Gateron Silent Brown vs Gateron Silent Red
This one is a tactile against a linear: the Gateron Silent Brown and the Gateron Silent Red feel different from the first press, and no amount of tuning closes that. Our library of every switch we simulate already points each of these at the other. Hear them back to back below with the trims matched before you read a single number.
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 Silent Brown | Gateron Silent Red |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile (silent) | Linear (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 55 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | 50 g |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | Yes | Yes |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both of these are rated 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. The figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Gateron publishes no bottom-out figure for the Gateron Silent Brown. What actuation force actually measures .
Verdict
The Gateron Silent Brown and the Gateron Silent Red are different kinds of switch, tactile against linear, which outranks every number in the table above. There is a real weight gap too: 55 g against 45 g at actuation, so the Gateron Silent Brown asks noticeably more of your fingers over a long session. With the numbers this close, the honest tiebreak is the voice: muted light-tactile tap; a whisper with a bump on the Gateron Silent Brown, soft dampened patter, both strokes cushioned on the Gateron Silent Red. Our picks: the Gateron Silent Red for gaming, the Gateron Silent Brown for typing and a shared office.
- Gaming pick
- Gateron Silent Red
- Typing pick
- Gateron Silent Brown
- Office pick
- Gateron Silent Brown
Force curves
Gateron Silent Brown
Gateron publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 60 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 Silent Red
Gateron Silent Brown or Gateron Silent Red: the long answer
Read the spec sheet once, carefully, and most of this decision makes itself. One of these is a tactile and the other a linear, which means the Gateron Silent Red runs smooth the whole way down while the Gateron Silent Brown raises a bump at the point it registers. Springs split them by 10 g at actuation: 55 g for the Gateron Silent Brown, 45 g for the Gateron Silent Red. Travel is a straight match, 2.0 mm of pre-travel and 4.0 mm in full on both. Settle the stroke you want to live with first and treat everything below as a tiebreak.
The ears usually get the last word here. Through the A/B player above, the Gateron Silent Brown comes through as muted light-tactile tap; a whisper with a bump, while the Gateron Silent Red reads as soft dampened patter, both strokes cushioned. Both carry factory dampening, so this is a contest between two of the quieter switches you can buy rather than a loud one against a quiet one. Both packs are synthesized rather than recorded, so read the comparison as a faithful sketch of each voice and not as a measurement of it.
On price and practicality, both are mid priced. Factory lube on both, so the smoothness you hear in the player is roughly the smoothness you get.
This one genuinely splits. The Gateron Silent Red for games, because nothing interrupts fast repeated presses on its linear stroke. The Gateron Silent Brown for writing, since a felt confirmation on every press is what stops a typist bottoming out all day. The Gateron Silent Brown for an office, as its dampening keeps the sound from carrying across the room. Whichever way you land, listen to both above with the volume trims matched before you spend anything.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Gateron Silent Brown page and the Gateron Silent Red page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
For gaming, should I buy the Gateron Silent Brown or the Gateron Silent Red?
We pick the Gateron Silent Red for gaming. Its linear stroke has no bump or click to interrupt fast repeated presses, which is exactly what rapid inputs reward.
Which is quieter, the Gateron Silent Brown or the Gateron Silent Red?
Neither, in any way you would hear across a room. Both carry dampening pads, so what is left of the noise comes from the case, the keycaps and your own typing force.
Gateron Silent Brown vs Gateron Silent Red: which one is the heavier press?
The Gateron Silent Brown, and the comparison is clean: actuation on both sides, 55 g to 45 g.
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