NiZ EC 45g vs Topre 45g Electrocapacitive
Check compatibility before feel on this pair: the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive will not drop into the same board as the other one, which narrows the choice for most people to whatever their keyboard accepts. Our switch library 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 | NiZ EC 45g | Topre 45g Electrocapacitive |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 45 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | not published |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2.2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | No |
| 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 NiZ EC 45g and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive are tactiles, so this matchup comes down to weight, travel and sound rather than feel. Check your board first: the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive does not use an MX style stem, so the two are not interchangeable in the same keyboard. Actuation is the only row with a figure for each of them, and both figures read 45 g. Split by use: the NiZ EC 45g for gaming and a shared office, the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive for typing.
- Gaming pick
- NiZ EC 45g
- Typing pick
- Topre 45g Electrocapacitive
- Office pick
- NiZ EC 45g
Force curves
NiZ EC 45g
NiZ 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.
Topre 45g Electrocapacitive
Topre 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.
NiZ EC 45g or Topre 45g Electrocapacitive: the long answer
This pair has a fit problem to clear before feel or sound matter. The Topre 45g Electrocapacitive does not use an MX style stem, so it will not drop into a standard hot-swap board or accept ordinary MX keycaps. The NiZ EC 45g is mid priced, while the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive is premium priced. Factory lube on both, so the smoothness you hear in the player is roughly the smoothness you get.
On to the mechanical side. These are two Topre tactiles, so both raise a bump close to the point the press registers. Weight looks like a tie, 45 g each at actuation, but without a bottom-out figure for each of them there is nothing to check it against. The NiZ EC 45g registers earlier, 2.0 mm against 2.2 mm, inside the same 4.0 mm of total travel. Same family of stroke, so read the detail rather than the headline.
Sound is where most people finally pick a side. Through the A/B player above, the NiZ EC 45g comes through as thock-lite: softer, lighter take on the Topre voice, while the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive reads as the iconic HHKB thock: deep 'toc' with a pillowy landing. One caveat we repeat wherever a player appears: no studio recording sits behind either of these. They are built from what each maker publishes and what the community reports.
All three questions get different answers on this pair. Fast inputs: the NiZ EC 45g, because the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair. A long draft: the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive, since nothing about it gets tiring by the afternoon, which is the whole test for a writing switch. A room with other people in it: the NiZ EC 45g, as it is the one of these two you would not apologize for. Do the listening first. It costs nothing and it changes minds more often than a spec table does.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the NiZ EC 45g page and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
For gaming, should I buy the NiZ EC 45g or the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive?
We pick the NiZ EC 45g 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 NiZ EC 45g and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive 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 NiZ EC 45g leans toward thock-lite: softer, lighter take on the Topre voice, while the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive is the iconic HHKB thock: deep 'toc' with a pillowy landing.
Which has the heavier spring, the NiZ EC 45g or the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive?
Neither, as far as the published numbers go: both are rated 45 g at actuation, the only measuring point with a published figure for each. Bottom-out is where two switches matched at actuation often diverge, but neither switch here has a published bottom-out figure at all. Treat this as a tie on the spec sheet rather than a proven match in the hand.
Can the NiZ EC 45g and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive go in the same keyboard?
No. The Topre 45g Electrocapacitive does not use an MX style stem, so it needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps, while the NiZ EC 45g is a standard MX switch. Whichever you pick decides the keyboard, not the other way round.
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