Gazzew Boba U4 vs Durock T1 Shrimp
Weight is the real gap here: 5 g between the Durock T1 Shrimp and the Gazzew Boba U4 at bottom-out, which is enough to change how a long session ends. Our full switch library 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 | Gazzew Boba U4 | Durock T1 Shrimp |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile (silent) | Tactile (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | bottom-out | bottom-out |
| Actuation force | not published | 52 g |
| Bottom-out force | 62 g | 67 g |
| Pre-travel | 1.7 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | Yes | Yes |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both makers rate these at bottom-out, which is the one case where the advertised numbers compare directly. Every other force row still has to be matched basis to basis.
Verdict
Gazzew and Durock are selling the same stroke here, so the Gazzew Boba U4 and the Durock T1 Shrimp separate on spring, distance and voice instead. Their springs sit close together, just 5 g apart at bottom-out, with the Durock T1 Shrimp the marginally firmer press. Travel favors the Gazzew Boba U4: it registers at 1.7 mm where the Durock T1 Shrimp needs 2.0 mm. We land on the Gazzew Boba U4 for every use we score, and it is the dampened one, so a shared room is not an argument, so the Durock T1 Shrimp makes sense only if you preferred its voice in the player above.
- Overall pick
- Gazzew Boba U4
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Gazzew Boba U4, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
Force curves
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.
Durock T1 Shrimp
Gazzew Boba U4 or Durock T1 Shrimp: the long answer
Put the two side by side on paper before you trust your ears. Spring weight barely separates them, 5 g at bottom-out with the Durock T1 Shrimp on the firmer side, which most fingers will not register. The Gazzew Boba U4 registers earlier, 1.7 mm against 2.0 mm, inside the same 4.0 mm of total travel. Gazzew and Durock are both selling you tactiles here, so each one puts a felt event in the middle of the stroke. Same family of stroke, so read the detail rather than the headline.
The ears usually get the last word here. Put them through the player above and the Gazzew Boba U4 lands as near-silence with a firm tactile knock underneath where the Durock T1 Shrimp lands as big bump, muted dampened landing. 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. One caveat we repeat wherever a player appears: no studio recording sits behind either of these. They are built from what each maker publishes and what the community reports.
On price and practicality, both are premium priced. Both arrive lubed from the factory, which is one project you can skip either way.
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, the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair. On typing feel, its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. On noise, its dampening keeps the sound from carrying across the room. That leaves the Durock T1 Shrimp 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.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Gazzew Boba U4 page and the Durock T1 Shrimp page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
For gaming, should I buy the Gazzew Boba U4 or the Durock T1 Shrimp?
We pick the Gazzew Boba U4 for gaming. The two are close enough for gaming that either works; our scoring defaults to it by a small margin.
Which is quieter, the Gazzew Boba U4 or the Durock T1 Shrimp?
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.
Gazzew Boba U4 vs Durock T1 Shrimp: which one is the heavier press?
The Durock T1 Shrimp, and the comparison is clean: bottom-out on both sides, 67 g to 62 g.
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