HyperX Alloy Elite RGB is trying to compete on Razer's turf
HyperX has made a name for itself with quality, no-frills hardware. So what's their first RGB backlit keyboard like?
I was a big fan of HyperX's debut keyboard. The slim, functional Alloy FPS. It had a small footprint, pretty much just keys suspended over a steel frame. Single-colour backlighting. Loud as hell Cherry MX switches.
The upcoming Alloy RGB Elite, which I had the chance to try out at Computex 2017, takes the other kind of design philosophy on board, more akin to what you'd see from Razer or Logitech's gaming peripheral arm.
Key specs
- Mechanical RGB backlit keys
- Onboard memory to save custom profiles
- Dedicated media and lighting controls
- Palm rest
- USB pass-through port
- Anti-ghosting
The mechanical keys feel just as satisfying as on the rest of HyperX's keyboards, and the optional silver key caps on WASD and numbers one to four (as opposed to the traditional HyperX red) match with the brushed finish of the palmrest.
The RGB lighting is something of a standard on premium gaming peripherals now, and honestly I could take or leave it. While switching colour patterns with a dedicated button is nice, I'm far more excited about the onboard memory that lets you save custom macros when you take your keyboard on the go and the dedicated media controls.
There's no word on pricing just yet (but expect it to come in higher than the very cost-effective Alloy FPS), but you'll be able to pick it up later this year. A lot of it will depend on how much it costs when it hits shelves, given HyperX's penchant for getting quality, no-frills hardware down to bargain prices.
Check out the rest of CNET's coverage of Computex 2017 here.