Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca vs NovelKeys NK Cream
Weight is the real gap here: 7 g between the NovelKeys NK Cream and the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca at actuation, which is enough to change how a long session ends. 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 | Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca | NovelKeys NK Cream |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | bottom-out | actuation |
| Actuation force | 48 g | 55 g |
| Bottom-out force | 62 g | 70 g |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Watch the "brand rates force at" row: these two makers do not measure at the same place, bottom-out for the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca and actuation for the NovelKeys NK Cream. Force numbers only compare within a row.
Verdict
Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) and NovelKeys are selling the same stroke here, so the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca and the NovelKeys NK Cream separate on spring, distance and voice instead. The NovelKeys NK Cream is the firmer of the two at actuation, 55 g to 48 g, though 7 g is not much to choose between. Only the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca arrives factory lubed, which is an evening of work saved on a full board. We land on the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca for every use we score, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room, so the NovelKeys NK Cream makes sense only if you preferred its voice in the player above.
- Overall pick
- Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca
This pair does not split by use case: the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca comes out ahead of the NovelKeys NK Cream on all three, so there is one pick here rather than three.
Force curves
Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca
NovelKeys NK Cream
Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca or NovelKeys NK Cream: the long answer
Specs first, since the feel gap is what you notice in the first minute of typing. Springs split them by 7 g at actuation: 55 g for the NovelKeys NK Cream, 48 g for the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca. Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) and NovelKeys are both selling you linears here, so neither one puts a bump or a click in the way of the press. Distance is not the difference: both register at 2.0 mm and stop at 4.0 mm. Neither one out-feels the other on type, so the small differences in the table are where the decision lives.
Sound is where most people finally pick a side. The Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca sits at smooth clacky-bright bottom-out, benchmark clean; the NovelKeys NK Cream answers with unique rounded POM clack-thock, deep and resonant. The usual caveat applies. Nothing here is a studio recording; both packs are synthesized from published specs, and the players say so.
On cost and convenience, both are premium priced. One of them has already been lubed for you and one has not, which is worth more than the price gap if you were not planning to open 70 switches.
So who should buy which? The same switch wins every way we score it: the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca 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, nothing about it gets tiring by the afternoon, which is the whole test for a writing switch. On noise, it is the one of these two you would not apologize for. That leaves the NovelKeys NK Cream to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. Whichever way you land, listen to both above with the volume trims matched before you spend anything.
There is more on both than a head-to-head can carry. Start with the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca page and the NovelKeys NK Cream page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca or NovelKeys NK Cream for gaming?
We pick the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca for gaming. The two are close enough for gaming that either works; our scoring defaults to it by a small margin.
Which of the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca and the NovelKeys NK Cream is quieter in a shared room?
They are close. Neither is a silent switch and neither clicks, so loudness depends mostly on how hard you bottom out and the board they sit in. Their character differs though: the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca leans toward smooth clacky-bright bottom-out, benchmark clean, while the NovelKeys NK Cream is unique rounded POM clack-thock, deep and resonant.
Is the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca heavier than the NovelKeys NK Cream?
The NovelKeys NK Cream, by 7 g. Both figures are published at actuation, 55 g against 48 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Do the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca and the NovelKeys NK Cream need lubing?
The Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca arrives lubed from the factory, so it is usable straight out of the bag. The NovelKeys NK Cream 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.
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