Gateron's silent Low Profile 3.0 Black switch: quiet, but not mushy
Gateron has officially launched the Silent Low Profile 3.0 Black, the newest member of its Low Profile 3.0 family, which has already shown up in boards from brands like NuPhy and Chilkey. It is a linear switch aimed at noise-sensitive people and office-style environments, and I think it is a nice sign that low-profile builds are getting more attention from switch makers.
Like most silent switches, the Black uses silicone o-rings on the stem to cushion bottom-out and top-out. What caught my eye is that the o-rings do not eat into the travel: actuation is still 1.7 mm with 3.4 mm of total travel, the same as the non-silent versions. It is also the heaviest of Gateron's silent 3.0 lineup at 50 gf (plus or minus 15 gf), so it should feel a bit more deliberate than the lighter options.
On the construction side, the stem is full POM, the bottom housing is nylon and the top housing is clear PC, so backlighting should still shine through. The switches come factory lubricated for a smoother stroke.
The part I find most practical is the pin layout. Gateron's Low Profile 3.0 standard uses the same 5-pin layout and sockets as regular Cherry MX-style switches. In theory, a manufacturer can offer both a low-profile and a full-height version of one keyboard and only swap the plate. For anyone who likes to rebuild and experiment, that kind of flexibility is exactly what makes a standard interesting.
I will be curious to see which boards ship with these first and how they sound in a typed-out recording rather than on a spec sheet.
Source: TechPowerUp
Like most silent switches, the Black uses silicone o-rings on the stem to cushion bottom-out and top-out. What caught my eye is that the o-rings do not eat into the travel: actuation is still 1.7 mm with 3.4 mm of total travel, the same as the non-silent versions. It is also the heaviest of Gateron's silent 3.0 lineup at 50 gf (plus or minus 15 gf), so it should feel a bit more deliberate than the lighter options.
On the construction side, the stem is full POM, the bottom housing is nylon and the top housing is clear PC, so backlighting should still shine through. The switches come factory lubricated for a smoother stroke.
The part I find most practical is the pin layout. Gateron's Low Profile 3.0 standard uses the same 5-pin layout and sockets as regular Cherry MX-style switches. In theory, a manufacturer can offer both a low-profile and a full-height version of one keyboard and only swap the plate. For anyone who likes to rebuild and experiment, that kind of flexibility is exactly what makes a standard interesting.
I will be curious to see which boards ship with these first and how they sound in a typed-out recording rather than on a spec sheet.
Source: TechPowerUp
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