5QS Mark 2 can be equipped with Cherry MX2A Brown, Red and Silent Red switches. Das sent me a review unit with their most popular option, the MX2A Silent Reds. The bottom-mount system, copious amounts of damping silicone, and silent red switches make for an incredibly dull typing experience. The switches, silenced by internal silicone strips, are naturally soft and a bit mushy, and the bottom bracket makes that smoothness even more pronounced when typing. A sound dampener inside the case absorbs any other vibrations and elements of the typing feel that would otherwise be present. The stabilizers are generic plate-mounted units that, despite being factory-lubricated, still rattled, even right out of the box. This was also made more obvious by muting the keyboard.
Lastly, typing on this keyboard feels soft and sounds almost silent, while still retaining some subtle highs and clatter that are annoying but quiet enough to be masked by headphones, earphones, or even speakers.
Photo: Henry Robbins
Unlike many of today’s keyboards, the 5QS does not have a socket for plug-in replacement. This means you’ll be limited to the switches the keyboard comes with from the factory, unless you’re skilled with a soldering iron and fancy a manufacturer’s warranty. The Lego-like customizability offered by hot-swap sockets has gone from a new luxury to an industry standard in modern keyboards, so its absence on this model, at this price point, is somewhat disappointing. However, this means that the 5QS will be marginally more reliable than a hot-swappable panel, as hot-swappable sockets can occasionally fail with heavy use.
Q Functionality
Das’s big selling point with this keyboard is its “Q” software, which is used to customize the RGB lighting and other functions. This can be used to apply animations and patterns to RGB, along with modifying the individual function of each key.
RGB can also be configured via individual “applets” that you install within the main application. They can connect to external applications and website logins to display information such as unread messages, alerts and system information. Some of the more interesting ones include a four-day weather forecast, value tracking for stocks and cryptocurrencies, and price tracking for flights and video games. Additionally, there are several apps with timed reminders for small tasks like drinking water and reminders to stand up if you’ve been sitting for too long.
While these are all great concepts, even the best are held back by a major flaw: RGB lights simply aren’t an efficient way to communicate complex information. For example, the weather forecast applet has multiple color options for different predictions, but only a few of them make sense at first glance: white for snow, yellow for sunshine, and blue for rain. The other options—pink for cloudy weather and red for thunderstorms—are not very intuitive. Unless you spend a lot of time with this keyboard and adjust your daily routines to acclimate to the new system, I doubt the average person will find it helpful to play a memory game with information that is normally two clicks away on their computer. While other keyboards (such as Razer’s BlackWidow V4 75% Pro) integrate secondary screens, this solution seems too complicated and insufficient.