Alps SKCM Cream Damped vs Gazzew Boba U4
The Alps SKCM Cream Damped and the Gazzew Boba U4 do not fit the same keyboard, so this comparison starts with what you already own rather than with how either one sounds. Our library of every switch we simulate already points each of these at the other. Hear them back to back below with the trims matched before you read a single number.
Hear them back to back
simulated from real specssound loads on your first tapShortcuts: press A or B anywhere outside a text box to fire that burst. Use the volume trims to loudness-match the pair before judging which sounds better.
Spec by spec
| Spec | Alps SKCM Cream Damped | Gazzew Boba U4 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile (silent) | Tactile (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | bottom-out |
| Actuation force | 70 g | not published |
| Bottom-out force | not published | 62 g |
| Pre-travel | 1.7 mm | 1.7 mm |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | Yes | Yes |
| Factory lubed | No | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | No | Yes |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Watch the "brand rates force at" row: these two makers do not measure at the same place, actuation for the Alps SKCM Cream Damped and bottom-out for the Gazzew Boba U4. Force numbers only compare within a row.
Verdict
The Alps SKCM Cream Damped and the Gazzew Boba U4 are both tactiles, so nothing separates them at the fingertip until you look at springs and acoustics. These are not drop-in alternatives to each other. The Alps SKCM Cream Damped needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps. Be careful with the force numbers: 70 g for the Alps SKCM Cream Damped is an actuation figure and 62 g for the Gazzew Boba U4 is measured at bottom-out, so they are not directly comparable. The Gazzew Boba U4 comes out ahead of the Alps SKCM Cream Damped for gaming and for typing, and its pads make it the only one of the two an office tolerates, so this comparison has one answer instead of a set of them.
- Overall pick
- Gazzew Boba U4
Our three scores agree on this pair. The Gazzew Boba U4 takes all of them, which is why there is a single card above instead of three.
Force curves
Alps SKCM Cream Damped
Alps publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the dashed end of the curve is an estimate, not a spec. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers.
Gazzew Boba U4
Gazzew rates this switch at its bottom-out and publishes no actuation force, so the marked bottom-out is the spec and the dashed line into it is an illustration of the stroke, not measured data.
Alps SKCM Cream Damped or Gazzew Boba U4: the long answer
Before anything else, check that both of these will go into the board you own. The Alps SKCM Cream Damped does not use an MX style stem, so it will not drop into a standard hot-swap board or accept ordinary MX keycaps. Both are premium priced. One of them has already been lubed for you and one has not, which is worth more than the price gap if you were not planning to open 70 switches.
Now the part the spec table measures. The force numbers do not line up: Alps rates the Alps SKCM Cream Damped at 70 g actuation while the Gazzew Boba U4 is quoted 62 g at bottom-out, two different points on the curve. Actuation lands at 1.7 mm on both, but the Alps SKCM Cream Damped bottoms out 0.5 mm sooner, 3.5 mm against 4.0 mm. The stroke itself is shared: both give a finger something to aim at on the way down. Same family of stroke and no like-for-like force number between them, which pushes the answer onto sound and price.
Sound decides more of these arguments than force curves do. Two different voices: rubber-cushioned thud both directions, 1980s proto-silent on the Alps SKCM Cream Damped, near-silence with a firm tactile knock underneath on the Gazzew Boba U4. Both carry factory dampening, so this is a contest between two of the quieter switches you can buy rather than a loud one against a quiet one. Worth repeating: the audio here is a simulation built from specs and community descriptions, not a recording of either switch.
That leaves an unusually simple answer, because one switch wins on all three counts: the Gazzew Boba U4 is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, it is the easier switch of the pair to press quickly and repeatedly. On typing feel, it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. On noise, its dampening keeps the sound from carrying across the room. That leaves the Alps SKCM Cream Damped to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. Do the listening first. It costs nothing and it changes minds more often than a spec table does.
For either one on its own terms, read the Alps SKCM Cream Damped page and the Gazzew Boba U4 page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Alps SKCM Cream Damped or Gazzew Boba U4 for gaming?
We pick the Gazzew Boba U4 for gaming. Of the two it has the less intrusive stroke for rapid repeated presses.
Which is quieter, the Alps SKCM Cream Damped or the Gazzew Boba U4?
Both are dampened silent switches, so they sit among the quietest options you can buy. At this level the remaining differences come down to your board, your keycaps and how hard you type, not the switch itself.
Which switch is heavier, the Alps SKCM Cream Damped or the Gazzew Boba U4?
It is hard to say precisely. Alps rates the Alps SKCM Cream Damped at 70 g actuation, while the Gazzew Boba U4 is rated 62 g at bottom-out. Those are different measuring points, so the two numbers are not directly comparable; we label the basis wherever forces appear on this page.
Can the Alps SKCM Cream Damped and the Gazzew Boba U4 go in the same keyboard?
No. The Alps SKCM Cream Damped does not use an MX style stem, so it needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps, while the Gazzew Boba U4 is a standard MX switch. Whichever you pick decides the keyboard, not the other way round.
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