HyperX Alloy FPS Review: Keeping It Simple Makes It Great

HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Aims for Simplicity

Kingston’s has stepped into the mechanical gaming keyboard market through their dedicated gaming brand with the HyperX Alloy FPS. We’ve reviewed plenty of Kingston product, and they always maintain a high sense of quality. So I was very intrigued to check out their first entry into gaming keyboards. How well did they do? Let’s find out.

Design

The First thing that stands out about the Alloy FPS is the look. I like the look of a fully exposed keyboard with no thick borders around and a solid steel frame. This minimal design is for travel and saves space at your desktop to give more room for mouse movement. The cord is also removable for easy portability. The top left of the keyboard comes with a built-in USB port that is good for charging devices like your smartphone but do not that it’s not fast charging capability. The key switch options depend on what version of the keyboard you get. The Alloy FPS which is what our review is based on has options of Cherry MX Blue, Brown and Red switches for which we are using MX Blues on our review keyboard. The Alloy FPS Pro has a tenkeyless design and only has the option of Cherry MX Red switches. The keys are also easily removable and pop out quickly with the included removal tool. This makes cleaning easy and one of the most accessible keyboards to do so. You can also replace your W-A-S-D 1-2-3-4 keys with red color keycaps with texture on the W-A-S-D for a better feel for keys when not looking.

Special Features

The Alloy FPS doesn’t come with a lot of unique features but has the basics that most will want. Each key lights up with single color RED LEDs that can be set to different lighting patterns and brightness by just press the function key (which is shown as FN on the bottom right of the board)  and arrows keys. There six lighting modes available starting with solid red (always-on), breathing (slow dimming on and off to mimic breathing patterns), lightwave which makes keys light up from left to right in a wave motion almost like the crowd doing the wave at a football, basketball or baseball game. The last two modes are responsive like where one creates ripple effects when you tap on any key and the other lights up each as it’ pressed. The FN key also operates the media controls which are combined with the F6 – F11 keys. While they are easy to access I would prefer dedicated media controls for quick no loock access. hight of the keyboard just a bit to include them. You can also activate game mode with FN+F12.  The Alloy FPS also comes with n-key rollover and 100% anti-ghosting. That’s pretty much it for special features. There is no software or drivers to install. This is a complete plug and play system. There is also no wrist rest so you will need to supply your own if you pick up this keyboard. This is welcome for some people who want simplicity. But if your looking to reprogram keys, create macros and customized lightings that’s not something you’re going to be able to do with the Alloy FPS.

Alloy FPS For Gaming

While gaming I found the keyboard to be very responsive to all presses. The keys are more of a clicky feel and sound which can get loud but wasn’t a bother to me. Playing FPS games, I found every key action executed as it should and as the pace picked up the anti-ghosting came in hand as all keys register individually without issue. Their lack of dedicated media controls meant there was an extra step of remembering to hit that function button to control volume and music.

Alloy FPS For Productivity Use

For daily work I find the Alloy FPS to be a great keyboard to type with. I had to adjust to the feel of Cherry MX Blue switches, which have a bit more of a bounce. After about a week of adjusting to it, I was able to type at my normal speed and accuracy again. The Alloy FPS is my main keyboard now replacing the Topre I was using before. The keys do make a loud clicky sound, so for a more open work environment they might not be the best option unless neighbors have headphones or the environment is already loud. You might want to consider Cherry MX Brown or Red for a softer sound

Recommendation

The Alloy FPS is a straightforward choice for someone who wants a qualify keyboard without too many bells and whistles. The design is great to save space on a desk, and the quality of the keys and keyboard will last for years of typing and gaming down the road.  For the price of around $99 at the time of this review on Amazon, I would recommend the HyperX Alloy FPS for those that want great qualify with simple features at a cost-effective price.