HyperX Alloy Elite Gaming Keyboard Overview
The HyperX Alloy Elite is a full-size keyboard, so you have a full compliment of keys as well as full numberpad. There is also a large top row with a few extra buttons, which we will get into in just a little bit. When you first pick up the Alloy Elite you’ll notice it is pretty heavy. This is because it has a solid steel frame design, so there is absolutely no flex in this keyboard at all.
Besides your normal compliment of keys you’ll find three keys at the top left of keyboard. The first is the brightness control button, then you have the LED mode control button, and then finally the game mode button. There are three brightness levels and you also have the ability to turn the lights completely off. You have six programmed LED backlight modes which include solid, breathing, trigger, explosion, wave, and a custom mode. You can customize which keys light up in the custom mode by pressing the brightness and the game mode buttons at the same time until the backlight turns off, then press the keys you want to have illuminated, finally press and hold the brightness and game mode keys again. Game mode will disable the Windows key so you have no accidental interruptions when gaming.
On the opposite side of the keyboard you have multimedia controls. They include back, play/pause, forward, and mute buttons. There is also a large volume wheel. I think these dedicated controls are essential on gaming keyboards because who wants to go out of game to adjust volume or mute really quick. Also on this side of the keyboard are indication LEDs for game mode, number lock, and caps lock.
The keyboard has all black keycaps with clear symbols on them so the red LEDs can shine through. These keycaps are matched up with Cherry MX Red mechanical key switches, which are a favorite among gamers. They are a linear switch with a low actuation force of only 45 cN. HyperX tells us the keyboard will also be available in Cherry MX Brown and Blue versions. The keyboard also comes with textured and titanium-color WASD keycaps. The texture makes sure you know you are on the correct keys. There are for additional titanium-colored keycaps which are the 1-4 keys.
Taking a look at the keyboard from the side we can see how the keys are angled. The bottom three rows are angled down and the top three rows have a slight angle up. This is a typical design we see on gaming keyboards. If you want a more extreme angle you can pop-out the feet on the keyboard.
The keyboard comes with a detachable wrist rest which has a soft-touch coating on most of it. This should reduce fatigue during long gaming sessions as well as add to overall comfort.
On the top edge of the keyboard is the pass-through USB 2.0 port. This is always great to have on a keyboard as you can plug in a gaming peripheral like a keyboard or mouse, or you can use it to plug in a USB flash drive.
If we flip the keyboard over we can see four large feet on the keyboard itself as well as three more on the wrist rest. These will keep your keyboard in place, even during the most intense gaming sessions.
