Lemokey, the gaming division of the popular mechanical keyboard company Keychron, makes minimalist gaming keyboards with exceptional specs at a relatively affordable price. (And yes, most of the keyboards are Keychron designs reskinned with 1,000 Hz polling rates, though recently Keychron has been launching gaming-adjacent keyboards under its main brand, such as the Keychron Q1 HE.)
But today, we have something different: the Lemokey L5 HE 8K. The L5 is a gasket- or top-mounted 75-percent mechanical keyboard featuring magnetic Hall Effect switches, a beefy aluminum construction, and, of course, an ultra low-latency 8,000 Hz polling rate. It’s not the cheapest board, however, with a starting price of $199 — it’s got a lot to prove if it wants a spot on our list of best gaming keyboards, so let’s take a look.
Specs
| Switches | Magnetic Switch |
| Lighting | 22 types of RGB backlighting options |
| Onboard Storage | 3 profiles |
| Media Keys | Rotary knob |
| Connectivity | USB Type A |
| Cable | 6-feet, braided |
| Additional Ports | 0 |
| Keycaps | Double-shot PBT |
| Software | Lemokey Launcher |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 12 x 6 x 1.5 inches / 304.8 x 152.4 x 38.1 mm |
| Weight | 4.2 lbs / 1,905g |
| MSRP / Price at time of release | $199 |
| Release Date | Feb. 11, 2025 |
Design of the Lemokey L5 HE 8k
The Lemokey L5 8K HE is a mechanical gaming keyboard with a 75-percent layout, which means it has arrow keys, function keys, and a line of three navigation keys, plus a rotary knob. It comes in two mounting options — top or gasket mount, both of which are included in the box. It’s available in an array of colors such as Cyber (black and green), Dark Master (black and red) and Dawn Master (white and brown), all of which cost $199.
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In 2025, it seems like almost every peripheral company is making gasket-mounted boards, so I was more excited to hear about the L5’s top-mount option. That said, the L5’s main draw are its switches, which are magnetic — similar to those in the Wooting Two HE or the Corsair K70 Core RGB. Also, for its gaming audience, the board features an 8,000 Hz polling rate — guaranteeing you the fastest response rate you can currently find on the market.
Just when you thought that I was done listing this board’s features, I was not. In addition to the 8,000 Hz polling rate, there’s all the tech that you get with magnetic switches: adjustable actuation point, Rapid Trigger, and Dynamic Keystrokes, which let you assign up to four actions on a single key, which trigger at different levels (two on the down stroke, and two on the up stroke).
With all of that tech out of the way, let’s talk about the L5’s construction. The keyboard features a beefy CNC aluminum body and switch plate, giving it some heft — I’m confident it won’t break if accidentally dropped. Like almost all 75-percent mechanical planks, the board comes with a rotary knob that’s adjustable via Lemokey’s software or QMK / VIA. The board measures 12 inches (304.8mm) wide by 6 inches (152.4mm) deep, and is 1.5 inches (38.1mm) thick. It weighs a hefty 4.2 pounds (1,905g).
The included keycaps are double-shot PBT, but they don’t have the grippy texture most PBT keycaps have — not necessarily a bad thing, but if you like PBT keycaps’ texture, these aren’t the keycaps for you. Our review model came in Cyber, which features a green bottom case and a black top plate, with black shine-through keycaps and translucent accent keys. I do wish Lemokey shipped this option with both regular modifier keys and the translucent ones, as they’re a bit polarizing and the board looks a little strange if the back lighting is not set to certain colors. You can, of course, buy new keycaps, but you shouldn’t have to.
The keyboard features a USB-C port on the left side along the top, as well as a switch that lets you switch between PC and Mac mode. It comes pre-configured with some shortcuts — for example, you can change the backlighting configurations using Fn + Q / E, but you’ll find more customization options if you use Lemokey’s Lemokey Launcher to configure the board.
Typing and Gaming Experience
The switches are unlike any other Hall Effect switch I’ve used. For starters, they have a round stem, which provides more structure and reduces stem wobble (similar to Kailh’s box switches). They also feel like true mechanical keyboard switches — the thing that has always deterred me from magnetic keyboards is the feeling. Magnetic switches are often very smooth and clearly, but I usually feel like they’re a little too snappy. However, if you told me that this keyboard’s switches were standard MX mechanical switches, I’d believe you.
The L5 arrives in its gasket-mounted configuration with silicone socks installed. It comes with silicone strips and sockets for gasket-mounting, as well as silicone beans for top-mounting. I tried all four configurations and my favorite ended up being the top-mount: I don’t love bounce on a gaming keyboard. That said, the L5 isn’t as bouncy in its gasket-mounted configuration as other gasket-mounted boards, such as the Mode Designs Mode Eighty.
While each bottom-out is much more firm on the top-mount configuration than on the gasket-mount configurations, the top-mount just felt more like a gaming keyboard (most gaming keyboards are tray-mounted). My game of choice for testing this board was Marvel Rivals, which is one of the more popular competitive games on the market — and this is supposed to be a highly-competitive keyboard. I had zero issues with gaming — the switches were incredibly smooth but didn’t carry that snappy effect that most magnetic switches have, and the 8,000 Hz polling rate made for zero latency.
I’m sure this keyboard could be an extra-competitive weapon if you take the time to dial-in actuation points and tune the various magnetic switch features, such as Rapid Trigger and Dynamic Keystrokes. While some of these features seem a bit niche, they can definitely be useful in the right hands. I could never adjust to Dynamic Keystrokes, but I have a buddy who plays Satisfactory like it’s his job and utilizes said feature on his Corsair K70 Core RGB.
Software of the Lemokey L5 HE 8K
Magnetic switch keyboards rely quite a bit on software for their various features. The L5 comes with Lemokey Launcher, which is web-based, and lets you remap keys, customize the backlighting, record macros, and adjust the keyboard’s magnetic switch features (Rapid Trigger and Dynamic Keystroke, as well as Snap Action and Gamepad Analog). It’s dense but not too complicated, and you’ll need it for the magnetic features.
The only downside is that it’s web-based, so you need to be connected to the internet to use it — which is pretty ridiculous considering this is just a keyboard. Plus, it’s a bit concerning that you have to rely on Keychron/Lemokey keeping this software up so you can reprogram your keyboard. Luckily, you can also configure many of the keyboard’s features using QMK / VIA, the open-source firmware / software used by most enthusiast mechanical keyboards.
Bottom Line
I really enjoyed the Lemokey L5 HE 8K — it definitely bridges the gap (successfully!) between gaming keyboards and enthusiast keyboards. It’s a little steep at $199, but it’s built like a tank and highly adjustable, both hardware- and software-wise. I am a little sick of the 75-percent size, however — there have been several 75-percent magnetic switch gaming keyboards released recently, including Keychron’s own Q1 HE, the Arbiter Studio Polar 75 Pro, and the Meletrix Boog75, though none of those feature 8,000 Hz polling rates. I’d love to see Lemokey capitalize on this board by making TKL and full-size variants so it can really be the ultimate gaming keyboard. They have the build and switches down, so the ingredients are already there!
