| Switch Type: | Linear |
| Mount Type: | PCB Mount |
| Travel Distance: | 2mm Actuation | 4mm Total |
| Force: | 55g Operating | 80g Bottom-out |
| Stem Length (mm): | 12.61 |
| Price: | $22.75 (35 pieces) on Gateron |
The Gateron Oil King is a medium-weighted linear swich with a mid-range price. At the time of review, these go for $0.65 per switch. Pricing wise, here are some of its competitors: Durock POM Piano, Macho/Banana Split, Cherry MX Black (Clear-Top).
TL;DR
This is an excellent pick for anyone whose been looking for a smooth, medium-weighted linear switch without needing any modifications. It’s up there amongst the very best switches I’ve ever reviewed.
Smoothness: 7/10
On-centre keypresses are quite smooth with minor inconsistencies. Some switches “stick” down when presses very slowly – this is even audible in a quiet room. However, this has zero effect when the switches are used normally.
Off-centre keypresses are also quite smooth. Although, they have noticeably more inconsistencies. The “sticking” down effect is slightly more prominent, but they still don’t have any effect on normal use.
Overall, I’m not too sure why some of the switches “stick down” on extremely slow keypresses (which again is essentially a non-issue). They performed very well and I’d be happy to use these on a future build.
Gateron Oil King switch disassembled.
Weighting: 8/10
According to Gateron, these switches have an actuation force of 55g at 2mm and bottom-out distance of 4mm.
In the real world, the specs match the performance as far as I can tell – maybe the actuation is heavier than what I would expect, but Gateron claims a ±5g variance when it comes to this which is in-line with many switches on the market.
Additionally, I really like the weighting as my preferences lean towards heavier switches, so this is right up my alley. They’re also very consistent during normal usage despite the minor inconsistencies mentioned in the Smoothness section.
Overall, they’re perfectly weighted to my preference and they’re within touching distance when compared to a lot of top-tier linear switches.
Sound: 7/10
These are possibly the deepest and thockiest sounding switches I’ve reviewed so far – this also means they’re on the quieter side as well.
Overall, they certainly aren’t for me and I was quite close to ranking them down to a 6 given they aren’t very exciting, but they also aren’t bad or average sounding. They sound better than most switches on the market, even if they are quiet.
The Gateron Oil King stem length is 12.61 mm.
Typing Performance: 8/10
Let me start with two minor issues first.
Firstly, they were quite sluggish to type on – as if there was something slowing them down on both the up and downstroke. I’m still unsure to why this occurred or what the cause was, but I suspect it’s the lubrication Gateron used or how they used it. Afterall, one of its main selling points is its factory lubing. However, I’m glad to report this is no longer an issue (perhaps the lube has managed to evenly spread across the whole switch or maybe the “Ink Housing Material” has finally worked its magic…? Who knows). Either way, from about day 8 or so, they became very consistent.
As a side note, in case you’re wondering, yes, the factory lube application is more than adequate and it’s one of the best I’ve seen for a stock switch.
Secondly, because they were sluggish at the start, they were also inconsistent which made for a very unpleasant typing experience. It usually only takes a day or two at most to break-in a switch, not 7 days. So, this was an unusual case to say the least.
On more positive note, they no longer feel sluggish to type on. Plus, I really enjoyed using these which is no surprise given I’m a huge fan of the weighting.
Overall, I don’t have any qualms about these any longer and I can see myself installing these in a future build.
Gaming Performance: 8/10
While they aren’t specifically designed for gaming, they’re well suited to it, especially for fast-paced games.
They are smooth, reliable and consistent. Plus, they suited my preferences given their heavier weighting. Although, it is worth mentioning that my fingers tend to get tired after a few hours of gameplay, but I’d still take these over an MX Red any day.
Additionally, these did not suffer nearly as much from the “sticking down” or the sluggishness as previously mentioned. They’re also perfectly suitable for slow-paced games.
Overall, I really enjoyed using these and would highly recommend them to those looking for a smooth, heavily weighted linear switch.
Final Score = 38/50 (76%)
Places to purchase this switch:
AliExpress | Amazon | Gateron