Are you the kind who likes gimmicky features included only for the sake of marketing with no functional relevance? Or would you want something with only the basic features, but rock solid stability and a purposeful design? If you belong to the later team, the HyperX Alloy Origins is just the keyboard you are looking for. Add to that, the most breathtaking LED lighting we have ever seen on a keyboard.
Unlike the previous HyperX Alloy Origins Elite, the Alloy Origins takes a different approach to its design, something more in line with the design philosophy of Das Keyboard i.e. understatement with no bells and whistles. Read on to find out what the HyperX Alloy Origins Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is all about.
Design
The Alloy Origins is a full fledged gaming keyboard but its size is incredulously compact, standing at 1.4 x 17.4 x 5.2 inches (36.4 x 442.5 x 132.5 mm). This means that you can fit this in squeezy spaces on desks and tables, and accommodate room for a bigger mouse pad maybe? If you’re a streamer with equipment then you can probably vouch how important space is. Also, if travelling with keyboards is your thing, this one will fit in your pack just fine. It weighs just over a kilogram, at 1075 grams, so it feels solid and sturdy.
The casing on the Alloy Origins is made of aluminum, which gives it a premium feel. The keys are exposed, meaning there is no cavity on which they are housed. We like this design concept. It prevents the problem that almost all keyboards have i.e. accumulation of dust under the keys, because all the keys are exposed. You can simply remove the key and clean the keyboard with a duster.
Another benefit of the exposed keys (oh this is a biggie) is that it upgrades the LED lighting. How so? The lack of cavities means the LED-lit keys have a flat surface that reflects their lights, unlike the lights getting lost in the cavities. Come to think about it, such a simple adjustment for such a marvellous gain, genius! This results in stunning and bright lights on the HyperX Alloy Origins. We wonder why other keyboard companies couldn’t come up with this.
An understated design means the HyperX Alloy Origins misses out on dedicated media keys, something we miss. The Alloy Origins Elite had dedicated media keys and a volume knob, which we got so used to that we now prefer it in our main keyboard. However, having extra keys would not work on the Alloy Origins because it is meant to be a compact, frills-free keyboard. We like the monochrome Caps Lock, Num Lock and Game Mode lights about the numpad. They ooze classy and premium. Game Mode when activated disables the Windows key. This mode is useful in preventing mistypes on the Windows key that takes you away from the game and to the desktop. Neat addition!
Below the keyboard you see a one piece aluminum frame, like the ones they have on the Macbooks. This adds to the premium feel and sturdiness. Having a single frame chassis adds to the stability of the keyboard. Another really cool addition was the height adjustable feet, something we rarely see in other keyboards. The keyboard can be set among three heights. This feature can be a home-run for many users looking for the height that is ‘just perfect.’
Performance (Gaming and Typing)
The Alloy Origins features HyperX’s very own Red linear switches. To me personally, they feel close to the Cherry MX Red keys, but a little softer on the touch. Theoretically, they’re rated 45g actuation force, the same as the Cherry MX Red keys. The difference is in the actuation distance, with the Alloy FPS being shorter (1.8mm) compared to the Cherry MX Red (2mm). The shorter travel distance is probably due to a cavity-less design. Still, I like these keys. I wasn’t a fan of the HyperX keys on the Alloy FPS, they were too light for me and I always ended up double-typing almost all of the time. That is not an issue with the Alloy Origins. My typing was swift and error free, and the same translates to gaming. It is worthy to mention that the HyperX switches offer the longest rated lifespan in the industry.
There are many functions you can perform holding the Fn key along with other keys, like media controls, change lighting patterns, and adjust the LED brightness.
HyperX has also launched the Alloy Origins with HyperX Blue (clickly) and HyperX Alpha (tactile) switches. So far, only the Red switches are available in India. The keyboard layout is generic, meaning I adjusted to the keyboard the moment I plugged it to the computer.
Typing on the Alloy Origins can take a while to get used to, but once you do get used to it it is difficult to move away from it. The typing experience is smooth, the keystrokes feel, for the lack of a better word, “quick.”
For gaming, especially FPS games where quick-switching is required and timing is key, I personally do not face much of a problem. Did it improve my performance, I can’t say, but I did feel super comfortable during hours and hours of Dishonored 2 and Dota 2.
Software
The HyperX Alloy Origins keyword works fine just out of the box, but you will be limited to just three LED lighting profiles. To create custom lighting patterns you will need to install the HyperX Ngenuity software. Going against the grain here, but we think that the Ngenuity software performs just fine. It is easy to use, you can program each key to perform a specific function, and you assign each key its own individual lighting. There are couple of effects to choose from, like Explosion, Fade, Implosion and so on.
The HyperX Ngenuity software lacks in just one department, and that is custom profiles. There is no option to create custom profiles, and we couldn’t find any cool profiles to upload from the internet, unlike some other competitive brands. If HyperX can introduce community profiles, it would make the Alloy Origins’ proposition very strong, because frankly, we’ve never seen such gorgeous lighting on any other LED enabled keyboard.
Conclusion
There are many things to like about the HyperX Alloy Origins. Its compact size (for a full length keyboard). That opens up a lot of possibilities for this keyboard, for example, carrying one with your laptop, or travelling with it. We also dig the adjustable height, meaning you can go flat, low profile or half angle. The key switches are great for typing and gaming. The LED lighting is delicious. Hours of long sessions and the keyboard never came in the way of the experience, that’s what we call a good keyboard.
Dedicated media keys and a volume knob will be missed. You also miss some other features like USB-pass through ports on the keyboard. On the plus side, the Alloy Origins uses a USB-C port.
The HyperX Alloy Origins is available for ₹9,990 on Amazon.in. The price is steep. But the question is that is it worth it? We would say, for its solid build quality and our perceived longevity, it totally is.
What’s iLL
-Compact size
-Beautiful LED lighting
-Solid performance across both typing and gaming
-Premium build quality and finish
-Three adjustable heights
What’s Not
-No dedicated media keys
