HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

The engineers at HyperX have certainly taken the PC enthusiast market by storm, first with premium memory and more recently with a series of award winning headsets.  This month we will be taking a look at their latest effort, the HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard.

A no frills minimalistic keyboard and targeted at gamers feels like a natural evolution to the HyperX line. Can HyperX find success in the hyper competitive sub $100 keyboard market?  Let’s find out! 

The HyperX Alloy FPS gaming keyboard is offered in a simple black plastic with white accents for the branding.  Cherry MX switches are offered in Blue, Red and Brown covering the most popular actuations in gaming today. 

• Compact design ideal for FPS gameplay
• Solid-steel frame
• Ultra-portable design with detachable cable
• Cherry® MX mechanical keys
• Convenient USB charge port
• Game mode, 100-percent Anti-Ghosting and full N-key rollover functions
• HyperX red backlit keys with dynamic lighting effects
• Additional colored, textured keycaps for FPS gameplay

• Type: Mechanical
• Switch: Cherry MX
• Backlight: Single color, Red
• Light effects: 6 LED modes and 5 brightness levels
• Connection type: USB 2.0 (2 USB connectors)
• USB Pass-through: Yes (mobile phone charging only)
• Polling rate: 1000Hz
• Anti-ghosting: 100% anti-ghosting
• Key rollover: 6-key / N-key modes
• Media control: Yes
• Game mode: Yes
• Cable Type: Detachable, braided /Length: 1.8m
• Dimensions 441.65mm(W) x 129.38mm (D) x 35.59mm (H)
• Weight (keyboard and cable): 1049g

Choosing your mechanical keyboard often boils down to identifying what type of Cherry MX switch you like the most.  Blue tends to favor typists with a more tactile or "clicky" action.  Blue can also make it harder to double tap but provides the most feedback in terms of touch.  Reds require less force and tend to favor a softer touch which can also lead to accidental key presses but can be more responsive. Black switches are similar to reds but require more force to actuate the key. Black switches require 60 cN (centi-Newtons) of force to actuate, while the Red switches only requires 45cN.  Browns tend to be a little bit of both.  While they are less tactile, and less "clicky", they do have a feedback to them while still requiring less force than the reds. Green is a very rare switch type often referred to as a stiffer blue making its inclusion all the more notable.  Green is both a tactile and a clicky switch often reserved for the space bar. You can both feel the tactile bump and hear the "click" that occurs when the activation point is hit.

HyperX is the high-performance product division of Kingston Technology, the world’s largest independent memory manufacturer. Started in 2002, HyperX began with one line of high-performance memory and has grown over the years to encompass multiple product lines of memory modules, solid-state drives, USB Flash drives, headsets and mouse pads. Featuring best-in-class components that deliver superior performance, quality and aesthetic design for more than a decade, HyperX products are the choice of top-rated gamers, tech enthusiasts, and overclockers worldwide. From setting memory world records to achieving the most stringent product certifications, HyperX is committed to delivering reliable products with the highest performance standards.