HyperX Alloy Elite Keyboard

[VSG]

The Alloy Elite from HyperX takes the older Alloy FPS as a base and builds on it by adding dedicated media and lighting-control buttons, floating keycaps on a steel frame, a lightbar for further customization, and a wrist rest. It is better-suited for those looking for a full "battlestation" experience rather than portability.

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[FreedomEclipse]

If the LEDs come in blue or white, I think i've found my next keyboard

 

[Chaitanya]

generally speaking that usb 2.0 port is more than enough to connect a mouse or gamepad or usb headset to keyboard.

 

[Rivage]

Corsair and Kingston has the same OEM?
Good KB after all. Thanks for the review!

 

[bug]

generally speaking that usb 2.0 port is more than enough to connect a mouse or gamepad or usb headset to keyboard.

You're still left with 6" cable on your desktop if you do that. I find that port more useful for jamming a USB stick in it and in this case a faster USB would actually be useful. On the other hand, a Linux install from a USB 2.0 port can finish before I manage to set my locale and root credentials, so USB 2.0 is still pretty fast.

Also, wth do manufacturers add multimedia keys, but not macro keys? If you have macro keys and need multimedia control, you can map them accordingly. But it doesn't work the other way around.

And a question for @VSG :

The lack of macro support hurts compared to competitors offering a similar feature set for less...

What would be something similarly priced with macro keys? (Yup, I'm still on the fence.)

 

[VSG]

And a question for @VSG :

What would be something similarly priced with macro keys? (Yup, I'm still on the fence.)

I was referring to reprogrammable macro options, but there are definitely keyboards with dedicated macro keys in this price range- especially if you look at keyboards from a few years ago. The Logitech G710+ and the Roccat Ryos MK Advanced, for example, are two with a dedicated macro key bank and also come with Cherry MX switch options that are linear or tactile, so you can get those without clicky switches.

 

[bug]

I was referring to reprogrammable macro options, but there are definitely keyboards with dedicated macro keys in this price range- especially if you look at keyboards from a few years ago. The Logitech G710+ and the Roccat Ryos MK Advanced, for example, are two with a dedicated macro key bank and also come with Cherry MX switch options that are linear or tactile, so you can get those without clicky switches.

Mwahaha, the G710+ is the first mechanical keyboard I have seen without NKRO (it boasts 26 keys only). How on earth did they manage to crew that up?
I love their mice, but that and the K740 mess mean I will not touch their keyboards for the time being.

 

[VSG]

Mwahaha, the G710+ is the first mechanical keyboard I have seen without NKRO (it boasts 26 keys only). How on earth did they manage to crew that up?
I love their mice, but that and the K740 mess mean I will not touch their keyboards for the time being.

Do you actually need more than 26 key rollover? It's more than all fingers and toes combined.

 

[bug]

Do you actually need more than 26 key rollover? It's more than all fingers and toes combined.

Not really, but this practically makes it the worst mechanical keyboard in existence (NKRO is about the only reason to go mechanical - at least for gaming - imho). Also, considering how they managed to mess up Shift+Space+W on the K740, it matters little how many keys have rollover. What matters is which keys have it, in the absence of NKRO.

 

[VSG]

Not really, but this practically makes it the worst mechanical keyboard in existence (NKRO is about the only reason to go mechanical - at least for gaming - imho). Also, considering how they managed to mess up Shift+Space+W on the K740, it matters little how many keys have rollover. What matters is which keys have it, in the absence of NKRO.

Not really, the switches are the main reason to go mechanical in my opinion. NKRO is just a feature added on that barely anyone needs over the native 6KRO available over standard USB. Note also that modifier keys (CTRL, Shift etc) do not count in this 6KRO limit.

 

[bug]

Not really, the switches are the main reason to go mechanical in my opinion. NKRO is just a feature added on that barely anyone needs over the native 6KRO available over standard USB. Note also that modifier keys (CTRL, Shift etc) do not count in this 6KRO limit.

Well, people that bought the K740 found they couldn't make running jumps, so I guess sometimes those do count towards that limit.
Also, having just tried a few keyboards, I really wouldn't go mechanical just for the switches. What I found out is not only there's nothing special about them, the cheaper ones are flimsy and feel worse than cheap membrane.

 

[Nabarun]

I got the Alloy FPS (Cherry MX Brown) for 92 USD in India a while back and I'm quite happy with it as an FPS player. At that price here it's a steal. I also use the Num pad keys with arrow keys as my preferred keys instead of WASD, so 10key-less is not for me. Been used to these for over a decade. Personally I find the macro keys on keyboards a bit of a nuisance for FPS gameplay. Just a couple of side buttons on the mouse are more than enough for fast paced games. Tons of programmable keys are probably more important to RPG players. I also am not a fan of wrist rests.

 

[bug]

I got the Alloy FPS (Cherry MX Brown) for 92 USD in India a while back and I'm quite happy with it as an FPS player. At that price here it's a steal. I also use the Num pad keys with arrow keys as my preferred keys instead of WASD, so 10key-less is not for me. Been used to these for over a decade. Personally I find the macro keys on keyboards a bit of a nuisance for FPS gameplay. Just a couple of side buttons on the mouse are more than enough for fast paced games. Tons of programmable keys are probably more important to RPG players. I also am not a fan of wrist rests.

Macros are hit or miss. Even in games that you could use them, you have to check they don't earn you a free ban if you record commands in a way that the game maker does not approve. But I still feel that at those prices keyboard should come with everything and the kitchen sink.

 

[Nabarun]

Macros are hit or miss. Even in games that you could use them, you have to check they don't earn you a free ban if you record commands in a way that the game maker does not approve. But I still feel that at those prices keyboard should come with everything and the kitchen sink.

Haha it sure feels like that when you're spending that kinda money on a damn keyboard which can otherwise be had for a couple of bucks. But the thing is, if you're buying it not because it's just a fancy shit you want, but because you do happen to be a MMOFPS addict like me, then you may realize that more is not necessarily better. Consider this: You are a cowboy in the wild west and your awesome 45s are locked to your waist by a super-cool 512-bit encrypted key which requires an iris scan, voice recognition and typed password to release, or that you have 50 triggers to hit targets at various ranges. Cool, but may not be practical for your purposes, right? So, I don't think addition of a dozen macro keys is an upgrade for FPS gamer. Also, dedicated media keys seem like a joke. One needs to reach all the way to the top to use them. For almost every media player (I use MPC-HC) the arrow keys with/without CTRL and spacebar are all that one needs and can even be used without seeing. PGUP/DN for previous/next, space for Pause/play, up/dn for vol. CTRL+ > < for seek.

 

[bug]

Ideally, macro keys would be placed so they don't get in the way when not used. Then again, maybe it's just wishful thinking.
Imho, a $100 keyboard should come with everything you can think of. Then you start removing things like macro keys, USB ports and whatnot, but also shave $$$ off MSRP. For the time being, the industry seems to be disagreeing with me, though.

And I hear you about the multimedia keys. I have them on my cheapo keyboard and the only one I use is the calculator button.