Build Quality

Overall build quality is solid. When shaking the mouse, a slight rattle comes from the scroll wheel. When applying lateral pressure, no creaking or flexing of the shell can be observed, and the side buttons cannot be activated by squeezing the sides. Lastly, no accidental clicks occur when slamming down the mouse.

Buttons

Main buttons on the R.A.T. DWS are excellent. Both pre and post-travel are very low, resulting in a firm and satisfying button response. Click feel is slightly dull, however. As the buttons are separated from the shell, some button movement can be provoked, but it isn't noticeable during play or general use. Button stiffness is light. A set of Zippy switches (blue plunger) is used.


Side buttons are good. Both pre and post-travel are low, resulting in a snappy click response. However, the pressure point isn't even at all, with the forward button being the biggest offender: If pressed towards the front, response becomes mushy and both pre and post-travel quite significant. Button size and placement are questionable in that both side buttons are positioned fairly far back, so hitting the back button without changing grip can be hard, especially if the back has not been fully extended. The "precision aim" (sniper) button is out of the way, and too has low travel. I strongly suspect a set of tactile switches is used for these.

At the top of the mouse is a single button for cycling through the set CPI steps. Its click feel is good. A seemingly unbranded tactile switch is used for this one. Next to the left main button is another button whose click feel is also fine. Another seemingly unbranded tactile switch is used here. A slider on the bottom of the mouse switches between 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth, and off-state, which works just fine.

Scroll Wheel

The scroll wheel is decent. Noise levels are manageable, but the scrolling is very light, providing hardly any discernible steps and below average tactility overall, and the wheel feels quite loose and flimsy as a whole. I'm unable to identify the scroll wheel encoder. The middle (scroll wheel) click requires medium to high force for actuation. A seemingly unbranded tactile switch is used here. In addition to the regular scroll wheel, the R.A.T. DWS also features a so-called barrel scroll. By default, this barrel scroll can be used to scroll horizontally, which is quite handy for productivity work.

Coating

The R.A.T. DWS has a smooth matte surface all over. It doesn't attract fingerprints, dirt, or the likes too much. It's easy to clean, and there are no signs of wear left after doing so. All in all, excellent materials.

Button Sound Test

Please note that I forgot to try the additional button next to the left main button.

Disassembly

Disassembling the R.A.T. DWS is actually quite easy. Remove the three screws marked above. After doing so, the main button assembly can be taken off. Below are several layers of PCBs. The first one holds most of the buttons and the MCU, and the second one has the sensor. Whereas the barrel scroll assembly is connected to the first PCB, the button next to the left main button is connected to the second PCB. All the side buttons sit on their own PCB inside a different section of the mouse. The PCBs themselves are genuinely thick. Several screws are used to affix the main PCB to the bottom. The MCU is a Texas Instruments CC2640, whose datasheet can be found here. Production date for the main PCB is the 44th week of 2020.


As for the soldering and general quality of the PCB, I'm unable to find any noteworthy flaws.