Gateron Pro Silver Linear Switch

Introduction

“What the ****, how is this so smooth? Is this by Gateron?” 

That was the first sentence that came out of our mouths when we first tried this switch. The Gateron Pro Silver was launched in a time where the Oil Kings and CJs were yet to exist, and the somewhat scratchy feel of the original Gateron Yellow was the norm. We could not believe just how smooth the Pro Silver (and to some extent the Pro Yellow) was, and just how consistent this smoothness was across hundreds of switches. The Pro Series marked a new era for Gateron, where they will be known for some of the most consistent factory lube applications the hobby has ever seen. 

The Gateron Pro Silver were also some of the first few Gaterons that had a shortened travel distance - 3.4mm. When paired with the virtually zero-wobble box stem design, the Pro Silver feels very quick and almost ‘tactile’ in a way, not because it has a bump but because it feels so responsive. The weight on the Pro Silver is on the lighter side, and are some of the lightest switches we’ve tried making them very suitable for extended periods of use. You can think of these as a more affordable Gateron Box Ink Black with a slightly brighter sound or as a lighter Gateron Pro Yellow with a shorter travel distance. You'd be hard pressed to find another switch that performs as good as this right out of the box, and as such it is one of our top picks for shorter travel linear switches - at any price bracket.

If you love a fast, ridiculously smooth and very responsive linear, this switch is for you. 

Specifications

• Linear
  
• 3.4mm travel
  
• 3 pins
  
• 45g operating force
  
• 50g bottom out force
  
• 20mm spring length
• Two-stage spring design
  
• Polycarbonate (PC) top housing
• Nylon bottom housing
  
• Polyoxymethylene (POM) stem
  
• Factory lubed

RB's Based Rating scale

Sound: 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱 ●●●●○ 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘺
Smoothness: 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 ●●●●● 𝘚𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩
Weight: 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 ●●○○○ 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺
Travel Distance: 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 ●●●○○ 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥
Price-to-Performance: 𝘈𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 ●●●●○ 𝘈𝘭𝘭-𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳

Footnotes

The 3.0 version improves on the 2.0 with an updated LED diffuser for better and more uniform light diffusion, as well as stronger pins. If you'd like to explore the rest of our curated switch catalog and how they stack up to one another, do visit our Switches section. For any questions or for just a quick chat, shoot us a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.