Gateron Yellow Switches: KS-3, KS-X, What's It All Mean?

Even as someone who eats, breathes, and sleeps switches, I’ll be the first to admit that there are a lot of switch names and types to keep up with – something which can be incredibly daunting for newcomers to the hobby. Unlike these days were there’s seemingly a new manufacturer and color scheme cropping up every other hour, back when I first started collecting the rules were a lot simpler. Aside the significantly slimmer pickings for manufacturers, the guidelines for identifying switch types were almost hilariously simple: Red/Black switches were linears, Brown switches were tactiles, and Blue/Green switches were clickies. While each manufacturer had their own offshoots of unique offerings such as Cherry MX Whites or Gateron Yellows, these rules were more than enough to navigate around the world of switches at the time. However, variations within each manufacturer’s offerings were much more hard to reference than this standard color-coded scheme.

Looking specifically towards Gateron Yellows, which have been bar none one of the best budget switches throughout the entire history of mechanical keyboards, these switches especially come in a wide range of variations. Entirely black housings, milky housings, RGB-compatible ones, and various combinations of these aforementioned types all strictly fall under the category of just “Gateron Yellows”. While a slim few of these combinations have community-driven monikers such as the iconic ‘Milky’ Gateron Yellows, these combinations are often referred to by Gateron and vendors under their in-house naming scheme of ‘KS-XXX’, something which is used to reference the types of housings for all Gateron switches. Admittedly, the differentiation and recognition of each of these KS part numbers is much harder than the pre-school level color identification scheme from years past. So, in order to help give you a good grasp on what each of these part numbers looks like, lets step through a not too short list of the ones you’re likely to encounter today.

Gateron KS-1 Switches

Admittedly, I could have ended that last paragraph a bit less optimistically because Gateron KS-1 switches are the one switch on this list you’re least likely to see in the wild. Coming in both entirely clear and translucent, ‘milky’ colored housings, Gateron KS-1 switches refer to those which feature the circular indentation in stems which are much more square than most rectangular-shaped stems offered today. As a result of these circular indentations which have no definitive functionality known, the few people who recall these switches from the 2014-2015 era in which they were released refer to these as “Circle Gaterons”. Beyond this shorthand name and some sparse photographic evidence of their existence online, these are one of the oldest variants of Gateron switches which more or less can be thought of as dinosaurs at this point.

Gateron KS-3 Switches

Of the three different Gateron switches to start out with a ‘KS-3’ part code, the plain old KS-3 Gateron switches are some of the least common but most reminiscent of Gateron’s early competitors in Cherry and Kailh. Featuring entirely black housings, these two-pin LED supporting, PCB mounted switches are more or less bread and butter offerings that are more likely to appear OEM (original equipment manufacturer) boards which come with Gateron switches than the custom scene at large. While later customized offering such as Gateron Oil Kings may feature similar entirely black housings, it’s worth noting that this part code narrowly refers to the all-black options with a rough housing texture and the ‘right side up’ Gateron nameplate as well as the majority of early custom Gateron switches such as Tangerine V1s, Giants, N1s, etc.

Gateron KS-3-X1 Switches

The most ubiquitously recognized and loved styles of Gateron switches on this list, Gateron ‘KS-3-X1’ switches are often known as ‘Milky Gaterons’ as a result of their translucent, white-clear housing scheme. Aside the plain color scheme which matches with nearly any stem you could think to frankenswitch into these housings, the extreme popularity of KS-3-X1s arise from their reported depth of sound that comes from these housings. In addition to this still readily available, stock offering, this milky style of housing was so popular from the get-go that it even made a brief appearance in the bottom housings of some Zealios V1 switches as well!

Gateron KS-3-X47 Switches

Taking a mash up of the previous two switch variants, the KS-3-X47 Gateron switches feature the milky top housings of the KS-3-X1 line and the black bottom housings of the original KS-3 line. While less popular than the entirely milky variants, these hybrid KS-3 switches are still fairly common to this day and have made their rounds in numerous OEM boards throughout the years. In fact, my very first keyboard was an Obins Anne Pro V1 which featured Gateron KS-3-X47 Browns, something which very well started me down the switch path that has brought me to this point today! More recently, this milky-over-black housing design has also seen use in the ‘Gateron X’ switches, which while featuring custom designed molds, featured this classic housing color-way.

Gateron KS-8 Switches

Aside from having the distinction of being the specific Gateron Yellow variant that I reviewed and scored on my own website, the Gateron KS-8s are very much the second most popular offering behind the KS-3-X1 milky switches to date. Coming with an entirely clear top housing and a black bottom housing, these Gateron switches have seen widespread adoption both in OEM boards as well as loose switch sales because of their wider LED slots which allow for both four-pin and two-pin LED options as opposed to the two-pin only designs of the previous entries’ top housings. Arguably, many people in the community would point to these housings as being a bit thinner and higher pitched sounding than those of the translucent, milky variants.

Gateron KS-15/KS-22 Switches

While the KS-15/KS-22 housing scheme is at first glance identical to those of the KS-8 switches, it’s worth noting that the distinction between these two is because of the fact that KS-15/KS-22 switches are optical switches. (KS-15 referring to Version 1 and KS-22 referring to Version 2.) Relying on lasers and crystals over the conventional stem and leaf interactions of the vast majority of modern mechanical keyboard switches, these switches can not be used in most keyboards except those which explicitly have optical-style PCBs. If you are not entirely sure what that means, it almost certainly does not apply to you and you should steer clear of these. If you’re not sure whether you or not you ordered these or KS-8s, the KS-15/KS-22s are distinguishable by a lack of pointy metal pins sticking out of the bottom housings as well as a slightly rounded looking stem design in the top housing.

Gateron KS-25 Switches

The most recent of the KS-XXX part numbers to be released by Gateron as of the time of writing this article, KS-25s refer to the new Gateron ‘CAP’ design which features a hollow stem and hole in the center pole of the bottom housing. Coming in both five and three pin variants with a variety of housing options, the Gateron CAP switches are compatible with any mechanical keyboard which takes normal MX-style switches, though features this design in order to produce a different sound profile than more conventional switch constructions. It is worth noting, as well, that these often come with a slightly higher price than some of the previous entries as a result of their new and unique design.

Gateron G Pro Switches

While this entry obviously does not feature a KS-XXX naming scheme, the Gateron G Pro and G Pro 2.0 switches are the latest stock releases by Gateron and feature an opaque white bottom housing and a completely clear top housing. What differentiates these switches from the previous stock Gateron offerings, though, is an improved factory lubrication which is not only leaps and bounds better than what Gateron had been using for years, but is on par with their more recent custom offerings which have garnered mass attention such as the Oil Kings, Vermilion Birds, and Azure Dragons. These are furthermore distinguishable from other Gateron switches because of their ‘upside down’ nameplate, something which Gateron has been utilizing to denote their more improved molds and factory lubricated offerings.

There you have it! Even though this does not cover every single KS-XXX style Gateron offering which has ever been documented, as I happen to have some of the only evidence of KS-2 and KS-5 style housings, this list more or less covers any common Gateron switch code you’re likely to come across in the wild. While you may be tempted to go buy one or two different housing designs based on the opinions of a few sound tests or switch reviews, I would highly recommend you try out more than a few of the different KS-XXX part numbers before finally settling on just one. The amount of variety just within the singular ‘Gateron Yellow’ will truly surprise you