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[Review] YJ MGC 5x5 Review - Mid-tier Flagship?

Mo_A2244

Member
Joined
May 11, 2020
Messages
383
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MGC 5x5 Review

Sections:

  • Review of Service
  • Review of Cube – YongJun MGC 5x5 Magnetic Stickerless
  • Unboxing
  • OOTB
  • First Impressions
  • First Turns
  • Lube + Tension
  • Break-in
  • Final Thoughts
Review of Store

General Info

Name
: Cubezz

Link: https://cubezz.com/


Review of Cube
General Info
Name – YJ MGC 5x5
Link – https://cubezz.com/Buy-6162-YongJun+MGC+5+Magnetic+5x5x5+Stickerless+Speed+Cube.html
Availability – Black and Stickerless
Price - $16.99
Size – 62.0mm
Weight – 136.7g

Brief Overview

The YJ MGC 5x5 is a new puzzle in the MGC series as it claims to outperform many other contending 5x5’s that reached the market in late 2019. The cubes manufacturers boast a ‘strong magnetic system’ along with a ‘great feel out of the box.’ A contender to the YJ MGC 5x5 being the AoChuang WR M 5x5 which is 2mm smaller than regular 5x5’s making a huge difference when it comes to the feel of the cube. YJ released the MGC 5x5 as an additional cube to the MGC line-up. The MGC line-up currently consists of:

  • YJ MGC 2x2
  • YJ MGC Elite 3x3
  • YJ MGC 5x5
  • YJ MGC 6x6
With the much anticipated MGC Elite 2x2, MGC 4x4 and MGC 7x7 on the horizon as well as further additions to their WCA line, YJ are certainly making bold strides in providing flagship products at the mid-tier price.

Unboxing

The box consists of the cube itself, along with an accessories box containing the YJ screwdriver, some extra springs and a pamphlet on how to solve the 5x5, which is typical for YJ.

Out of the Box
First Impressions – Before Turning
Appearance
In terms of the shades on this cube, YJ had opted for a lighter shade of green comparing to the MoYu AoChuang WR M 5x5 in which I directly compared to. The colours being significant for cubing in darker lighting conditions.

Feel
Immediately, I noticed a slippery feel compared to the WR M 5x5 which was (along with being noticeably smaller) a lot grippier than the MGC. I am sure I will adjust to this over time.

First Turns
Immediately upon turning, I noticed the cube was very loose out of the box as I experienced lockups. When it was tightened, the cube felt good for me, being a light turner, however this may not be the best for the harder turner unless of course you slow the cube down, especially because it was fast. The cube had a nice snap to it when cornercutting, however, some cornercutting was sacrificed when I tightened the cube previously due to how loose it was out of the box, however, this was not an issue to me as much because of my slower and lighter turning style which I developed.

Corner Cutting

Reverse – ¾ piece
Forward – 35 Degrees

Solves
Several solves later, I began to adjust to the style of the cube and my averages began to drop significantly, even without setup. However, I realised the cube definitely needed lubrication due to a certain spring sound coming from one of the sides, probably due to the core not being lubricated but I still carried on my solves, getting multiple PB’s along the way. Obviously, I had to stop eventually due to the spring sound which I had not yet fixed, so I moved onto the lubrication process.

Setup
Lubrication
Small amounts of thin silicone lubricant on the pieces which benefited slightly whilst I was testing it out. Except the spring sound was now muffled slightly over the lubrication however, I will proceed to lube the core. The lubrication slowed the cube down, which was what I was looking for, as well as making the cube smoother when it turned. This was wonderful news as (as I said earlier) the cube was very fast out of the box, so I was happy that that changed due to the lubrication that I put in.

Break-in
The cube was of course gummy to the amount of thin lubrication that I put in the cube, so I began to break it in. Several solves or so later I noticed the cube had improved in performance. The cube was smooth and slow whilst still retaining the light airy turning. The cube’s fast and uncontrollability had decreased to a controllable light turning style which I liked. I would highly recommend this cube to lighter turners, mainly due to the speed of the cube, however, this is easily changeable is some thick lubrication is used instead of the thin which I had used if a harder turner would like to purchase this cube, with the intent of slowing it down.

Final Thoughts

The cube is worth the price. At $16.99 the cube outperforms many other 5x5’s that are usually for a much larger price. I like the smooth turning of the cube along with many other aspects that make this cube a possible 5x5 main for myself. However, it is very fast out of the box. This may not be true as I am used to slower cubes than this, so I am not used to this style. However, it needed a lot of work to have a chance to become my main due to my lighter turning style that I got used to on a MoYu AoChuang WR M 5x5, which was a good fit for me considering the fact I have smaller hands and would get used to smaller cubes.

Should you buy this cube? Yes and No.

At only $16.99 this is the cheapest flagship 5x5 available in the market. YJ are succeeding in providing flagship style puzzles at mid-tier prices, making cubers less inclined to spend the extra amount on cubes which exhibit similar qualities.

Something worth mentioning is stability. Despite the cube responding well to lubricants and setups, a slightly lighter turning style is required to maintain stability and avoid lockups. Particularly with larger cubes, stability is key in producing fast times. The cube is somewhat stable on tighter tensions and fortunately tightening the cube does not hinder cornercutting. I would certainly recommend tightening the tensions out of the box. This cube is still usable for those with inaccurate or faster turning, although I would recommend tightening the tensions fully, whilst applying thick lubricant to the pieces.

The next thing to consider is centre twisting. Particularly out of the box, centre twisting was common, but this was due to the initial tensions being very loose. Due to the centre corners having little interaction with the centres, centre twists, despite being rare, are still existent when turning inaccurately.

Moving onto the positives. This cube blew me away with its speed. With big cubes especially, speed is essential in ensuring that little effort is required to turn. I really liked its light and airy feel and I am sure it will be popular amongst other cubers.

If you are looking for a fast 5x5 out of the box, this is the cube for you. The 5x5 has already shown a high level of success with it already having been used to break various national and continental records, wit the hopes of it continuing to show success as a top tier flagship with a midrange price.

Huge thanks to my colleague @Zain_A24 for allowing me to test the cube out, allowing me to produce this review.
 
Last edited:

Zain_A24

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Aug 14, 2019
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Nice review. I can see you put a lot of time into it. Hopefully the final version of the Aochuang WR M will provide a better comparison than the prototype version.
 

Mo_A2244

Member
Joined
May 11, 2020
Messages
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I agree, the mgc is better, especially because of speed (as you said) considering how fast it was out of the box.
 

thorsilver

Member
Joined
May 18, 2020
Messages
14
Excellent review! This cube has completely revolutionised 5x5 solving for me. I couldn't get into it so much before, but the MGC is so fast, yet controllable enough for a 5x5 newbie like me. The MGC 4x4 and 6x6 have been brilliant too. I hope they can deliver with the MGC 7x7 -- I've got the Spark, Yufu v2M and Aofu GTS M, but each of them has quirks that I can't quite sort out.
 

Sub1Hour

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Jun 4, 2018
Messages
1,873
Location
Utah
WCA
2018BECK05
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the mgc I think is better than the valk5m, because speed is a big factor.o
With the right setup, the valk can be just as fast as the MGC. Mine has a Celeritas setup and its the same speed as my Pro Shop MGC, if not a little faster but thats just because the lube has been sitting in my MGC for a while since I switched to the valk around a month ago.
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2020
Messages
3
MGC 5x5 Review

Sections:

  • Review of Service
  • Review of Cube – YongJun MGC 5x5 Magnetic Stickerless
  • Unboxing
  • OOTB
  • First Impressions
  • First Turns
  • Lube + Tension
  • Break-in
  • Final Thoughts
Review of Store

General Info

Name
: Cubezz

Link: https://cubezz.com/


Review of Cube
General Info
Name – YJ MGC 5x5
Link – https://cubezz.com/Buy-6162-YongJun+MGC+5+Magnetic+5x5x5+Stickerless+Speed+Cube.html
Availability – Black and Stickerless
Price - $16.99
Size – 62.0mm
Weight – 136.7g

Brief Overview

The YJ MGC 5x5 is a new puzzle in the MGC series as it claims to outperform many other contending 5x5’s that reached the market in late 2019. The cubes manufacturers boast a ‘strong magnetic system’ along with a ‘great feel out of the box.’ A contender to the YJ MGC 5x5 being the AoChuang WR M 5x5 which is 2mm smaller than regular 5x5’s making a huge difference when it comes to the feel of the cube. YJ released the MGC 5x5 as an additional cube to the MGC line-up. The MGC line-up currently consists of:

  • YJ MGC 2x2
  • YJ MGC Elite 3x3
  • YJ MGC 5x5
  • YJ MGC 6x6
With the much anticipated MGC Elite 2x2, MGC 4x4 and MGC 7x7 on the horizon as well as further additions to their WCA line, YJ are certainly making bold strides in providing flagship products at the mid-tier price.

Unboxing

The box consists of the cube itself, along with an accessories box containing the YJ screwdriver, some extra springs and a pamphlet on how to solve the 5x5, which is typical for YJ.

Out of the Box
First Impressions – Before Turning
Appearance
In terms of the shades on this cube, YJ had opted for a lighter shade of green comparing to the MoYu AoChuang WR M 5x5 in which I directly compared to. The colours being significant for cubing in darker lighting conditions.

Feel
Immediately, I noticed a slippery feel compared to the WR M 5x5 which was (along with being noticeably smaller) a lot grippier than the MGC. I am sure I will adjust to this over time.

First Turns
Immediately upon turning, I noticed the cube was very loose out of the box as I experienced lockups. When it was tightened, the cube felt good for me, being a light turner, however this may not be the best for the harder turner unless of course you slow the cube down, especially because it was fast. The cube had a nice snap to it when cornercutting, however, some cornercutting was sacrificed when I tightened the cube previously due to how loose it was out of the box, however, this was not an issue to me as much because of my slower and lighter turning style which I developed.

Corner Cutting

Reverse – ¾ piece
Forward – 35 Degrees

Solves
Several solves later, I began to adjust to the style of the cube and my averages began to drop significantly, even without setup. However, I realised the cube definitely needed lubrication due to a certain spring sound coming from one of the sides, probably due to the core not being lubricated but I still carried on my solves, getting multiple PB’s along the way. Obviously, I had to stop eventually due to the spring sound which I had not yet fixed, so I moved onto the lubrication process.

Setup
Lubrication
Small amounts of thin silicone lubricant on the pieces which benefited slightly whilst I was testing it out. Except the spring sound was now muffled slightly over the lubrication however, I will proceed to lube the core. The lubrication slowed the cube down, which was what I was looking for, as well as making the cube smoother when it turned. This was wonderful news as (as I said earlier) the cube was very fast out of the box, so I was happy that that changed due to the lubrication that I put in.

Break-in
The cube was of course gummy to the amount of thin lubrication that I put in the cube, so I began to break it in. Several solves or so later I noticed the cube had improved in performance. The cube was smooth and slow whilst still retaining the light airy turning. The cube’s fast and uncontrollability had decreased to a controllable light turning style which I liked. I would highly recommend this cube to lighter turners, mainly due to the speed of the cube, however, this is easily changeable is some thick lubrication is used instead of the thin which I had used if a harder turner would like to purchase this cube, with the intent of slowing it down.

Final Thoughts

The cube is worth the price. At $16.99 the cube outperforms many other 5x5’s that are usually for a much larger price. I like the smooth turning of the cube along with many other aspects that make this cube a possible 5x5 main for myself. However, it is very fast out of the box. This may not be true as I am used to slower cubes than this, so I am not used to this style. However, it needed a lot of work to have a chance to become my main due to my lighter turning style that I got used to on a MoYu AoChuang WR M 5x5, which was a good fit for me considering the fact I have smaller hands and would get used to smaller cubes.

Should you buy this cube? Yes and No.

At only $16.99 this is the cheapest flagship 5x5 available in the market. YJ are succeeding in providing flagship style puzzles at mid-tier prices, making cubers less inclined to spend the extra amount on cubes which exhibit similar qualities.

Something worth mentioning is stability. Despite the cube responding well to lubricants and setups, a slightly lighter turning style is required to maintain stability and avoid lockups. Particularly with larger cubes, stability is key in producing fast times. The cube is somewhat stable on tighter tensions and fortunately tightening the cube does not hinder cornercutting. I would certainly recommend tightening the tensions out of the box. This cube is still usable for those with inaccurate or faster turning, although I would recommend tightening the tensions fully, whilst applying thick lubricant to the pieces.

The next thing to consider is centre twisting. Particularly out of the box, centre twisting was common, but this was due to the initial tensions being very loose. Due to the centre corners having little interaction with the centres, centre twists, despite being rare, are still existent when turning inaccurately.

Moving onto the positives. This cube blew me away with its speed. With big cubes especially, speed is essential in ensuring that little effort is required to turn. I really liked its light and airy feel and I am sure it will be popular amongst other cubers.

If you are looking for a fast 5x5 out of the box, this is the cube for you. The 5x5 has already shown a high level of success with it already having been used to break various national and continental records, wit the hopes of it continuing to show success as a top tier flagship with a midrange price.

Huge thanks to my colleague @Zain_A24 for allowing me to test the cube out, allowing me to produce this review.
I think It is good if your are beginning and getting better, I have it it's great but it has popping issues, so soon I will switch to the cosmic wushuang M.
 

Mo_A2244

Member
Joined
May 11, 2020
Messages
383
YouTube
Visit Channel
I think It is good if your are beginning and getting better, I have it it's great but it has popping issues, so soon I will switch to the cosmic wushuang M.
I agree, the Mgc does seem to have popping issues unless you are solving it with tight tensions. However, the speed is very good of this puzzle, hence the reason it is my main as I am more of a lighter turner and don't experience pop's as much.
 
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