HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard – Compact and Portable

HyperX recently released a brand-new gaming keyboard for PC gamers, a keyboard that specifically focuses on gamers that play first-person shooters.

The HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is compact and very responsive with each tap of a key. It features Cherry MX Blue mechanical keys that are very clicky, a solid-steel frame that’s very nice and heavy and durable, red backlit keys with several different lighting effects, and additional keycaps for placing over the typical FPS key slots.

The best feature of the HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is the additional key caps for the WASD keys, along with the 1, 2, 3, and 4 keys, and then mixing that with one of the special lighting effects that only light up those keys, plus ctrl and space. As a FPS gamer myself, I appreciate having an extra focus on those specific keys with the special keycaps and lighting effects. The red keycaps for WASD also have textured tops that provide an extra sense of grip to the keys when using them.

Dominating the battlefield with the @HyperX Alloy FPS keyboard. pic.twitter.com/BASLkufq66

— Andrew Stevens (@CaffeinatedGamr) October 27, 2016

As mentioned, the HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard has lighting effects that can light up only the typical FPS keys, but also light up the entire keyboard with waves, pulsing, and more. And the best part about using those different lighting effects is that it doesn’t require software to set them.

The keyboard comes with a detachable cord with two USB plugs on the end of it, one for powering the keyboard and another for powering the USB slot on the back of the keyboard. This works very well, especially when transporting it.

The HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is a lovely board, but I’m picky about a few little things and can’t call it my favorite even though it does pretty much everything right. I love the HyperX red lights and key caps, I really love the weight of the keyboard, and it’s very responsive. All good things! However, it still doesn’t quite compare to the Corsair STRAFE keyboard because of a few minor details. Both keyboards have textured key tops for the WASD buttons, but the STRAFE has them angled for a better grip. Additionally, the STRAFE comes with an R keycap (even though it’s meant for MOBAs) that’s also angled with texture on it. This is great for reloading – an important factor in shooters.

The HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is right to have the texture keytops, and they certainly feel great and is lovely to use, but since I’ve been spoiled by the other keyboard with the angled keytops, I prefer that keyboard over this one. It’s funny that one minor detail can make such a big difference, but I feel it’s an important difference that could impact the outcome while in the middle of a firefight.

The HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard certainly wins on being stylish though. I love the simple and compact look, and really appreciate the heaviness that the steel frame provides. It’s solid all the way around.

The compact size of the HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard slightly works against it when it comes to my preference. I have larger hands, so keys that are closer together isn’t always the best thing in the world. It doesn’t necessarily bother me much at all, but I would prefer the extra space between keys. Someone with smaller hands might find the compact feature more to their liking than I did.

If we look at the HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard as a traveling board, then its smaller size is fantastic, especially with being able to unplug the cord from the keyboard itself. That’s very clean for managing a cord when traveling with a keyboard. It also comes with a nice high-quality mesh travel pouch as well for easy and safe carrying.

The HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is wonderful to use even though I have a few minor nitpicks against it. It’s definitely a solid and quality option that’s available now for $99.99, and it’s especially great for those who plan to travel with it.