Keychron Q5 Max Review - Barebones vs Prebuilt

Your tag when talking about stabs in the beginning, you have a typo. You typed, "Where they better?" and I think you meant, "Were they better?"

And speaking about the Q5 Max, you should consider a head to head against the V5, the V5 Max and the Q5 Max (Or at least the V5 Max vs the Q5 Max) I think that the results might surprise you

Between the V1 max and the Nuphy halo 75 which would you recommend?

Ultimately I went with V5 Max. I'm rocking a couch setup at home and frankly over 2 kg keyboard is way too heavy for my needs. Also the price is a huge factor. Actually I prefer the muted sound of all plastic body compared to more hollow and metal sounding all aluminum design of the Q line. I replaced the original SA profile keycaps for a MOA profile set wit more flat shape that are also less tall. Overall I'm pretty happy with the final build. For exactly half the price of Q5 Max you are getting 90% of the experience - so not a bad deal at all.

I have the V5 max coming.thanks for the video

The Q5 Max is my very first mechanical keyboard. As I am new to the hobby I went with the pre-built option with Brown switches. I agree that the keycaps are quite high and I’ve needed a wrist pad just to keep from making too many errors. Inevitably, I will be getting new switches and keycaps but again, as a noob, it was super easy to order and has really improved my daily work experience at home. I even bought a Q5 (regular) for my office computer with the Red switches to see if I prefer the linear feel. This hobby seems to be a true rabbit hole!

I went from a regular HP 100% membrane keyboard, to the K4, to the K4 Pro, to the Q5 Pro in less than 3 years, and I can't stress enough how annoying and tiresome it becomes to have to use a half size 0 when using the numpad (I work with numbers all day). The main reason I sold the K4 and K4 Pro was because of the tiny 0 key that I just couldn't get used to and kept making mistakes on. As you said, it really is something to consider when buying a keyboard if, like me, you need the numpad every day.

Great video! Can you consider reviewing the Q6 full sized version? I'm curious if there is a difference other than the size and layout.

I built the Q5 Pro special edition (purple). This is my second build. My first was a KBDfans Odin 2. I prefer the Q5 Pro because of the larger zero, switches and keycaps. I use the Q5 Pro daily in an office environment and have installed Sea Salt silent switches and the stock (purple) keycaps. I've also updated the foam. Now I need to figure out how to get my boss to get one. Or at least quiet keyboard. The Logitech KB he's rocking sounds like fingernails on a blackboard. Nice review, thanks.

Great video. Thank you. I would say that the plastic build on the V5 will have an impact on those that are particular of these things. I purchased a budget version of the Q5 for my wife (I think it was the K5 Pro)... and she said... it doesn't feel or sound like yours. We returned it, and she went with the Q5 and the all metal makes so much of a difference.

Perhaps some people may not notice so I do realize this is very very subjective.

Really love the format of your video.

Additionally... My first mechanical that I loved was the DAS Keyboard for Mac... it was so great, but I really hated that the cable was in the centre, and not removable... It truly was a great board. Hey DAS Keyboard... if you're listening... make your boards with a removable cable. ;) My second board was the iQUNIX KAT all White F96 board. Pre-built... It was near perfect... but then I found the Q5 and for a pre-build, I am so impressed with it.

The Q5 Max has an aluminum case, and a full-size zero-key, but it also has a few button layout changes.
Q5 Max drops the END key and adds a pair of page-up and page-down keys in a layout that is vertical (important given the key's functions and familiarity to a 100% layout). Most other 96% boards have page up/down in a horizontal pattern above the num-keys, and that is trash imo. I read a lot of pdf files so this is something I look for.

Interesting point about the numlock enablin g backlighting. If you remap it to another location, is it still the same case?

Yeah, so aren't you getting that zero key but then you are losing half your right shift and the menu button underneath it, equivalent to a 75%. So instead of the arrow keys being pushed to the right into the 0 they are pushed to the left into the shift like a 75%. IDK I'm new to this. I got my first mechanical its a air75v2.
The right shift key actually bothers me. It's the only thing that actually bothers me. So the fact that I need an arrow pad and prefer the full size right shift, it means I would basically prefer a TKL. With both of those.

Can anyone tell me if the rotary knob also clicks in, or does it just rotate? I imagine setting this up as volume up and down, plus play/pause with a press inward...

Is there a way to make modifications to the V5 so that it sounds like the Q5 with aluminum frame?

Do you know if the Wi-Fi dongle will wake a Windows PC from sleep?

Whats difference between Max and Pro model of the Q5? Do they sell it all black? On their site its a mix of white and black keys. Thanks.

0% of thock lol

I love the original Keychron Q5 layout and the gray/yellow keycaps. I love SA and MT3 layouts so the KSA they have on almost all of their keyboards is a plus for me lol.

I don't feel that the barebones is really a fair deal. The barebones is only a marginal 20 dollars cheaper. What good keycaps and switches you find out there for 20 dollars? It seems a vendor greedy strategy to tricky the market if you ask me

I am about to purchase the Q5 max but I am curious if the NumPad backlighting issue has been fixed? Something like that seems like it should be fixed with the software

I have the Q5 and the Q5 Pro, both with the force break mod. For me, the barebones make no sense. Even if you swap them out immediately, you can't beat switches and caps for $19, especially when the switches are Gateron Red or Yellow.

Holy shit mechanical keyboards have gone full autist.

Great review! I tend to use 65% or 75% but if I did want a num pad the full size zero would definitely be must!

taller profile is always the better since they are more thocky , Cherry profiles always sounds high pitched

I'm a confused human so I seriously looking at the Q65 Special Edition

on the barebone kit is there leeway to accomodate a slightly bigger physical battery? Like if I wanted to swap out the 4000mah battery for a bigger one, any idea on how much physically larger the batteries dimensions could be?

The LEDs seem to shine trough the key 'gaps' quite hard. Looks very blinding :(

I was about to pull the trigger on the q5 max, brown switches… until you made me aware of the KSA profile… (thankful you did btw) but, i totally LOVE the layout, features, and more premium starting point to dive into the rabbit hole with.

I want to still get it, im not poor, but not rich either. My main question for you is… i dont know if ill like the ksa layout, but is there even a chance i will like it?

Silver lining: if I dont like it, then all the more reason to jump into the world of keycaps and switches, which sounds like a blast!

But… i am impatient as my new gaming laptop gets here in a week, and was hoping to have some stuff to play with when it arrives…. Got a stacked legion 9i gen 9… a crazy purchase, i know… but i need to travel for work, plus i just like to have the best when possible! Im a rabbit hole enthusiast!

@SemiPro Tech+Gear is it too tall witouth a wristrest?

Coming in a bit late to the convo, but Keychron is now selling the pre-built Q Max line with OSA side-legend shine-through keycaps. Mine just arrived today and the key height/sound feels great. These are VERY noticeably shorter keycaps than the KSAs.

Which keycaps are you doing?

Am contemplating this while browsing custom 'serious' keyboards while typing on my Asus Scope II 96 (which feels the most like a custom keyboard among all my keyboards). I saw this pre-assembled at close to $200 and was thinking if I should dip my toes into such 'serious' keyboards. Is there a huge difference and is it worth the jump?

Great videos, I've watched a few and enjoy the detailed information. I ended up with the V5 but really want that Q5, but the cost just doesn't justify it. Also the height of the V5 is a little bit to much but doable with a wrist pad. I would rather have a low profile keyboard but I tried the K13 which also has a 10key, althoguh without the enter, + and - keys on the right it's useless as a 10key. Honestly I think going with a separate 10key is really the bst option if you only use it for taxes like me haha. I really dont like tall keyboards but the narrow topped keys with gap between keys is essential for me as a digital artist, because it helps me really navigate my hand around they keyboard when i cannot see it.

New to the keyboard scene. Can anyone tell me what the O, triangle and square keys for?

this layout is amazing better than classic full size

What sucks with Keychron keyboard that support 2.4Ghz is that you have to use the hardware switch on the back of the keyboard to toggle between Bluetooth and 2.4Ghz, instead of being able to bind keys to switch between them. On my Nuphy Halo 75 v2, I can bind keys to do that, and it's much more convenient. I have a Steam Deck, work laptop and gaming PC all at my desk, and being able to switch fast between the 3 devices is something that will keep me in the Nuphy camp (regrettably, because I have been eying the Q10 Max). If you ever do a comparison video between 2.4Ghz keyboards from Keychron and Nuphy, I hope you bring up this difference.

first mechanical keyboard i've gotten, feels amazing, i use it in wired mode so battery isn't an issue, and it's never even occurred to me that the keycaps are high