HyperX Alloy Origins Review

The Alloy Origins gaming keyboard is worth a spot at the top of your shopping list if you're ready to move beyond budget hardware. HyperX packed as much value as they could into this product, which includes building the entire body from sturdy aluminum. It's a jack-of-all-trades that succeeds in many respects, but we tested it against more than a dozen other gaming keyboards to find out if it's really an unbeatable deal.

Performance Comparison

Performance

The HyperX Alloy Origins is an exceptional performer in every type of gaming situation, only ever-so-slightly edged out of first place by competitors at much higher price points. This is a keyboard that takes gaming seriously, even going so far as to have a dedicated “Game Mode” button that disables the Windows key so you won't interrupt the gameplay on accident.

We measured the latency of this wired keyboard at a tight nine milliseconds, well suitable for all types of action. It is also perfectly suitable in terms of polling rate and scan rate, with each measuring at 1000 Hz. There's no chord splitting either, which keeps input delay low even when you want to register several buttons at once. Built-in anti-ghosting functionality keeps everything accurate and quick — pressing eight keys at once only added a maximum delay of seven milliseconds.

On the topic of pressing multiple keys, the Alloy Origins also features N-key rollover. We managed to press more than 40 keys at once during our testing and all of them registered accurately with zero conflicts.

Comfort

Comfort is an important factor if you're planning long gaming sessions, so we weigh it heavily in our testing. Unfortunately, it's a weak spot for the HyperX Alloy Origins. This is a standard profile keyboard that could really benefit from a palm rest. As it stands, you might develop some exhaustion or soreness in the wrist after extended use.

The actual act of typing or playing on the Origins is nice enough. The keys feel smooth and have a standard concave shape. There's nothing unexpected to find here, which can be a boon if familiarity is important for your own sense of comfort. To give credit where it's due, this keyboard does provide some nice angle options. You can adjust the feet to tilt the keyboard to a 2.5º, 6.5º, or 10.5º angle. Choose the one that works best for you and, if your budget allows, find a nice palm rest to complete the setup.

Hardware Options

There are many hardware options to choose from with the Alloy Origins, so much so that it could almost be the king of gaming keyboard customization if only it had hot-swappable switches.

There are three proprietary switches to choose from, though. We tested with the HyperX Aqua tactile switches, but you can purchase this board with the Red linear switches or Blue clicky switches — just don't expect to be able to switch between them on the fly.

What is completely hot-swappable are the keycaps. Just keep in mind that the function keys have built-in media control such as pause and mute. It can be easy to forget all about this if you swap to unmarked keycaps.

The real question when buying the HyperX Alloy Origins is: What size? This model comes in full-sized, tenkeyless, 65%, and 60% options. It's completely up to you to determine how important it is to save desk space or have a keyboard you can stow in your bag. Portability was certainly on the mind when they designed this product, considering you can even detach the cable for the sake of convenient travel.

Typing Noise

Many gaming keyboard manufacturers neglect to put much effort into making a quiet product. With the Alloy Origins, you at least get a sound profile that is inoffensive and not overly distracting. One of our testers commented, “When I think of a mechanical keyboard, this is what I think of.”

To put it in more descriptive terms, it sounds solid rather than dull. There is also a slight scratchiness and crispiness to the noise, with a hint of hollowness when the keys top out. Purchasing the Blue clicky switch variant of this keyboard may result in an even more noticeable sound. As for the actual volume, we measured it at an average of 48 decibels from two feet away. In our experience, we noted that the spacebar and backspace key were noticeably louder than the rest.

Type Experience

Another oft-overlooked aspect of gaming keyboard design is the typing experience. Many gamers only use a fraction of the keys on the board for gameplay, but the Alloy Origins ensures you get a more than serviceable tool for work and communication as well.

Using the HyperX Aqua tactile switches, we use a force-displacement tester to precisely measure the force and distance of a keystroke on this board. We found the keys to be relatively easy to press, requiring an average of 48.23 gram force.

The actuation point is 2.29 millimeters into a press, but we detected the tactile bump only 0.89 millimeters in. This actually creates a fun “free fall” sensation after you overcome the bump, leading to the soft bottoming out when you can feel the spring compress beneath your finger. The tiny sensations are impossible to notice during focused typing or gameplay, but it makes for a satisfying experience when you focus in on what your fingers are actually doing.

Overall, typing on the Alloy Origins will feel familiar to anyone who uses mechanical keyboards. This translates to gameplay as well, and in fact, one tester reported that they felt it unlikely they would fat finger any keys while gaming despite the low actuation force.

Lighting

HyperX puts the power of customization in your hand with its NGENUITY software. This is the same interface you can use to craft macros and adjust the keyboard's Game Mode settings. What many gamers will look at first, however, are the lighting options.

Customizing the keyboard's lighting through NGENUITY is fairly easy, but keep in mind that there is a very high level of customization available. It's possible to get in over your head by trying to get the layers of settings to work in the desired order. You can customize the settings on a per-key basis, with practically every color at your disposal. Layer different effects, adjust the speed of those effects, and even change the opacity levels. Or simply use one of the presets available in the software if that sounds like too much trouble.

By default, the brightness level is rather high. You can adjust this in the software as well. Just remember to save your settings to a profile within the software, and then you can load up to three presets directly to the keyboard itself.

Should You Buy the HyperX Alloy Origins?

The HyperX Alloy Origins is a gaming keyboard for hardcore players, power users, or people who want to become either of the two. Considering its reasonable price tag, though, it's also something that can bring a ton of value for casual and midrange gamers too. If you happen to be someone who is particularly passionate about writing macros to optimize your play, though, consider something that handles that side of things a bit better.

What Other Gaming Keyboard Should You Consider?

If you like what you've seen here, but the size or price of this particular keyboard is an issue, take a look at the tenkeyless, 65%, or 60% variants of this very same product. Otherwise, consider our favorite compact gaming keyboard on a budget, the MageGee Portable 60%. For an enthusiast looking for a better intro to building gaming macros, take a look at the Nuphy Field75 HE.