Keychron M5 Review

Introduction

The phrase ‘ergonomic gaming mouse’ almost made me spit out my tea when I heard it, as it isn’t a product type I thought would see the light of day – enter the Keychron M5 to prove me wrong.

Coming from the same folks behind excellent options in the past, such as the M3 Mini (Metal Edition) and the M6, it represents quite a unique proposition in that it’s a vertical mouse for better wrist position that comes jam-packed with features traditionally meant for powerful gaming options such as a 30,000 DPI sensor and an 8000Hz polling rate, plus up to 140 hours of battery life and versatile wireless connectivity.

In theory, this would make the M5 quite an expensive option, but in keeping with Keychron’s reputation for serious value for money, it’s £69.99/$69.99. That’s half the price of some of the best gaming mice we’ve tested, including the Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro and Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 Dex, although whether it’s designed to compete with those is a different story.

I’ve been testing the M5 to see if it’s too good to be true, or if it’s a genuinely excellent contender.

Design

• Vertical chassis for optimal comfort
• Lighter plastic shell
• Pleasant button arrangement

The most noticeable thing about the M5 is its vertical shape that sets it apart from more standard form factor mice. It’s designed to raise your hand up to a more natural position to reduce the chance or impact of repetitive strain injuries that can come from awkwardly using a standard mouse.

In the case of this Keychron mouse, it puts it at a 47-degree angle in a position that’s commonly referred to as the ‘handshake’ position for obvious reasons. This is commonplace among lots of other vertical ergonomic mice, while at 95g, this option is also considerably lighter than the competition.

This, combined with the somewhat textured plastic shell, makes the M5 an immensely comfortable mouse to use. As someone who is getting some wrist pain at the moment, I can certainly see the appeal. Being wider at the base also provides more stability, keeping it in the right position.

With a white plastic chassis bereft of any texturing or theming, it’s easy to pass off this Keychron mouse as quite basic. For the kind of mouse this is and the price of it though, it’s perfectly fine in my eyes. As well as white, is available in black if you wish.

As for buttons, there are five across the mouse, with two main ones and a scroll wheel on the right side, plus two navigation buttons on the left. You’ll also find a rubberised scroll wheel above the navigation buttons in a similar vein to the Logitech MX Master 3S I traditionally use every day.

On the underside of the M5 are a handful of further buttons – one for changing DPI, one for changing polling rate, and another for choosing between its three channels of wireless connectivity. There is also a toggle switch for turning the mouse on and off, and into either Bluetooth or 2.4GHz modes.

Performance

• Potent 30,000 DPI sensor
• 8000Hz polling rate is a pleasant touch
• Solid battery life and connectivity

It’s inside where things get especially interesting for the M5. As opposed to bundling it with a productivity-focused 4000 or even 8000 DPI sensor, they’ve put in a powerful PixArt 3950 with up to 30,000 DPI of sensitivity. 

In practice, nobody is necessarily going to use that much, as it makes any mouse too sensitive to use in any real scenario. But if you want immensely responsive inputs, then it goes a long way to helping that. 

As with the Lemokey G1, the M5 is part of an exclusive club of 8000Hz polling rate mice. This essentially means it reports inputs to host devices, such as a gaming PC, much more often than more ‘standard’ mice do with a 1000Hz rate. It results in more accurate and responsive inputs that seasoned players are likely to feel more so than us casual folk.

With both of these things in kind, I took the M5 into some rounds of Counter Strike 2 – my usual testing ground for gaming mice. I was almost surprised at how responsive this vertical mouse felt given the sensitivity and polling rate advantage, and how accurate it was. 

However, the fact that it’s a little heavier and taller than more usual flat mice means it isn’t as flickable or nimble in fast situations. This isn’t an issue with the M5’s internals per se, but just a consequence of its form factor. 

With this in mind, I didn’t have the same issue in general work use, with the vertical form factor, accurate sensor, and snappy Huano switches inside making for a comfortable and responsive feel.

The M5’s wireless connectivity is convenient, with both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth methods working virtually plug-and-play over either my Windows gaming PC or my MacBook Pro. I had no issues on either device.

Keychron rates this vertical mouse to last for up to 140 hours on a charge, although that is with the caveat of working over Bluetooth. Go to the 2.4GHz receiver and with 1000Hz polling, and you’ll get 120 hours. At 8000Hz, this drops off to just 40 hours, which is quite normal as it’s quite an intensive battery drain in spite of the sensor’s efficiency.

Software and Lighting

• Lightweight, web-based software
• No RGB lighting to speak of

Software duties for this Keychron mouse are handled by the brand’s lightweight, web-based Launcher software that negates the need for any downloaded software solution. 

It provides a slick and convenient means for mapping buttons, changing DPI level, recording macros and more advanced settings such as switch debounce times and lift-off distance across five profiles. While you may not get other features such as DPI matching and changing DPI levels on both an X and Y axis, as found on the competition, what’s here is more than perfectly usable.

One area where you won’t find the M5 impressive is with its RGB lighting, and that’s simply because it doesn’t have any. This has become more common among performance-first ultralight gaming mice in the more standard form factor, and isn’t too much of a sore miss here.

Should you buy it?

FAQs