IBM Model M Buckling Spring vs Topre 45g Electrocapacitive
This one is a clicky against a tactile: the IBM Model M Buckling Spring and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive feel different from the first press, and no amount of tuning closes that. Our 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 | IBM Model M Buckling Spring | Topre 45g Electrocapacitive |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 67 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | not published |
| Pre-travel | 2.3 mm | 2.2 mm |
| Total travel | 3.7 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | No | No |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both makers rate these at actuation, which is the one case where the advertised numbers compare directly. Every other force row still has to be matched basis to basis.
Verdict
The IBM Model M Buckling Spring and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive are different kinds of switch, clicky against tactile, which outranks every number in the table above. 22 g at actuation is a bracket apart, not a shade, and it is the IBM Model M Buckling Spring carrying the heavier end at 67 g. Price splits them too: the IBM Model M Buckling Spring is the mid priced option while the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive sits in the premium priced bracket, which adds up across a 70 switch board. We land on the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive for every use we score, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room, so the IBM Model M Buckling Spring makes sense only if its clicky stroke is what you were after.
- Overall pick
- Topre 45g Electrocapacitive
This pair does not split by use case: the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive comes out ahead of the IBM Model M Buckling Spring on all three, so there is one pick here rather than three.
Force curves
IBM Model M Buckling Spring
IBM 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 45g Electrocapacitive
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.
IBM Model M Buckling Spring or Topre 45g Electrocapacitive: the long answer
Take the mechanical side first, since that is where this pair separates. The IBM Model M Buckling Spring is a clicky and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive is a tactile, so both raise a bump, but only the IBM Model M Buckling Spring makes a noise about it. The spread at actuation is 22 g, 67 g on the IBM Model M Buckling Spring against 45 g on the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive, which puts them in different weight brackets rather than two shades of one. Travel differs at both ends, with the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive registering first at 2.2 mm and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive running deepest at 4.0 mm. Pick the stroke before anything else. Sound, weight and price only matter once you know whether you want the bump.
What the table cannot tell you is how either one lands in a room. Put them through the player above and the IBM Model M Buckling Spring lands as loud full clack-click with steel-chassis ring where the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive lands as the iconic HHKB thock: deep 'toc' with a pillowy landing. The IBM Model M Buckling Spring clicks on every press, which is as much a lifestyle choice as a spec. 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 what they cost to fill a board, the IBM Model M Buckling Spring is mid priced, while the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive is premium priced. Factory lube is on the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive alone. Budget the extra time if you pick the IBM Model M Buckling Spring and want it at its best. 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.
Who buys which, then? One switch takes every axis we score: the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, a lighter spring at actuation and a shorter distance to actuation go its way. On typing feel, the bump tells your fingers the key registered, which is most of what typists want. On noise, it skips the click that colleagues learn to resent. That leaves the IBM Model M Buckling Spring to anyone who wants a clicky stroke specifically, which the scoring cannot weigh for you. Match the trims above, play both, and trust whichever one you keep replaying.
For either one on its own terms, read the IBM Model M Buckling Spring page and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the IBM Model M Buckling Spring or the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive the better gaming switch?
We pick the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive for gaming. Of the two it has the quicker, less intrusive stroke, winning on a lighter spring at actuation and a shorter distance to actuation.
Which of the IBM Model M Buckling Spring and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive is quieter in a shared room?
The Topre 45g Electrocapacitive. A click is engineered to be heard, so the IBM Model M Buckling Spring travels through a room in a way an ordinary tactile bottom-out does not.
IBM Model M Buckling Spring vs Topre 45g Electrocapacitive: which one is the heavier press?
The IBM Model M Buckling Spring, by 22 g. Both figures are published at actuation, 67 g against 45 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the IBM Model M Buckling Spring or the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive?
The IBM Model M Buckling Spring sits in the mid priced bracket and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive in the premium priced one. We do not hold a reliable per-switch price for both, so the bracket is the honest answer rather than a total.
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