Disassembly

With eleven easily accessible screws on the back, including the two holding the keyboard feet in place, disassembly of the Cherry MX Board 5.0 is fairly easy. There is also a hidden 12th screw under the Cherry logo sticker, and a precision Phillips head screwdriver comes in handy here. Once all the screws are removed, the bottom ABS plastic case panel comes loose, and there is enough room to dislodge the internal USB connector from the PCB.


The MX Board 5.0 employs a two-piece plastic case design, which is why I was pleasantly surprised to see everything held in place via screws instead of the usual interlocking plastic tabs that make my life harder. A single screw holds the top panel piece with the PCB, and we see it has a silver finish and houses plastic diffusers for the indicator LEDs. The PCB is red and has the switches soldered through a steel plate and into the PCB for structural integrity.


Solder quality is really good, although there is not a lot to see here. Presumably, the USB microcontroller and any other drivers are on the other side of the PCB, so there is really nothing to talk about unless you de-solder the switches. All components, including the switches and LEDs, are soldered to a multi-layered PCB.

Before we move on, be advised that disassembly may void the warranty and that TechPowerUp is not liable for any damages incurred if you decide to go ahead and do so anyway.