Lemokey X5 review: Premium gaming performance on a budget

Keychron and its gaming sub-brand Lemokey have put out some of the best mechanical keyboards. When a keyboard from either lands on my desk, I expect premium construction and performance that’s hard to top. The Lemokey X5 is one such keyboard that performs exceptionally well while not breaking the bank.

The bigger sibling of the Lemokey X1 and Lemokey X3 — both of which I’ve reviewed — the X5 is a 96% wired mechanical keyboard, ideal for casual gaming and typing. Its 1,000Hz polling rate and anti-ghosting tech make it a great performer, and its responsive switches are a joy to type on. This QMK-enabled keyboard can be customized via a very user-friendly web-based companion app too. However, given the low price, it has a few minor flaws.

For the complete breakdown, read my full Lemokey X5 review.

Lemokey X5 review: Specs

Lemokey X5 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A 96% wired mechanical keyboard and the bigger sibling of the X1 and X3
• Who is it for? For gamers on a budget
• How much does it cost? The Lemokey X5 is available for $49 / £55
• What do we like? The premium construction, great gaming and typing performance, web-based companion software, and customizable backlighting
• What don’t we like? The keyboard case has a slight flex, the 96% layout isn’t for everyone, and the switches aren’t hot-swappable

Lemokey X5 review: The ups

From its premium construction and gaming performance to its web-based companion software and customizable backlighting, the Lemokey X5 excels in many areas.

Design and construction

For a budget keyboard, the Lemokey X5 is very well built, much like its youngest sibling, the Lemokey X1 ($36). Although its body is made of plastic, it doesn’t feel cheap or overtly plasticky. A combination of a polycarbonate (PC) plate, sound absorbing foam and a gasket mount structure make for a pleasant gaming and typing experience. The gasket structure means the keyboard has a cushioned feel and vibrations from key presses are reduced.

Even though the keyboard suffers from a little flex which I’ll talk about later, it isn’t a massive deal breaker. Overall, this is a keyboard I wouldn’t question the durability of.

Gaming performance

Casual gamers on a budget will really appreciate the Lemokey X5’s gaming capabilities. The X5 has a 1,000Hz polling rate straight out of the box, so you won’t notice any latency issues. The Keychron brown tactile switches I tested require 55g pressure for activation and Keychron says they’re fit for both gaming and the office, but I’d recommend the red linear switches instead. These switches required 45g pressure for activation, so they’re designed to register keystrokes faster.

Similar to the X1 and the Lemokey X3 ($49), the X5 performed just as well if not better, with anti-ghosting technology ensuring that each key press was accurately registered and in the right order. In games where even a single misstep can be the difference between life and death, like Counter-Strike 2, anti-ghosting tech comes in clutch. It meant I could press a key to crouch and then quickly press another to access my inventory and select a weapon. Combine that with responsive switches and you’ve got yourself a winner.

I also noticed no latency issues while playing Final Fantasy XIV online, thanks to the high 1,000Hz polling rate. You need a responsive keyboard that registers each key press in games that require some degree of button mashing, such as FFXIV. And anti-ghosting came in handy here too. I don’t think I missed a single quick time event or flurry of blows, thanks to the X5’s N-key rollover — a feature that allows multiple inputs to be registered at the same time.

Typing experience

I type for a living, so it’s important to have a keyboard that can aid me in bashing out approximately 1,500 words every day — and the Lemokey X5 excels at this task. It comes with double-shot ABS keycaps which are more durable than single-shot ABS ones but less so than double-shot PBT ones — a happy medium, if you will. For a budget keyboard, this is excellent. The similarly-priced Corsair K55 RGB Pro ($59) uses single-shot ABS keycaps, as does the very expensive Turtle Beach Vulcan II TKL Pro ($149).

Back to the typing experience: this keyboard is great to type on. Our review unit came with Keychron brown tactile switches which aren’t too loud so it can be used in the office without disturbing your coworkers.

I took a typing test on 10fastfingers.com to see how the X5 performed against other keyboards I’ve tested, and you can see the results above. While the score didn’t match up to the others, I was still satisfied with it.

Companion software

Like other Lemokey (or Keychron) keyboards, you can use the web-based Lemokey Launcher to customize the X5. That means that you don’t need to download any bloatware on macOS or Windows machines — simply open the website in any browser and you’re good to go. Here, you can remap keys, program macros, customize the red backlighting, and update the firmware.

The first thing I did was remap the Alt key to Left Command, as I primarily use a MacBook Air M2 for work — easy as pie as it took me less than 10 seconds to do so.

Customizable backlighting

I hope you like the color red because the only backlighting the Lemokey X5 offers is, well, red. Sorry, RGB fans. But the red backlighting looks good and I’m not complaining at all. It lights up the black frame really well and complements the red keycaps. You get over 14 different effects, such as flashing and static, so you can choose what suits your setup the best. Also, the keyboard’s keycaps are shine-through, making it easier to see the legends in the dark for those not accustomed to touch-typing.

Lemokey X5 review: The downs

Much like its younger siblings, the Lemokey X5 has a few flaws but none too major that they’ll stop you from enjoying the keyboard.

Slight flex

It’s important to note, though, that there is a little flex. The Lemokey X5’s plastic body twists too, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the X3, whose mounting didn’t support the PCB at the extremities — this meant that key presses forced the PCB downwards, bending the circuit board. The X5 doesn’t suffer from that severe an issue, thankfully.

Layout

This might not be an issue for everyone but I’m personally not a fan of 96% layouts. The Lemokey X5 feels cramped and a little awkward to me, and it doesn’t really save much space on the desk, considering it cuts down on only 4% of the keys. This also means that you don’t have a lot of space to move your mouse, which can be slightly frustrating in games that require constant mouse movement, like Final Fantasy XIV and even Baldur’s Gate 3.

If this applies to you, too, I’d recommend the fantastic X1 with its 80% layout or the Redragon K673 Pro ($64), and if you can stretch your budget, check out the Vissles V84 ($99) or the Epomaker DynaTab75 ($89) — two fantastic keyboards for gaming and productivity.

Not hot-swappable

The Lemokey X5 isn’t hot-swappable, which means you’re stuck with the stock switches. Usually, I wouldn’t make a big deal out of a keyboard this cheap not being hot-swappable, but the X3 is available in a hot-swap variant for $59 at Keychron U.S. Similarly, the cheaper MageGee Sky87 ($29) — albeit not a fantastic keyboard — allows you to swap switches too.

Lemokey X5 review: Verdict

If you’ve been thinking about getting a gaming keyboard that doubles as an excellent productivity board too, then the Lemokey X5 is the one for you. For $49, you get a nearly full-size keyboard that performs really well. Its 1,000Hz polling rate and N-key rollover ensure you don’t experience any latency issues and that all your key presses are registered — that means it’s great for FPS and RPG titles alike.

The red backlighting is lovely too — as long as you like red, of course — and can be customized via the web-based Lemokey Launcher which also lets you remap keys and assign macros. This keyboard doesn’t have many major flaws either. There is a slight flex, the switches aren’t hot-swappable (the X3’s can be), and the 96% layout might not be for everyone.

At the end of the day, these drawbacks are minor. For less than $50, the X5 is too good to pass up on.