Back in January at CES, Mad Catz showed off the R.A.T. Pro X gaming mouse, a device with modular features that allowed the user to change various parts such as the scroll wheel, sensor, and even the side grips. Ten months later, the company is back with another modular mouse, the R.A.T. 1, but unlike the Pro X version, the customization options on the new mouse are more limited.
The ambidextrous mouse can be split into three parts: the palm rest, tripod chassis, and sensor module. The tripod foundation serves as extra grip for your thumb and pinky, but it can also hold the sensor module and the palm rest in place. Speaking of the palm rest, it's actually detached from the mouse, with its placeholder on the tripod. You can adjust it to one of two positions.
As for the sensor module, which has a range of 250 to 3500 DPI, it can be used without either the palm rest or chassis as a small laptop mouse.
At some point in the future, Mad Catz will provide more options for each component such as other sensor modules with different DPI ranges, various colors for the chassis, and even the 3D CAD files for the palm rest so you can customize it in the software and then print your own version with a 3D printer (that is, if you have access to a 3D printer).
No specific release date has been set for the R.A.T. 1, but Mad Catz assured customers that it will be out sometime this holiday with a price tag of $29.99.
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Rexly Peñaflorida II is a Contributor at Tom’s Hardware. He writes news on tech and hardware, but mostly focuses on gaming news. As a Chicagoan, he believes that deep dish pizza is real pizza and ketchup should never be on hot dogs. Ever. Also, Portillo’s is amazing.
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