INTRODUCTION

   Gaming peripherals usually only come second to graphics cards for gamers and professionals so it's no wonder really that we keep seeing new models almost every single week. Now as you all know most gaming peripherals released since mid-2017 feature RGB LED lighting because let's face it this is the most popular "feature" sought out by gamers, enthusiasts and even some professionals lately. Still as expected really not everyone in the world is interested in RGB lighting (myself included since red has always been my favorite color) and surprisingly enough there are some manufacturers out there who still like to cater to that specific segment of the market. HyperX by Kingston Technology is one such manufacturer and today we'll be testing their latest ALLOY Elite Mechanical Gaming Keyboard.

   HyperX is the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the world’s largest independent memory manufacturer, with the goal of providing gamers, PC builders, and power users with high-performance components. For 15 years, the HyperX mission has been to develop gaming products for gamers – high-speed memory, solid state drives, headsets, keyboards, mice, USB flash drives, and mouse pads – to the gaming community and beyond. The award-winning HyperX brand has carved its name atop the leaderboard by consistently delivering products that deliver superior comfort, aesthetics, performance, and reliability. HyperX gear is the choice of pro gamers, tech enthusiasts, and overclockers worldwide because it meets the most stringent product specifications and is built with best-in-class components. HyperX has shipped over 3 million headsets worldwide.

   The brand new ALLOY Elite is the 2nd Mechanical Gaming Keyboard released by HyperX right after the ALLOY FPS model which scored very high in our review. Both keyboards also share some features including Cherry MX switches certified for up to 50 million keystrokes (the ALLOY Elite is currently available with Blue, Brown and Red), single backlight color (red) with 6 modes and 4 brightness levels (the FPS had 5), USB pass-through port, solid steel frame for improved durability and stability, 100% anti-ghosting with full N-Key rollover, 1000Hz polling rate and extra textured keycaps designed primarily for gamers (silver for the Elite an red for the FPS). There are some differences however so the brand new ALLOY Elite features dedicated media buttons (including a volume control wheel), unique light bar, quick access buttons (for the lighting effects, brightness levels and game mode) and a detachable wrist rest with soft touch rubber coating. I was actually surprised a bit to see that HyperX ditched the detachable braided USB cable used in the FPS model since it was quite convenient but I’m certain they had their reasons (long term port/plug durability issues perhaps?).