Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+. Despite being a wireless mouse, the Razer has much lower click latency. It also has an ambidextrous design, and it's lighter. However, the Mad Catz has less CPI variation, and it has an extra programmable button.
The Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+ and the Razer DeathAdder V2 are two similar-performing mice. The Mad Catz has an extra programmable button, it's better-built, and it's suited for any grip with any hand size. However, the Razer has much lower click latency, and it's much lighter.