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After six years, Mad Catz will give its ‘RAT’ lineup of PC gaming mice a new face-lift

Kevin Parrish
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mad catz rat pc gaming mice upgrade pro x
Peripheral maker Mad Catz announced Tuesday that the RAT gaming mouse series will be on the receiving end of an upgrade. Not only has the company thrown out all the periods in the RAT name, but made the new models highly adjustable, enabling users to modify the overall size to correctly fit their hand and grip style (palm, claw, or fingertip). For example, owners of the new RAT1 will be able to adjust the palm rest, while owners of the RAT PRO X+ can customize almost every aspect of the peripheral, tweaking it to “near personal perfection.”

The original line of RAT PC gaming mice from Mad Catz made its debut back in 2010. The updated RAT line will include the RAT1, the RAT4, the RAT6, the RAT8, the RAT PRO S+, and the RAT PRO X+. All six peripherals will be wired while only two will be based on a laser sensor. Naturally, the RAT1 will be the base model, sporting a maximum DPI of 1,600, six macro buttons, one lighting zone featuring a single color, an optical sensor, a main button life of five million clicks, and a chassis based on plastic.

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The RAT4 will be the next step up offering similar features, but with a main button life of 20 million clicks, nine macro buttons, a maximum DPI of 5,000, and three lighting zones with a single color. The latter four models will sport RGB illumination across the three zones, allowing owners to select from up to 16.8 million colors variations and apply them across all lighted areas. There will be cool lighting effects as well to impress your console friends including Rainbow, Breathe, Beat, Cycle, and Solid.

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“Newly-installed sensors and button configurations contribute to the feel of each mouse in the user’s hand and how the mouse reacts and performs to user commands,” the company said. “Regardless of the genre or style of play, the new FLUX Software Interface can be used to quickly and intuitively tune all aspects of the sensor, macro buttons, and RGB LEDs to meet each user’s unique needs.”

The company’s FLUX software is free to download and use, allowing PC gamers to create and edit an unlimited number of profiles for every game and desktop software. Customers can also use this tool to tweak the peripheral’s lift-off height and USB report rate, assign buttons, play around with the colors, and more. There will actually be a dedicated button on the mice for increasing and decreasing the speed of the sensor without the need to load up the Mad Catz software.

Mad Catz RAT Mice

A comparison chart provided by Mad Catz shows that the base model will feature only one profile slot whereas the next four in line will provide three. The flagship model in this series, the RAT PRO X+, will provide nine profile slots along with a maximum DPI of 12,000, ten macro buttons, a main button life of 50 million clicks, a laser sensor (there seems to be an optical model too), and a chassis made out of magnesium. This model will seemingly include everything that Mad Catz has to offer save for an adjustable weight, a feature saved for the RAT6 and RAT8.

The updated line of RAT mice for PC gamers is expected to arrive around October 17, 2016, just in time for the holiday season. The RAT1 will cost a mere $30 whereas the RAT4 will cost $60, the RAT 6 will cost $80, and the RAT 8 will cost $100. As the links show, these can be pre-ordered now whereas the RAT PRO S+ and the RAT PRO X+ are currently listed as “coming soon.”

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