Best Magnetic Switches for Gaming 6 Tested & Ranked

Wooting kicked the door open a few years back, and every switch maker with a magnet supplier has been trying to squeeze through it since. Hall effect is no longer a Wooting-only party. You’ve now got legitimate HE options from Gateron, Glorious, Epomaker, and a handful of smaller labs — some genuinely great, some coasting on hype.

I’ve been rotating HE boards through my desk for the past couple of months, swapping switches in and out and playing everything from Valorant to slower stuff like Baldur’s Gate 3. Here’s where I’ve landed on the best magnetic switches for gaming right now — what I’d actually put in my own board, and where the marketing gets ahead of the reality.

One quick heads-up before we start: HE switches only work in HE-compatible boards. A regular hot-swap mechanical board with standard sockets won’t read magnetic switches, no matter how good they are. If you’re new to this, make sure your board is actually a Hall effect board first, or check my guide to HE-compatible keyboards before you spend a dime on switches.

Quick Comparison: Best Magnetic Switches for Gaming at a Glance

If you’re skimming, here’s the TL;DR. Pick your use case, click through, done.

Category	Switch	Feel	Best For	Link
Best Overall	Gateron Magnetic Emperor	Linear, 40g	Balanced pick, most HE boards	Check Price
Best Sound	EPOMAKER Creamy Jade	Linear, thocky	Streamers, sound-first gamers	Check Price
Best Silent	Glorious Lynx Silent	Silent linear	Late-night play, shared spaces	Check Price
Best Clicky HE	Glorious Raptor Clicky	Click bar	Clicky lovers who want Rapid Trigger	Check Price
Best for FPS Precision	Rock HE 48g	Light linear	Comp Valorant, CS2, Apex	Check Price
Best Budget Adjustable	Chilkey WS Flux	Linear, tunable	Trying HE without going all-in	Check Price

What Actually Matters When You’re Picking HE Switches

Before we get into the individual picks, a reality check on specs. This is where a lot of gaming keyboard marketing goes off the rails.

• Actuation range. Every decent HE switch now supports adjustable actuation, usually somewhere between 0.1mm and 3.4mm. The “0.005mm precision” numbers you see plastered on marketing pages are the sensor’s resolution, not something your fingers will actually notice. Anything under about 0.1mm is essentially the same experience.
• Rapid Trigger. This is the real reason to buy in. It resets the switch based on movement direction, not a fixed reset point, so you can strafe-spam in CS2 or Valorant without waiting for a full return. Every switch on this list supports it — assuming your board’s firmware does too. If you want a deeper walkthrough, my Rapid Trigger explainer covers what’s real and what’s marketing.
• Spring weight. Most linears here sit between 30g and 55g actuation force. Lighter feels faster and lets Rapid Trigger shine; heavier is less fatiguing on long sessions and helps with typos. Don’t overthink this.
• Sound. HE switches used to sound like plastic buckets. That’s mostly fixed now — a few on this list are legitimately nice. But none of them will out-thock a well-modded tactile board, so keep your expectations grounded.
• Board compatibility. Not every HE switch fits every HE board. Magnet strength and pole orientation vary, and some boards only calibrate correctly with their own brand. Check compatibility before you check out.

Got it? Good. Onto the switches.

1. Gateron Magnetic Emperor — Best Overall Magnetic Switch for Gaming

Check price on Amazon

If I had to hand one HE switch to a friend who just bought their first Wooting-style board and told me to shut up already, it’d be the Emperor. Gateron’s had years to figure out how to mass-produce a good linear, and the Emperor is what happens when they point that experience at Hall effect.

Out of the bag, factory lube is genuinely even — not the greasy overapplied mess you sometimes get from cheaper brands. The 40g spring is right in the sweet spot for me. Rapid Trigger response felt tight across every HE board I tried them in, and they sound decent without being loud.

Pros

• Broad compatibility with major HE boards
• Even factory lube, minimal spring ping
• Adjustable pre-travel works down to about 0.1mm cleanly
• Balanced 40g weight suits both gaming and typing

Cons

• Not the cheapest of the bunch
• Sound is fine, not remarkable

Verdict

If you don’t know what you want yet, get these. You’ll like them.

2. EPOMAKER Creamy Jade — Best Sound in a Gaming HE Switch

Am I mildly tired of the “thocc” content flooding my feed? Yes. Do I still crack a smile when a well-made switch lands with that deep, muted bottom-out? Also yes. The Creamy Jade earns the sound reputation honestly.

Epomaker’s built these with a light diffuser in the housing — RGB nerds will care, I don’t — and a stem/housing pairing that sounds noticeably deeper than the Gaterons. Factory lube is heavier than I’d usually go for, but it works here because the housing is chunky enough to absorb it. For a look at how switches like these actually change board acoustics, my breakdown on keyboard sound is worth a read.

Pros

• Genuinely deep, satisfying sound signature
• Pre-lubed well from the factory
• Nice RGB diffusion for people who care about lighting
• 70-pack is enough for a full-size board with spares

Cons

• Slightly heavier feel than the Gateron Emperor
• Compatibility is best with Epomaker’s own HE boards

Verdict

If you stream, record, or just enjoy typing on something that sounds pleasant, these are the pick.

3. Glorious Lynx Silent — Best Silent Magnetic Switch for Gaming

Silent linears are usually a compromise. You give up some sharpness in exchange for quieter bottom-outs, and cheaper silent switches often feel mushy. The Lynx Silent handles the trade-off better than most.

The dampeners on the stem are dialed in tight enough that you still get a clean actuation feel, not the pillowy nothing you get from bad silents. Sound is dramatically reduced — my partner stopped commenting on my late-night sessions, which is the only test I really care about.

Pros

• Noticeably quieter than any non-silent switch here
• Retains a decent linear feel despite dampening
• Solid factory lube job from Glorious
• Hot-swap compatible with most Glorious HE boards

Cons

• Silent switches always feel slightly softer at bottom-out — physics, not a flaw
• Not the fastest-feeling switch on the list

Verdict

Office typers, apartment dwellers, and anyone with a mic in front of their face — this is your switch.

4. Glorious Raptor Clicky — Best Clicky Hall Effect Switch

Here’s the catch: a clicky HE switch is a slightly strange animal. Rapid Trigger works best when you’re barely tapping keys, and clicky mechanisms have to travel far enough to trip the click bar. So the Raptor won’t give you the same razor-thin actuation you get from a light linear. But if clicky is what you love and you refuse to give it up just because you want HE features, this is the switch that actually exists for you.

The click bar feels crisp, not scratchy, and Glorious’s transparent housing makes shine-through cleaner than most. I still wouldn’t recommend clicky switches for high-level competitive FPS — see the clicky vs. linear breakdown for why — but for MMOs, RPGs, and general use, it works.

Pros

• Crisp, satisfying click without being scratchy
• Transparent housing for clean RGB
• Rare combination of clicky feel and HE features
• Pre-lubed click bar reduces the usual clicky roughness

Cons

• Not ideal for pure competitive FPS
• Louder than everything else here (obviously)
• 36-pack is small — plan for a compact board

Verdict

The niche pick, and unashamed of it. If you want click bar snap plus Rapid Trigger, this is basically the only game in town.

5. Rock HE 48g — Best for FPS Precision

Rock HE leans into the specs pitch harder than anyone else on this list — 0.005mm resolution, ultra-fine adjustment, the works. I’ll be honest: I can’t feel the difference between 0.005mm and 0.1mm and neither can you. But strip the marketing back and there’s still a genuinely good switch here.

The 48g spring weight is well chosen for FPS. Heavy enough that you don’t fat-finger your peek, light enough that Rapid Trigger strafing feels effortless. Sound is on the sharp side of neutral, which some people prefer for the feedback cue. If you’re building a dedicated FPS setup, they pair well with the boards I cover in my best keyboards for competitive shooters writeup.

Pros

• 48g weight is dialed in for FPS
• Consistent from switch to switch — good QC
• Sharper feedback suits reaction-based games
• 70-pack covers full-size builds

Cons

• The “0.005mm” marketing is essentially meaningless in practice
• Sharper sound isn’t for everyone

Verdict

A legitimately good FPS switch buried under some silly spec-sheet chest-beating. Buy them for how they feel, not the numbers.

6. Chilkey WS Flux — Best Budget Pick to Test the HE Waters

Not everyone wants to drop three figures on a switch swap for a hardware category they’ve never tried. The Chilkey WS Flux is where I send those readers. It ships in a 15-pack — cheap enough to try in your main gaming keys (WASD, space, shift) without recabling your entire board.

Feel-wise, they’re a competent linear. Not as smooth as the Gateron Emperor, not as chunky as the Creamy Jade, but perfectly respectable. Adjustable pre-travel works as advertised, and the factory lube is applied more lightly than most — which I actually prefer, since heavy factory lube can slow the return.

Pros

• Cheap enough to buy just for your gaming cluster
• Adjustable pre-travel works cleanly
• Light factory lube preserves return snap
• Solid entry point to HE without the full spend

Cons

• 15-pack won’t fill a full board
• QC is slightly less consistent than the Gateron

Verdict

Perfect for testing HE on your movement keys before you commit to the full switch swap. Low-risk way in.

My Overall Take on the Best Magnetic Switches for Gaming

Here’s the mildly contrarian bit. The single biggest performance jump you’ll feel from HE switches doesn’t come from picking the “right” switch — it comes from having a board that runs Rapid Trigger and Snap Tap well and firmware that lets you tune actuation per-key. The switch matters, but not as much as the marketing wants you to believe.

If you nail the board and the firmware, any competent HE linear on this list will feel great. Which is why my top pick is the Gateron Magnetic Emperor — it’s the least likely to give you trouble, plays nicely with the widest range of boards, and doesn’t try to sell you on a spec you can’t feel.

Sound chaser? Get the Creamy Jade. Roommate or spouse considerations? Lynx Silent. Diehard clicky user? The Raptor is your only real option. Competitive FPS? Rock HE. Curious but budget-conscious? Grab a pack of Chilkey Flux and try them on WASD before committing.

Whichever way you go, save yourself a headache and confirm your board actually supports the switches you’re buying — magnet configurations aren’t universal yet. If you’re still shopping for the board itself, my HE keyboard buying guide covers the full landscape and where the real value sits right now.