Introduction

In the world of mechanical keyboards and switches, the Cherry MX brand is still one of the most valuable. The business unit is now independently operating from Cherry GmbH, which focuses on providing retail HID solutions for various industries. Often, as a proof of concept, the two work in creating first-party offerings of Cherry MX switches, which are typically seen in the MX Board series. Here on TechPowerUp, we have already taken a detailed look at the MX Board 1.0, MX Board 3.0, MX Board 6.0, and even MX Board Silent. The company had invited us to CES earlier this year, where we saw new mechanical switches in another proof of concept, which may yet become another MX Board. To prepare for this possibility, I wanted to take a look at one of the missing entries in the form of the Cherry MX Board 5.0. Thanks again to Cherry for helping provide a review sample!


Each MX Board has had something to show off, whether it is the MX Silent switches with the aptly named MX Board Silent or RealKey technology with the gaming-oriented MX Board 6.0. With this MX Board 5.0, the company targets ergonomic typing, which is strange considering this is not what you typically imagine when thinking of an ergonomic keyboard. There is no split keyboard layout, for example, nor a columnar key layout or even an angled bank of keys meant to better fit the natural typing position of the average user. But even from the single image above, we see that something is still different compared to a typical keyboard in the form of a large and wide space bar that perhaps has more than meets the eye. We will go over this and more in the review beginning with a look at the specifications below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Packaging for the Cherry MX Board 5.0 is on the simpler side of things, with a black cardboard box that has the Cherry logo and product name on the front and some of the salient features listed in the bottom-right corner. We see more of this on the back, as well as a large product render and list of specifications to complete a retail shopping experience should you chance upon it in a brick and mortar store. On the side, we see the switch type of your specific unit, with the MX Red being used here. Double flaps on the side keep a second cardboard box inside.


This inner box is all red and has a subtle Cherry logo in the center of the glossy finish. Single flaps are all that now stand between you and the keyboard, and opening the box, we see the MX Board 5.0 held in place between yet more red cardboard. The keyboard cable is in a compartment underneath, with this whole thing lifting off to reveal the accessories, including an operating manual in multiple languages that goes over the pre-programmed controls.


Then there's that weirdly big wrist rest, which also comes in a plastic wrap. This is a good thing, too, since the top surface is soft touch and fairly tacky to where it attracts dust more than I would like. An MX logo greets us on the top right, and the underside of the wrist rest has a hard plastic bottom with four feet that have rubber pads to add friction against the resting surface.