INTRODUCTION

   Although there are many people out there looking to get an elegant mechanical keyboard (much like the RETRO Classic Typewriter Inspired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard by AZIO which we finished testing just two days ago) for their office or home there's no denying that the majority of consumers are into feature-rich mechanical gaming keyboards. Needless to say that RGB key illumination is the hottest selling point for mechanical gaming keyboards and so it's no surprise that many manufacturers equip their already successful models with that feature in order to grab an even larger market share. HyperX is one such manufacturer and after testing their somewhat impressive single LED color (red) ALLOY Elite Mechanical Gaming Keyboard a while back today with us we have the updated ALLOY Elite RGB model.

   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.

   Since the ALLOY Elite RGB is based on the "regular" ALLOY Elite they are almost identical so both feature Cherry MX switches certified for up to 50 million keystrokes (the ALLOY Elite RGB is also currently available with Blue, Brown and Red RGB switches), dedicated media keys (including a very useful volume control wheel), quick access buttons (game mode, brightness and RGB modes), unique light bar at the top, USB 2.0 pass-through port, solid steel frame for improved durability and stability, detachable wrist rest, 100% anti-ghosting with full N-Key rollover, 1000Hz polling rate and 8 extra keycaps (titanium in color) designed primarily for gamers. Now of course the main difference between the two ALLOY Elite models is RGB illumination but that's not all since in order to make the best out of that HyperX offers the NGenuity customization software something which is not supported (at least not currently) by the "regular" version. There are also a couple of secondary differences like the color of the media keys which makes them stand out and fit nicely with the extra textured keycaps (titanium colored in the RGB version instead of black) and the type of switch covers used (clear plastic used with the RGB switches instead of black matte used with the regular Cherry MX ones).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Once again the front of the box is taken by a large product picture surrounded by the main product features, keyboard layout and the company logo.

The bundle contents and product specifications are printed at the base of the box in 4 different languages.

HyperX sponsors several eSports teams which they list at the top of the box.

4 pictures placed at the rear of the box are used to showcase the main product features listed in 4 languages.

The keyboard is wrapped inside a plastic bag and protected by a cardboard extension of the box.

Inside the box you will find the ALLOY Elite RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, 8 extra keycaps (4 of which are textured), keycap puller, HyperX product catalog, congratulations paper and a quick start Guide.

THE ALLOY ELITE RGB

The ALLOY Elite RGB weighs 1467g and measures 444mm in length, 168.2mm in width and 37.4mm in height.

Once again we see a floating keys design and since the Cherry MX RGB switches feature clear plastic covers they should offer increased brightness compared to the single color models.

The brightness level, mode and gaming mode keys are located on the upper left corner of the keyboard.

Once again the dedicated media buttons and the volume wheel on the opposite side right over their logo.

Here we see the Cherry MX RGB Red switches (due to the clear plastic cover and the location of the LEDs these provide a more “even” illumination).

The USB 2.0 pass through is placed at the front of the keyboard.

Four rubber feet and two height adjusters are located on the base of the keyboard.

These height adjusters raise the top end of the keyboard 9mm from your desk.

The detachable wrist rest gets attached to the main body of the keyboard via 2 regular clips.

With the wrist rest attached the width of the ALLOY Elite RGB increases to 226.8mm.

Here we see the bundled silver plastic caps half of which (WASD) are textured.

At the end of the 1.8 meter long braided cable we find two USB regular (not gold plated) USB plugs (one for data and one for the pass through USB 2.0 port).

HYPERX NGENUITY

In order to have complete control over the features of the keyboard you will need to download the NGenuity software from the HyperX support page.

Once you install the software chances are it will update the firmware on your keyboard.

The ALLOY Elite RGB comes with 3 onboard profiles each with its very own lighting layout as you can see from the above pictures.You can of course create new profiles and even use some ment specifically for supported games.

A list of game profiles is also available on the official product page.

From the lighting tab you can change the color of the keys, create/edit zones, perform per key illumination and choose one of the 6 available modes.

Via the NGenuity software you can also configure the game mode feature and create and assign macros to any of the keys.

Here you can see some of the available modes and colors you can use with the ALLOY Elite RGB.

AUDIBLE FEEDBACK

Many people ask my opinion on what keyboard they should get for their needs. Some want a “silent” model for use in their living room or even in their bedroom while others ask for a model with good audible feedback for use in the office or for gaming. Because of this I decided to test keyboards by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically over each keyboard (5cm distance) and typing NikKTech a total of 6 times with each (after that the max recorded number - max hold - is placed in the graph). I have to admit that this may not be 100% accurate but it does give a good idea on what you can expect from each model since aside the type of switches used keycaps and keyboard material also matter.

CONCLUSION

   The first ALLOY Elite mechanical gaming keyboard by HyperX is still one of the highest quality models to ever reach our lab so there’s really not much more we can say about the updated RGB model. Build quality is once again excellent, the dedicated media keys can be very convenient at times, the RGB lighting for the keys is very impressive (brightness levels seem higher compared to the “regular” ALLOY Elite) and the NGenuity software by HyperX is quite easy to navigate and use. Unfortunately the extra keycaps are once again made out of plastic (we’d like aluminum more) and just like with most (if not all) keyboards currently in the market the USB pass-through is not 3.0/3.1 compatible and that’s something we hope to see eventually.

   With a current price tag set at USD169.99 inside the USA (Amazon) and 169Euros inside the EU (Amazon UK) the ALLOY Elite RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard by HyperX is roughly 45-50% more expensive compared to the “regular” ALLOY Elite and that’s the sole serious drawback of this keyboard. We would had understood a 20-25% price increase due to the Cherry MX RGB Red switches used (and let’s’ also say because HyperX developed the NGenuity software for this specific model) but a 45-50% increase is indeed over the top. Bottom line if RGB key illumination is something you just need to have then this could be the keyboard for you (that’s also why it gets our Platinum Award) but if not and you still like the layout and quality of the ALLOY Elite RGB you can save quite a bit of money by getting the single LED color version instead.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality (Metal Alloy Top)
- Cherry MX RGB Switches (50 Million Actuations)
- 100% Anti Ghosting NKey Rollover
- Dedicated Media And Lighting Buttons
- 6 Illumination Modes & 4 Brightness Levels
- LED Light Bar
- Extra Key Caps
- NGenuity Software
- USB 3.0 Pass Through Port
- Detachable Wrist Rest

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- No Dedicated Macro Keys