- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Changelog
- Compared To Others
- Design
- Performance
- Retailers
- Comments
Changelog
Check Price
Compared To Other Keyboard Switches
Gateron Ink Black V2 and Gateron Oil King switches are both linear switches. Both switches come pre-lubed from the factory and are well-known for their smoothness and low-pitched sound profiles out of the box. The Ink Black V2 switches have a slightly rounder, more resonant sound. The Oil Kings have a sharper sound and a marginally more lightweight actuation, but the difference is too small to be very noticeable. Note that both switches have dark housings, which significantly limits the brightness of any RGB lighting. However, the Ink Black V2 housings have a smokey finish, making them a bit better for letting out light than the Oil Kings, which are opaque.
Test Results
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Comments
Gateron Ink Black V2: Main Discussion
Let us know why you want us to review the product here, or encourage others to vote for this product.
- 21010
How do you guys think about gateron ink box black V2 compared to this? Which one is better?
Hey! Great question.
Just a note that we haven’t tested the Ink Box Black V2s, and I haven’t used them personally, but I’ve still got some thoughts that might help.
I like the look of the Ink Box Black V2s more on paper. I prefer a slightly shorter pre-travel and total travel, and its partial box stem design will add a bit of stability to the whole system, which I value pretty highly. They also have longer springs, so the upstroke should feel more responsive. That said, I’ve heard most people find their sound signature is a bit higher pitched, which may not suit everyone. Also, for all their small improvements, they’re a bit more expensive.
I’d say it’s hard to beat the Ink Black V2s for their value and that classic smoothness and sound signature— but for the slight tweaks in stability and typing quality, I’d be willing to spend the extra for the Ink Box Black V2s.
Thanks for reaching out!
- 21010
How do you guys think about gateron ink box black V2 compared to this? Which one is better?
- 21010
I think something to add to your guys’ reviews is if the switches are pre-lubed or not (maybe can add to the factory smoothness part.“ Then if they aren’t pre-lubed, maybe can create another parameter of how it feels/sounds after hand lubing (but then you would have to make a standardize method of lubing the switches, more work but i think that’s something a lot of new/old enthusiast would like to know)
Hi rodrigueznickolaus,
We heavily considered this when we were designing the tests for keyboard switches. We ended up deciding to not manually lube the switches, since it would have required a lot more time to test the 505 switches (101 x 5 samples). Many have let us know that they would like us to relube the switches so we’ll keep it in mind for reconsideration if we bring changes to the switches methodology.
As for indentifying which switches are pre lubbed it’s also challenging. Almost all switches that we tested have some varying level of lube pre applied. And we don’t want to list the switches with only a drop of oil as "pre-lubbed”. We need to think about it more and find where the quality threshold is for general users and if the threshold for enthusiasts is the same. After which we can figure a way to test for it.
We don’t know yet how far we want to go in our testing for switches but thanks for taking the time to let us know what you would like to see in our reviews.
- 32120
I think something to add to your guys’ reviews is if the switches are pre-lubed or not (maybe can add to the factory smoothness part.“
Then if they aren’t pre-lubed, maybe can create another parameter of how it feels/sounds after hand lubing (but then you would have to make a standardize method of lubing the switches, more work but i think that’s something a lot of new/old enthusiast would like to know)