A wi-fi mechanical keyboard designed for each gaming and typing, is does this board bridge the hole between excessive efficiency and cheap pricing? Up to date: Jul 8, 2024 9:55 am WePC is reader-supported. Once you purchase via hyperlinks on our web site, we might earn an affiliate fee. Costs topic to vary. Be taught extra Desk of Contents Desk of Contents Keychron is a model that’s identified for making boards with one thing approaching the texture and high quality of a premium-level mechanical keyboard, however at a extra inexpensive value. The Keychron V5 Max is one in every of six totally different dimension variants within the V5 Max line (designated V1-V6) which have totally different sizes and numbers of keys and buttons, however are in any other case similar. This vary of boards is positioned between their customary Keychron V price range vary and the extra premium Keychron Q Professional sequence, mainly having the performance of the latter however with a plastic construct as a substitute of an all-aluminium chassis. We had the pleasure of placing the Keychron V5 Max keyboard via its paces and have been very happy with the outcomes: learn under for all the main points. Execs Good value An excellent typing expertise (with Jupiter Brown/Keychron Tremendous Banana switches) Sturdy PBT Doubleshot keycaps Person-friendly onboard software program Sizzling swappable Nice construct high quality Wired & wi-fi Home windows/Mac/Linux performance Cons Normal keycaps don’t have shine-through lettering for typing at nighttime The font on a number of the customary keycaps seems low cost Heavy Design & Options The Keychron V5 Max is a 96% dimension, wireless-capable keyboard that may use both a 2.4GHz WiFi sign, Bluetooth, or USB-C braided twine connection if you wish to go wired. On the highest proper you’ll additionally discover a multimedia knob (which defaults to quantity management however will be programmed to various capabilities). The 96% dimension has customary key-spacing for probably the most half, so the keys don’t really feel cramped, however the arrow keys and numpad are squashed collectively a bit extra and a number of the navigation keys are lacking that may be current in a full-size board. As mentioned there are 5 different dimension variants within the V Max vary and every can be found absolutely assembled or barebone (with no keys). All however one – the smallest V4 Max – include the multimedia knob. The complete vary is as follows: Gateron Jupiter Pink / Brown / Banana (hotswappable) variable (as little as 0.1mm) 2.4GHz WiFi / Bluetooth / USB Sort-C (180cm braided Wire with silicone cable tie), USB-C to A adapter included The case of the V Max board is fabricated from ABS plastic, nevertheless it nonetheless feels sturdy and is heavy as well. That is partially because of the gasket mount design, polycarbonate plate, and a number of layers of sound-absorbing foam, all of which assist to dampen noise and, within the case of the gasket mount, give a little bit of a softer spring to the keys when typing. On the underside are 4 rubberised ft, with the standard two adjustment heights on the extendable again ft (with the third choice being the fully retracted place), which is what we prefer to see. On the again of the board is a sliding swap that may be set to both WiFi, Bluetooth, or wired connection, and subsequent to it one other swap to go between Home windows or MacOS layouts, which is a pleasant, simple resolution. The QMK firmware that runs the board is appropriate with Home windows, MacOS, and Linux methods. There are additionally removable Sort-C and Sort-A receivers for the wi-fi connection saved within the again, which will be taken out and plugged into your required gadget. The two.4GHz connection has a pleasant 1000Hz max polling charge, making it superb for video games the place you want low latency; the Bluetooth connection is proscribed to a 125Hz polling charge, as is typical. We wouldn’t say the USB-C braided cable is the nicest we’ve seen, it retained noticeable kinks from when it was unwrapped from storage, nonetheless it does the job. You additionally get a USB-C to USB-A (male finish) adapter so you’ll be able to plug it into your pc’s USB-A port, additionally you get a USB-C to USB-A (feminine) adapter, so you’ll be able to really plug within the USB-A wi-fi receiver to the cable’s finish if you wish to lengthen your wi-fi vary. As customary the assembled boards include one of many following three Gateron Jupiter switches: Pink, Brown, or Banana. Our take a look at unit got here with Jupiter Browns pre-installed however we additionally obtained some Keychron Tremendous Banana switches as effectively to check out, which have a decrease working pressure than the Jupiter Banana variants (47±8 gf vs 59±10 gf). You get the usual keycap and swap eradicating instruments with the keyboard as you’d anticipate, so swapping these out is straightforward. The stabilizers are screw-in so may also be changed if wanted. Each the switches and the stabilizers come pre-lubed. In distinction to the cheaper Keychron V the V Max is designed to simply accept switches are South-facing, not North-facing. There are a wider vary of South-facing switches obtainable, enhancing your hotswap choices, nonetheless they have an inclination to dam the backlighting extra, so bear this in thoughts. We have been despatched the usual ‘Carbon Black’ Double-shot OSA PBT keycaps with our assessment mannequin. In comparison with your cheaper keys, double-shot PBT ought to final lengthy whereas and have improved oil-resistance, and it’s undoubtedly good to see these in a board that doesn’t have a premium price ticket. The OSA form is much like the traditional OEM however with tops which might be a bit extra concave in form. The font of the lettering on the ‘tab’, ‘caps lock’, ‘shift’, ‘management’, ‘backspace’, ‘num clear’, ‘del, ‘house’, ‘finish’ keycaps isn’t the nicest we’ve seen from an aesthetic perspective, trying a bit child-like and the most important indication that it is a cheaper board, however they’re a minimum of very legible. Nearly all of the usual keys, plus operate keys look completely effective although and there are some very nice-looking various units on the Keychron webstore, though this requires extra expenditure in fact. You get some various keycaps for Mac and Home windows customers (‘Home windows/choice’ and ‘alt/Mac’) within the field. Earlier Subsequent Worth The pricing for the Keychron V5 Max particularly is as follows, with the opposite dimension fashions falling inside a $5 window of this MSRP: $99 / £90 for the Totally Assembled Knob variant $79 / £73 for the Barebone Knob (cautious now) model This can be a very cheap value contemplating the options you get, and compares favorably with choices by manufacturers resembling Corsair. Earlier Subsequent Efficiency We discovered the Keychron V5 Max to be a really nice typing expertise certainly. The keystrokes are quiet however nonetheless have a satisfying thock, there’s good stabilization, and the good key-spacing plus OSA caps and the switches we used minimized typing errors. Each swap varieties we used have been good and tactile – superb for typing on: with the Jupiter Browns and their longer actuation being mid-ground if you would like keys you’ll be able to kind and sport on, with the Keychron Tremendous Bananas being preferable should you like a barely extra responsive, snappier click on with a shallower actuation whenever you’re typing. In case you’re after a devoted gaming expertise then the linear Pink swap choice is perhaps value contemplating. The keycaps felt nice from a tactile perspective, with a pleasant, barely matte texture, serving to to reduce slipping. The shortage of ‘shine-through’ lettering to permit the RGB to light up the important thing designations nonetheless does make typing at nighttime a bit troublesome, although moreover this the backlighting itself is strong: with 15 ranges of brightness (together with off). The motion of the multimedia dial/knob is muffled and is simply clearly audible whenever you give it some venom, and felt moderately strong, although not fairly as sturdy and satisfying to make use of as that on different premium boards we’ve tried.Just like the board itself the VIA software program/Keychron (internet) Launcher you should utilize to tweak the keyboard is appropriate with Home windows, macOS, and Linux. It has a pleasant stripped-back design that’s simple to navigate, and allows you to assign macros to the keyboard, change fundamental key task, customise backlighting, and arrange your individual profiles. Because of the onboard 256K Flash reminiscence, it can save you a minimum of six of those on the keyboard itself.
