Razer Orochi vs. Mad Catz RAT M

[James Devenberg]

I'm looking to get a bluetooth mouse. I don't want to have to use a dongle. Initially, I was pretty set on the Razer Orochi, which can be had for $60, signifigantly less the the RAT M's $125ish asking price. However, Amazon has the glossy black RAT M on sale for $86, and I think the button layout of the RAT M (with its thumb stic and index finger button) look superior to the Orochi (really unsure about using my pinkie for two of the four assignable buttons). However, no one near me even carries the RAT M, much less has a display of it, and the only store near me that carries the Orochi doesn't have a demo model (though they have demo models of every single other Razer product they carry). Has anyone owned/used/seen both of the mice to offer some insight into if the RAT M is worth the extra $26? Are the pinkie buttons on the Orochi pretty easy to use, or should I view it as though it only has two programable buttons? I prefer the look of the Orochi and haven't had luck with Mad Catz prodcts in the past, but they seem like they have really upped their game in the last few years. Any input would be greatly appiciated.

 

[gopher1369]

I have the Orochi for the exact same reason - no dongle. I can'tt help with the RAT M but my opinion on the Orochi:

It's small. It's specifically designed to be small and portable, this is on purpose. I have big hands and it means it's not comfortable for extended sessions. An hour gaming online, fine, no problem. But I certainly wouldn't want to use it for an 8 hour working day.

The fact it's both wired and wireless is brilliant. I find this very useful. Bluetooth has lag, there is no way around this. If I'm playing an FPS I'll plug the mouse in with the supplied micro USB cable and this eliminates lag. If I'm just going on the internet I leave it on wireless/Bluetooth.

Battery life is excellent, months inbetween swapping out batteries. I particularly love the fact it uses standard AA batteries.

The sensor is very responsive, no problems with it. As you'd expect at this price.

The 2 buttons on the right hand side of the mouse are not easily accessible. You have 5 easy to reach buttons and the 2 on the right I tend to map things like "Open Map" and "open inventory" to. I can press these 2 buttons easily enough with my little finger, but they do not fall directly under my finger, there is some reaching to get to them.

The mouse goes to sleep after 2-3 seconds if inactivity when in Bluetoth mode. This is to save battery. When you move the mouse it takes a tiny fraction of a second to wake up and reconnect to the Bluetooth. You get used to it, but it can be annoying when the mouse pointer doesn't move for a bit then suddenly jumps to life.


Hope this helps. Any other questions, let me know.

 

[James Devenberg]

I have the Orochi for the exact same reason - no dongle. I can'tt help with the RAT M but my opinion on the Orochi:

It's small. It's specifically designed to be small and portable, this is on purpose. I have big hands and it means it's not comfortable for extended sessions. An hour gaming online, fine, no problem. But I certainly wouldn't want to use it for an 8 hour working day.

The fact it's both wired and wireless is brilliant. I find this very useful. Bluetooth has lag, there is no way around this. If I'm playing an FPS I'll plug the mouse in with the supplied micro USB cable and this eliminates lag. If I'm just going on the internet I leave it on wireless/Bluetooth.

Battery life is excellent, months inbetween swapping out batteries. I particularly love the fact it uses standard AA batteries.

The sensor is very responsive, no problems with it. As you'd expect at this price.

The 2 buttons on the right hand side of the mouse are not easily accessible. You have 5 easy to reach buttons and the 2 on the right I tend to map things like "Open Map" and "open inventory" to. I can press these 2 buttons easily enough with my little finger, but they do not fall directly under my finger, there is some reaching to get to them.

The mouse goes to sleep after 2-3 seconds if inactivity when in Bluetoth mode. This is to save battery. When you move the mouse it takes a tiny fraction of a second to wake up and reconnect to the Bluetooth. You get used to it, but it can be annoying when the mouse pointer doesn't move for a bit then suddenly jumps to life.


Hope this helps. Any other questions, let me know.

Is the sleep time adjustable in Synapse?

 

[gopher1369]

Is the sleep time adjustable in Synapse?

Nope, which why I mentioned it as a problem. It's strange because a lot of Orochi users asked for this on the Razer forums and presumably a simply firmware update could fix this. But nope. Read this thread, which has some good information (particularly the last post):

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1635974


Of course it's very possible the RAT M will suffer the same problem, this is a Bluetooth issue. You'd need to research this though.

 

[gopher1369]

For the record, on the box it does say something like "wired gaming mouse, also with Bluetooth wireless mode".

 

[James Devenberg]

For the record, on the box it does say something like "wired gaming mouse, also with Bluetooth wireless mode".

Thanks for your input. I think I may go with the RAT M purely based on the pinkie buttons. You pretty much confirmed what I feared. The main reason I want a mouse with extra buttons is quick and easy acces to control groups of units in Starcraft and to spells and attacks in RPGs. If the pinkie buttons aren't really usable for that, then they may as well not be there for my uses. For what I want the Orochi will behave more like a 5 button mouse and the RAT M like an 8 button mouse. I could live without the wired mode, I don't play first person shooters, and in RTS a few millisecond delay isn't the end of the world.

 

[gopher1369]

Shame you have to go wireless, otherwise the Razer Naga would be perfect for you!

 

[James Devenberg]

Shame you have to go wireless, otherwise the Razer Naga would be perfect for you!

I don't strictly speaking HAVE to go wireless, and I have been seriously tempted by a Naga Hex. I just feel like the cord, especially one as long as the Naga's, will be in the way when I do want to game on the go.