Keyboard switch & compatibility guides

Plain-English references for buying, swapping and fixing switches — written against the same data as the switch database.

What is a Hall Effect magnetic switch? — how magnets replace contacts; adjustable actuation, rapid trigger, socket rules.
Gateron Magnetic Jade family compared — Jade vs Pro vs Silent vs Ultra vs Emerald vs Low Profile vs KS-20, with magnet polarity.
TMR vs Hall Effect — what tunneling magnetoresistance changes and what it doesn't.
Low-profile switches explained — Choc vs LP-MX mounts, keycap rules, LP Hall Effect.
The quietest keyboard switches — silent linear vs silent tactile, dampener anatomy, the rest of the noise chain.
Thocky, clacky, creamy, marbly — sound descriptors mapped to the materials that cause them.
How to read switch specs — actuation, travel, force curves and the numbers that matter.
Keycap compatibility rules — stem mounts, sculpted profiles, row kits.
Hot-swap socket repair — loose sockets, dead keys, bent pins, pad repair.

Buying or swapping? Run the combination through the compatibility checker first — sockets, polarity and keycap tolerances, judged automatically.

Basis & sources

What this page rests on — and what it deliberately does not claim.

There is no official standard for keycap or switch compatibility. Figures here follow manufacturer datasheets and community measurements (mm, not inches); treat them as a starting point before buying — not a compatibility guarantee.

Last reviewed 2026-10-26 · Report a correction