Cherry MX Black MX2A vs Gateron Ink Black V2
Weight is the real gap here: 10 g between the Cherry MX Black MX2A and the Gateron Ink Black V2 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 | Cherry MX Black MX2A | Gateron Ink Black V2 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 60 g | 60 g |
| Bottom-out force | 80 g (our estimate) | 70 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Cherry and Gateron 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. The two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because neither Cherry nor Gateron publishes a bottom-out figure. How that derivation works .
Verdict
Cherry and Gateron are selling the same stroke here, so the Cherry MX Black MX2A and the Gateron Ink Black V2 separate on spring, distance and voice instead. There is a real weight gap too: 80 g against 70 g at bottom-out, so the Cherry MX Black MX2A asks noticeably more of your fingers over a long session. Neither Cherry nor Gateron publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those are our estimates. The Cherry MX Black MX2A is the cheaper board to fill by a full bracket, mid priced against premium priced. We land on the Cherry MX Black MX2A for every use we score, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room, so the Gateron Ink Black V2 makes sense only if you preferred its voice in the player above.
- Overall pick
- Cherry MX Black MX2A
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Cherry MX Black MX2A, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
Force curves
Cherry MX Black MX2A
Cherry publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 80 g at the end of the stroke is our estimate and the run into it is dashed. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers. How we derive it.
Gateron Ink Black V2
Gateron publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 70 g at the end of the stroke is our estimate and the run into it is dashed. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers. How we derive it.
Cherry MX Black MX2A or Gateron Ink Black V2: the long answer
Start with feel, because it settles most switch arguments before sound comes up. At bottom-out the Cherry MX Black MX2A is the firmer press, 80 g against 70 g, a difference you notice after a paragraph rather than on the first keystroke. Neither Cherry nor Gateron publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those are our estimates. Both are linears either way, so nothing sits between the top of either key and the bottom. The two stroke depths are identical, 2.0 mm to actuation inside 4.0 mm of total travel. With the stroke shared, that spring gap does most of the deciding here.
What the table cannot tell you is how either one lands in a room. Put them through the player above and the Cherry MX Black MX2A lands as deeper, firmer bottom-out than Red; controlled and solid where the Gateron Ink Black V2 lands as signature deep-yet-clacky Ink voice; smooth and resonant. As everywhere on the site, these are simulations built from published specifications and documented character. Accurate enough to compare, not a recording.
On the practical side, the Cherry MX Black MX2A is mid priced, while the Gateron Ink Black V2 is premium priced. Both come factory lubed, so neither needs work out of the box.
The scoring gives up trying to divide this pair: the Cherry MX Black MX2A is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. On typing feel, it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. On noise, it makes the least fuss of the pair in a shared space. That leaves the Gateron Ink Black V2 to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. Match the trims above, play both, and trust whichever one you keep replaying.
For either one on its own terms, read the Cherry MX Black MX2A page and the Gateron Ink Black V2 page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Cherry MX Black MX2A or the Gateron Ink Black V2 the better gaming switch?
We pick the Cherry MX Black MX2A for gaming. The two are close enough for gaming that either works; our scoring defaults to it by a small margin.
Cherry MX Black MX2A or Gateron Ink Black V2: which one is quieter?
Volume is roughly a wash: no dampening and no click mechanism on either, so your typing force and your case decide the level. The character is not a wash, with the Cherry MX Black MX2A reading as deeper, firmer bottom-out than Red; controlled and solid against signature deep-yet-clacky Ink voice; smooth and resonant from the Gateron Ink Black V2.
Cherry MX Black MX2A vs Gateron Ink Black V2: which one is the heavier press?
The Cherry MX Black MX2A, on the numbers we have: 80 g against 70 g at bottom-out. Read that as a guide rather than a like-for-like manufacturer comparison, because neither Cherry nor Gateron publishes a bottom-out figure, so both of those numbers are our own derivation from the forces they do publish.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Cherry MX Black MX2A or the Gateron Ink Black V2?
The Cherry MX Black MX2A sits in the mid priced bracket and the Gateron Ink Black V2 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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