Cyborg M.M.O.7 Mouse Review

[nextpage title=” Introduction”]

Cyborg already had the R.A.T. mouse line for FPS games in its catalog. Now the company releases the M.M.O.7 with basically the same R.A.T. body but aimed at MMORPGs, a game genre that has World of Warcraft as its prime example. The distinctive feature over the competition is the body, which resembles a Transformer. The M.M.O.7 has some exposed body parts and it is reshapable; that is, the user can change bits and pieces to adjust the peripheral to his or her hand. The mouse has 13 reconfigurable buttons that are able to control 78 functions, a weight adjustment system, and a sensor that reaches 6,400 dpi of resolution. First, we will describe its physical aspects and then proceed to its configuration and operation.

Figure 1: The M.M.O.7 mouse

 

The M.M.O.7 is a right-handed mouse with a mechanized design, a sleek black body and several easy-to-spot orange buttons. It comes with two additional pinkie and palm rests, some rubberized, some bigger than others, so the user can adjust the M.M.O.7 to his or her favorite grip. The thumb rest is not replaceable, but it can be tweaked to be accessible to any finger size.

Figure 2: Left side view

As for the buttons, there is one near the right side over the pinkie rest; three independent buttons on the forward edge beside the traditional left and right click, the resolution control key and the scroll wheel; five buttons on the thumb rest plus a distinct little round one that resembles an analog videogame control; and finally, another wheel for horizontal scrolling. In total, there are 13 buttons. It’s a lot of options, but thanks to the reshapable body, the user can build his or her own design for the M.M.O.7 and be able to reach most buttons.

Figure 3: Right side view

 

Figure 4: Front view

On the underside, the user can find the 6,400 dpi sensor, the five weights (six grams each) of the weight adjustment system, Teflon feet, and a tool to change the spare pieces. The M.M.O.7 has braided cloth cable with a gold-plated USB connector.

[nextpage title=”Main Features”]

The M.M.O.7 can look a little intimidating at first, but the physical adjustments are easily made. The tool found below the palm rest can be used to unscrew the pinkie and palm rests. The spare parts are stored in a small foam-filled case. You just release the screw and change the pinkie and palm rests to adjust the M.M.O.7 to your liking. The thumb rest can be tweaked with a separate screw to be better positioned.

Figure 5: Thumb rest adjustment

Figure 6: Pinkie rest spare parts

The weights are also easily changed. The same screw that holds the tool can be unscrewed to release the weights and the coil that holds them in place. The case also has a small cartridge to store the weights. All the physical configuration of the M.M.O.7 is quickly done; what takes some time is finding the right assemblage. This perfect adjustment comes after a few tweaks and several hours of play. We won’t advise on the best configuration because it depends on personal taste and each individual hand size.

Figure 7: Palm rest spare parts

Figure 8: Spare parts case

Figure 9: Weight adjustment system

It wouldn’t do any good to have all those buttons to configure if the M.M.O.7 was hard to program. Fortunately, the software (downloadable at the Cyborg website) is not only simple, but it already comes with several presets for the main MMORPGs on the market. For instance, the newly released Star Wars: The Old Republic already has a preset configuration available for the M.M.O.7. The greatest feature is an add-on for World of Warcraft that opens up an interface on the game screen to configure the M.M.O.7. You simply drag the icons for the spells, powers and special actions to each individual button on the picture of the mouse and it’s done. It’s the best way to configure a mouse for an MMORPG that we have ever seen.

Besides the three modes of configuration, the button above the pinkie rest acts like a Shift key that opens three more modes of configuration. In total, the M.M.O.7 reaches up to 78 programmable commands. It’s way too much, and we doubt that someone will ever configure so many commands. The good thing about the M.M.O.7 is that it offers so many buttons that the user can choose those more easily reachable. When we tested it, there were some awkward buttons to reach that we simply overlooked in favor of others.

[nextpage title=”Playing with the M.M.O.7″]

When we were about to finish programming the M.M.O.7 to play World of Warcraft, we left the old but good adjustment of resolution level for last. The user can set four resolution stages from 25 to 6,400 dpi – the M.M.O.7 comes with default levels of 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 6,400.

Figure 10: Resolution configuration

The physical adjustments, as we have already mentioned, are completely personal. In our case, since we like to lift the mouse
a little during the intense gameplay, we removed every single weight to make the M.M.O.7 lighter. However, due to its huge body shape, the M.M.O.7 feels rather awkward to lift. As we favor a “claw grip” (handling the mouse with the tip of our fingers and an arched hand), we adjusted the M.M.O.7 with the provided spare parts until it fit our gaming style.

Figure 11: M.M.O.7 interface on World of Warcraft

One great feature of the M.M.O.7 is the “ActionLock” buttons located on each side of the scroll wheel, inside the main left and right click buttons. This “ActionLock” locks the click buttons and gives constant input as if they were being pressed continuously. A green LED is lit up to indicate that the lock is on. This is great if the user has to press one of them for a lengthy period of time, say, during a long flight/walk/ride in World of Warcraft. Hit the “ActionLock,” leave your hero flying in a straight line over the skies of Azeroth, and go grab a coffee, thus avoiding any pain in your index finger joints.

Figure 12: The lit up M.M.O.7

Of course we also tested the M.M.O.7 with an FPS game like Battlefield 3 to see how it fared in a different genre. We had to change the whole configuration and ended up leaving some buttons unassigned, but due to the great offer of choices, we chose the most quickly reachable buttons. The tiny round button in the middle of the thumb rest acts like a separate aim button, decreasing the resolution for a precision shot while sniping. This is one of the best solutions for this type of game.

[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]

The main specifications for the Cyborg M.M.O.7 include:

• Gaming-grade laser mouse
• Right-handed design
• Connector: USB
• Accessories: Two extra pinkie rests and two extra palm rests
• Assignable functions: 78 (in 13 buttons)
• Tracking Resolution: Up to 6,400 dpi selectable on four levels
• Maximum velocity: 236 inches/second (600 centimeters/second)
• Acceleration: 50 G
• Approximate size: 6.7 x 3.9 x 10 inches (170 x 98 x 264 millimeters)
• Weight adjustment: Five 6 gram (0.2 oz.) weights
• More information: https://cyborggaming.com
• Average price in the U.S.*: USD 130

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.

[nextpage title=” Conclusions”]

The M.M.O.7 elicits mixed opinions about its design. A person who saw the mouse on our desk said it looked like a mechanized cockroach; in our geek fantasy, it resembles a Transformer. The number of buttons may seem exaggerated, but that’s good because the user will always find a more reachable button that fits his or her hand size. The Cyborg software is easy to program and, better yet, it comes with great presets for the most MMORPGs available on the market, even those less popular titles such as Star Trek Online. For those users who tremble at the thought of configuring a peripheral, this software is a breeze. The M.M.O.7 is the mouse for World of Warcraft players. With the add-on that integrates the M.M.O.7 to the game interface, the power of Azeroth is literally at the user’s fingertips.

Strong Points

• Great choice of programmable buttons (13) and functions (78)
• Colored buttons are easy to spot
• Friendly configuration software with several presets
• Adjustable to the user’s hand
• “ActionLock” feature locks the right and left click buttons for continuous input
• Excellent configuration makes it ideal for World of Warcraft players

Weak Points

• Even without the weights, it’s a little awkward to lift the mouse
• Price tag is a little above high-end competitors
• Design may not agree with everyone’s tastes