Alps SKCM Cream Damped vs Topre Silent 45g (Type-S)
Weight is the real gap here: 25 g between the Alps SKCM Cream Damped and the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) at actuation, which is enough to change how a long session ends. Our library of every switch we simulate puts these two on each other's shortlist, and the player below is the fastest way to settle it: match the volumes, then work down through the table and the verdict.
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 | Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile (silent) | Tactile (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 70 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | not published |
| Pre-travel | 1.7 mm | 2.2 mm |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm | 3.8 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | Yes | Yes |
| Factory lubed | No | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | No | No |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Alps and Topre both advertise an actuation force, so the two headline figures in this table are measured at the same point and can be read against each other.
Verdict
This is a tactile versus tactile contest: the Alps SKCM Cream Damped and the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) share the same stroke character, which makes the smaller spec gaps decisive. Weight separates them clearly: measured at actuation, the Alps SKCM Cream Damped is 25 g heavier than the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S), which changes both fatigue and sound. Travel favors the Alps SKCM Cream Damped: it registers at 1.7 mm where the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) needs 2.2 mm. One pick, not three: the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) takes gaming and typing, and it is the dampened one, so a shared room is not an argument. The Alps SKCM Cream Damped is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Topre Silent 45g (Type-S)
No use case rescues the Alps SKCM Cream Damped here. The Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) wins gaming, typing and the office question alike, so the block collapses to one.
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.
Topre Silent 45g (Type-S)
Topre 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.
Alps SKCM Cream Damped or Topre Silent 45g (Type-S): the long answer
Specs first, since the feel gap is what you notice in the first minute of typing. Weight is the loud fact here. At actuation the Alps SKCM Cream Damped takes 70 g where the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) takes 45 g, and 25 g is enough to change how the third hour feels. Neither the trigger point nor the depth matches: 1.7 mm to actuation on the Alps SKCM Cream Damped against 2.2 mm, and 3.5 mm of total travel on the Alps SKCM Cream Damped against 3.8 mm. Alps and Topre are both selling you tactiles here, so each one puts a felt event in the middle of the stroke. Same stroke character, so the spring is the fact to weigh.
Now the part spec sheets cannot carry: the voice. Put them through the player above and the Alps SKCM Cream Damped lands as rubber-cushioned thud both directions, 1980s proto-silent where the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) lands as muted 'puc': the thock, whispered. 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. The usual caveat applies. Nothing here is a studio recording; both packs are synthesized from published specs, and the players say so.
On what they cost to fill a board, both are premium priced. Only the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) comes factory lubed, so the Alps SKCM Cream Damped asks for either an evening with a brush or tolerance of a drier stroke. Worth knowing before you order: neither of these uses an MX style stem, so neither will drop into a standard hot-swap board or accept ordinary MX keycaps, and they do not share a mount with each other either.
So who should buy which? The same switch wins every way we score it: the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, a lighter spring at actuation goes its way. On typing feel, its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. On noise, a dampened bottom-out is the only version of this that a shared room forgives. 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. None of this beats hearing them yourself, which the player above lets you do in about a minute.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Alps SKCM Cream Damped page and the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Alps SKCM Cream Damped or the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) the better gaming switch?
We pick the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) for gaming. The scoring gives it a lighter spring at actuation against the Alps SKCM Cream Damped, and both of those show up in a fast game.
Which is quieter, the Alps SKCM Cream Damped or the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S)?
Neither wins on volume, because both are silenced. What separates them is what is left after the pads: the pitch of the press and how muted the release feels.
Which switch is heavier, the Alps SKCM Cream Damped or the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S)?
The Alps SKCM Cream Damped. Both brands publish at actuation, which makes 70 g against 45 g an honest 25 g rather than two numbers from different rulers.
Do the Alps SKCM Cream Damped and the Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) need lubing?
The Topre Silent 45g (Type-S) arrives lubed from the factory, so it is usable straight out of the bag. The Alps SKCM Cream Damped does not, and on a full board that is an evening of work if you want it at its smoothest. Plenty of people run unlubed switches happily; it is a question of whether a slightly drier stroke bothers you.
More comparisons
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