Kingston's first entry in the gaming keyboard market the HyperX Alloy FPS proves to be a great mid-level option with the excellent build quality and keeping the features simple.
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.
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.
I have the cherry mx blue one and it is going great so far. Also, the build quality is top notch.