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One of my colleagues who uses a palm grip, however, could comfortably reach it with her fingertip grip. But using it didn't always go smoothly. Sometimes she'd miss the thumb wheel if not looking at it directly, and other times she'd accidentally hit the left mouse button while trying to spin the unfortunately located wheel. For power, the R.A.T. DWS uses a AA battery, which you insert into a semi-hidden tube in the mouse's base. According to Mad Catz, a single cell should supply 200 hours of play time when using 2.4GHz WiFi, and up to 300 hours when using Bluetooth. Those are strong numbers, even among cell-powered mice that tend to get more than one hundred hours of battery life per charge. Despite the RAT DWS’ rather marvellous battery life of 200 hours through the receiver and 300 hours via Bluetooth, there’s no ability to recharge. This is largely thanks to the power source of the RAT DWS being an included AA battery. This cheapens the look and feel of the mouse, especially given that the rest of the competition is rechargeable. Software and Lighting – Great for one side of the story The shape also adds weight. At 4.80 ounces, the R.A.T. DWS is among the heaviest mice I’ve reviewed. That isn’t necessarily a problem, but it indicates that the design favors extra inputs and customization over competitive performance. This may not be your preferred esports mouse.
The RAT DWS isn’t available anywhere on UK shores right now, with a launch expected in the coming weeks. It’s a fun, relatively successful way to give you more choice in how to use your mouse. If gaming mice are defined by their enhanced configuration options, modular hardware is about as hardcore as it gets. Fortunately, removing and replacing the panels is easy, so you don't need technical know-how to do it.The R.A.T. DWS connects to your PC via Bluetooth or 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. Bluetooth uses less power, but introduces additional latency. In general, I prefer the 2.4GHz connection for gaming, as it tends to be more stable and, on occasion, more responsive. Thankfully, the R.A.T. DWS includes onboard dongle storage; there’s a spring-loaded slot on the underside of the mouse that holds it snugly in place. Related Story IOGEAR KVM Roundup Review: IOGear 2-port full HD KVM with HDMI/USB connections; 2-port 4K KVM with HDMI, USB, & KeyMander Nexus! Do You Need A KVM In 2023? In theory, the R.A.T. Air's Wireless Activation Board means you can game wirelessly forever, so long as the mouse pad is plugged in. And while you could also stay charged forever by using a Qi wireless charging mouse and mouse pad, that's not a cheap endeavor either. So, the first thing you'll likely notice is what at first appear to be three wheels. There are only two, the one at the very base of your palm is actually a system that lets you increase or decrease the weight of the mouse. The other two are actual wheels, scroll wheels to be precise. You heard me right, two. So there's the regular scroll wheel in the middle of the two buttons, the second is a side-scroll wheel so awkwardly placed that I keep getting cramp in my palm & thumb.
When looking at this, I'm very much reminded of the Tetsuya Nomura version of Batman or the Darksiders designs from Joe Madureira ( War, to be precise). That is to say that the Mad Catz R.A.T. 6+ is over-designed. I don't doubt that to somebody, somewhere, it looks great. Just not to me. There are too many details on the details and at first glance, it barely even looks like a mouse - unless it's a mouse slowly turning into its true transformer form? Gamers are going to want to use the 2.4Ghz connection over the Bluetooth, though. The Bluetooth connection is kinder to the battery life of the R.A.T. DWS, with up to 300 hours possible on a single AA battery, while the 2.4GHz connection means you only get up to 200 hours instead. However, the 2.4Ghz is more precise and stable. The old Mad Catz was primarily known for 'good enough' game controllers in recent years. Most people probably didn't choose to use them over a first-party controller, but the controllers did what was expected of them. But despite a high price and busy design, the R.A.T. Air failed in some of its most basic functionality when running wirelessly.
With the RAT DWS being exclusively wireless, it’s great for those gamers who just want a bit more freedom, even if that comes at the cost of it being powered by one AA battery.
Using the scroll wheel on the R.A.T. Air was a lesson in frustration as well. Sometimes it scrolled too much, which left me cycling through weapons like a fool, and at other times it wouldn't scroll enough. I was never able to find the sweet spot where I could reliably use the scroll wheel to switch between weapons (or, you know, browse the web) on the first try. Kowloon, Hong Kong – Jan 11, 2021 - Mad Catz Global Limited, the leading innovators in gaming hardware, are excited to announce a new gaming mouse, the B.A.T. 6+. Combining the elements of fast and powerful design, the truly ambidextrous gaming mouse offers the ultimate customizability and comfort, allowing every gamer to swap the side skirts and palm rests at will under each circumstance. Equipped with a high-end 16K DPI sensor and the 2ms response time of the DAKOTA™ switch, B.A.T. 6+ makes you become the mobile armory. The R.A.T. DWS' dual connectivity options are also welcome, as too the neat design touch where the mouse's WiFi dongle can be stored and transported in the bottom of the mouse itself.None of that is great. Neither is the fact that loading the EXE prompts Windows 10 to warn that it's from an unverified developer -- a warning I haven't received when launching any other manufacturer's software companion for the first time. Next, a Mad Catz logo appears on screen for what feels like forever before the software actually becomes usable. MadCatz’s offering is certainly simplistic by comparison to that of Logitech and Razer, but that doesn’t mean that the company is unable to provide any less functionality. Moreover, the four on-board profiles means you’re hardly limited by the scope of customisation possible. When it comes to wireless connection, the RAT DWS provides you with two flavours: Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz wireless through the included USB-A receiver. Switching between the two connections is seamless thanks to a little switch on the mouse’s underside, and it means that the RAT DWS can also be a nice little mouse for productivity too.
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