3D printers · Creality
Owners keep the Ender 5 as a printer to learn on and upgrade, valuing its print quality and treating Klipper and hardware mods as part of the fun.
Print quality is clear praise. Owners describe good results, often after upgrades such as a dual Z axis, a direct drive extruder and a PEI or glass bed suited to the filament they run.
Owners are divided on reliability. Some have kept modded machines running for years, while others found units faulty out of the box, such as an Ender 5S with a bad connector or an Ender 5 Max whose vibration kept working screws loose.
The Creality Ender 5 is a home 3D printer that builds plastic objects layer by layer from a spool of filament. It has a cube-shaped metal frame and comes partly assembled. It is aimed at hobbyists and beginners who don't mind some setup and adjusting.
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From the maker's spec page, checked October 8, 2026. A blank row means the maker does not state it.
I could not open Creality's own page for the original Ender 5, so the specs table is empty. Reviews and resellers (not Creality) list a print area of 220 x 220 x 300 mm, about the size of a large shoebox standing on end. They also list a nozzle that reaches 260°C, which is enough for common plastics like PLA and PETG. You level the bed by hand, so expect some fiddling before your first good print.
Pick up to three. You get a page with just those, side by side, on the subjects owners raised.
The lasting pleasure for many owners is the tinkering. They say the Ender 5 taught them how a printer works from the inside. One owner said that knowledge made setting up a newer Ender 5 Max much easier. Several moved to faster or more automated machines but kept their Enders because they enjoy fixing them and getting them running again. Owners of the Plus value its large build volume.
Running Klipper has become routine for several owners, with Mainsail and a bed mesh set up, and one uses an old Xbox Kinect as a webcam. There are adjustments. One Ender 5 Plus owner found it slow and loud to run, while another got a modded Pro and Plus close to the speed of much newer printers. ABS needs an enclosure or tent to avoid shrinking and weak layers. One owner grew tired of Klipper updates breaking things. Owners are divided on bed leveling.
The core frame and electronics tend to keep going. One owner still runs two machines on their original boards, and an Ender 5 Pro bought in 2020 is still printing after a full Zero G conversion. Things that fail or need fixing include faulty connectors, loosening screws on the hotend and heater assembly from vibration, and, on some units built during the chip shortage, problems with the GD chip. Owners often fix these with a second Z motor, a BLTouch probe and a switch to Klipper. Support experiences are divided: Creality replaced every damaged part one Ender 5 Max owner showed them, while another owner said repeated emails got no useful reply.
Long-term accounts that cover the standard Ender 5 alone are thin. Many owners compare it with other printers they own, and several talk about different versions (Pro, Plus, S, Max) in the same breath. That makes it hard to say how a stock Ender 5 holds up over several years without upgrades.
From 4 owner accounts that said how long they have had it. Own one? Add how long yours has lasted.
Nothing has a clear majority against it yet. Counted from the owners who raised each subject, not from everyone. A subject is judged once at least 4 owners raise it.
24 more subjects came up from fewer than 4 owners each, which is not enough for a fair reading. To see how it stacks up, compare it with another machine.
The same owner, asked again at each point. Fills in as owners answer.
Two questions: how long you have had it, and anything you would like to say about it. Then we ask again as it ages. This helps our mission.
More in 3d printers: Creality Hi, Bambu Lab X1C, Prusa Mk3.
Among the 4 owner accounts here that gave a duration, 0 described a failure.
Before you buy one used, ask the seller: how old it is, whether it was ever repaired and by whom, and whether any of the parts above have been replaced. Ask to see it run. A receipt tells you the warranty start date; most makers honour the term only for the first owner.
Public discussions we read and summarised in our own words. Nothing here was submitted to Still Kicks.
Counted from public accounts by people who said they own it, and summarised by Still Kicks in its own words. Not a manufacturer claim, a lab test or an estimate.
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