Tom’s Guide Verdict
The Keychron Q5 HE is a stellar keyboard featuring per-key and quad-acutation.
The keyboard itself sports a lovely design and its built really well.
However, its expensive and switch choices are limited.
The Keychron Q5 HE is one of thebest gaming keyboardsright now.
It packs a plethora of gaming features in a sturdy, all-metal body.
What makes customization so effortless is the web-based Keychron Launcher.
Built exceptionally well, the Q5 HE is made entirely of metal, making it sturdy and durable.
It sports a lovely design too.
And not only is the keyboard a powerhouse for gaming, but its fantastic to pop in on too.
But is it worth the premium?
The Q5 HE is available for $249 which is a lot of money.
The keyboard faces fierce competition from its Keychron counterparts and from other brands.
For the complete breakdown, read my full Keychron Q5 HE review.
And the Keychron Q5 HE is no different.
Theres no trace of plastic used anywhere (except for the PCB), which makes itreallyheavy.
The Q5 HE weighs 4.82 pounds, and feels heavy enough to fell a tree.
Its designed to stay firmly put on your desk.
Adding to the Q5 HEs appeal and durability is the use of double-shot PBT keycaps.
PBT keycaps are more resistant to wear and tear so you know youre getting bang for your buck here.
The Q5 HEs colors are pretty too.
you’re free to get the keyboard in either Carbon Black or Shell White colorways.
you could see what the Shell White colorway looks like inthis review of mine.
Depending on the game youre playing, or if youre typing, you might adjust each keys sensitivity accordingly.
This proved invaluable in death matches.
The Q5 HE manages this really well too, in both Counter-Strike 2 and Hitman.
However, most people will likely want to use one of thebest PC game controllersfor racing games instead.
Basically, it enables near-instantaneous switch reset when lifting.
In Counter-Stike 2, this resulted in me being able to counter-strafe quickly and peeking around corners.
In my testing, I didnt notice any input lag.
While 1,000Hz polling is fine for most gamers, many magnetic keyboards offer 8,000Hz polling these days.
Besides being a gaming powerhouse, the Keychron Q5 HE is fantastic for productivity too.
It comes with a number pad, page navigation buttons, and a full row of function keys.
I used Keychron Launcher, again, to set different actuation points for all keys.
you could see the results above.
I’m very happy with the results.
The more sensitive the keys got, the better I typed.
Keychron Launcher takes the hassle out of the customization process.
Much like other magnetic keyboards, the Keychron Q5 HE doesnt offer much in terms of switch choice.
At the time of writing, you could only get the Gateron Double-Rail Nebula switches.
If you want to save some money, these are the keyboards Id recommend instead of the Q5 HE.
Its Gateron Double-Rail Nebula switches are highly responsive.
Rapid Trigger can also be enabled if you want to gain an advantage.
All customization is done through Keychron Launcher which is extremely easy to use.
The keyboard itself is built extremely well, and its lovely to pop in on too.
The Q5 HE isnt cheap either.
Testing it has been a delight, and it has earned a spot on my desk for now.
