Gateron Oil King vs NovelKeys NK Cream
Weight is the real gap here: 10 g between the Gateron Oil King and the NovelKeys NK Cream at bottom-out, which is enough to change how a long session ends. Our full switch library links the two to each other for that reason. Play the A/B bursts below to hear them back to back, match the volumes, then read the spec 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 | Gateron Oil King | NovelKeys NK Cream |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 55 g | 55 g |
| Bottom-out force | 80 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 | Mid-range | Premium |
| Street price | ~$0.65 / switch | varies |
Gateron and NovelKeys 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.
Verdict
Stroke character is a tie. Two linears feel alike under a finger, which pushes the decision onto the rows below the type row. There is a real weight gap too: 80 g against 70 g at bottom-out, so the Gateron Oil King asks noticeably more of your fingers over a long session. Price splits them too: the Gateron Oil King is the mid priced option while the NovelKeys NK Cream sits in the premium priced bracket, which adds up across a 70 switch board. We land on the Gateron Oil King 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
- Gateron Oil King
Our three scores agree on this pair. The Gateron Oil King takes all of them, which is why there is a single card above instead of three.
Force curves
Gateron Oil King
NovelKeys NK Cream
Gateron Oil King or NovelKeys NK Cream: the long answer
Start with feel, because it settles most switch arguments before sound comes up. The Gateron Oil King carries the heavier spring at bottom-out, 80 g to 70 g. That is a real 10 g without being a change of bracket. Both are linears either way, so both give you spring resistance and nothing else. The two stroke depths are identical, 2.0 mm to actuation inside 4.0 mm of total travel. Same stroke character, so the spring is the fact to weigh.
The ears usually get the last word here. Through the A/B player above, the Gateron Oil King comes through as deep, muted, oily thock; dark and full-bodied, while the NovelKeys NK Cream reads as 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 the practical side, the Gateron Oil King is mid priced at roughly $0.65 per switch, about $46 for a typical 70 pack, while the NovelKeys NK Cream is premium priced. Only the Gateron Oil King comes factory lubed, so the NovelKeys NK Cream asks for either an evening with a brush or tolerance of a drier stroke.
So who should buy which? The same switch wins every way we score it: the Gateron Oil King 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 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. Do the listening first. It costs nothing and it changes minds more often than a spec table does.
For either one on its own terms, read the Gateron Oil King page and the NovelKeys NK Cream page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
For gaming, should I buy the Gateron Oil King or the NovelKeys NK Cream?
We pick the Gateron Oil King for gaming. This is close to a coin toss. The scoring hands it over by a margin you would not feel in a match.
Which of the Gateron Oil King and the NovelKeys NK Cream is quieter in a shared room?
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 Gateron Oil King reading as deep, muted, oily thock; dark and full-bodied against unique rounded POM clack-thock, deep and resonant from the NovelKeys NK Cream.
Which has the heavier spring, the Gateron Oil King or the NovelKeys NK Cream?
The Gateron Oil King. Both brands publish at bottom-out, which makes 80 g against 70 g an honest 10 g rather than two numbers from different rulers.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Gateron Oil King or the NovelKeys NK Cream?
The Gateron Oil King sits in the mid priced bracket and the NovelKeys NK Cream 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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