Cherry MX Blue MX2A vs NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie
The Cherry MX Blue MX2A and the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie are both clicky, but they do not click the same way, and that is where the whole difference lives. Our switch library cross-links them because this matchup keeps coming up. Start with the A/B bursts below, then take the spec table and the picks in order.
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 Blue MX2A | NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 50 g | 55 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | 75 g |
| Pre-travel | 2.2 mm | 1.9 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 3.9 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| 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
Both the Cherry MX Blue MX2A and the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie are clickies, but they are not the same click: the two use different mechanisms, and that is where most of the difference lives. They also click differently: a click jacket sliding down the stem on the Cherry MX Blue MX2A against a bowed metal disk popping under the stem on the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie. Their springs sit close together, just 5 g apart at actuation, with the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie the marginally firmer press. By use case, then: the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie for gaming, the Cherry MX Blue MX2A for typing and a shared office. Read that office call as relative: the Cherry MX Blue MX2A clicks too, just less insistently.
- Gaming pick
- NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie
- Typing pick
- Cherry MX Blue MX2A
- Office pick
- Cherry MX Blue MX2A
Force curves
Cherry MX Blue MX2A
Cherry 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.
NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie
Cherry MX Blue MX2A or NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie: the long answer
Take the noise question first, because it is the real gap here. Put them through the player above and the Cherry MX Blue MX2A lands as high-pitched two-part click with a faint upstroke rattle where the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie lands as a sharp bottle-cap pop, brighter than a click bar. They do not even click the same way: a click jacket sliding down the stem on the Cherry MX Blue MX2A against a bowed metal disk popping under the stem on the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie, which is most of the tonal difference you are hearing. A click you love at your own desk can still be the loudest thing in someone else’s meeting. The usual caveat applies. Nothing here is a studio recording; both packs are synthesized from published specs, and the players say so.
Now the part the spec table measures. At actuation the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie is the firmer press, 55 g against 50 g, a difference you notice after a paragraph rather than on the first keystroke. Travel differs at both ends, with the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie registering first at 1.9 mm and the Cherry MX Blue MX2A running deepest at 4.0 mm. Cherry and NovelKeys are both selling you clickies here, so each announces actuation to your finger and to the room at once. Neither one out-feels the other on type, so the small differences in the table are where the decision lives.
On the practical side, the Cherry MX Blue MX2A is mid priced, while the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie is premium priced. Neither is factory lubed, so enthusiasts often hand lube both for the smoothest result.
So who should buy which? For gaming we lean toward the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie, because this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. For long typing sessions the Cherry MX Blue MX2A makes the stronger case, since the click keeps a long session in rhythm, assuming nobody nearby objects. And if your keyboard shares a room with other people, the Cherry MX Blue MX2A is the one we would trust, as neither of these belongs in a quiet shared room, and this is only the less punishing of the two clicks. Before you order either, match the volume trims above and hear them back to back.
For either one on its own terms, read the Cherry MX Blue MX2A page and the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the Cherry MX Blue MX2A or the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie?
We pick the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie for gaming. The two are close enough for gaming that either works; our scoring defaults to it by a small margin.
Which of the Cherry MX Blue MX2A and the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie is quieter in a shared room?
Neither, honestly. Both are clicky switches that announce every keystroke, so neither belongs in a quiet shared space. If noise is the deciding factor, a silent tactile is the better direction entirely.
Which has the heavier spring, the Cherry MX Blue MX2A or the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie?
The NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie, and the comparison is clean: actuation on both sides, 55 g to 50 g.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Cherry MX Blue MX2A or the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie?
The Cherry MX Blue MX2A sits in the mid priced bracket and the NovelKeys NK Cream Clickie 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.
More comparisons
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