Introduction

When HyperX first broke away from Kingston, I admittedly was more curious about what the new focus would be than why. The years since have shown the move was good, with HyperX becoming a legitimate brand in the world of not only PC gaming, but eSports in general. Their headsets especially have garnered rave reviews here on TechPowerUp and elsewhere by offering good value for the money. Their mice and keyboards have done so as well, but the latter have not really had as much of an impact. The mechanical keyboard market especially is so competitive that you absolutely need to do a lot more to even get people to notice your products, which is perhaps what HyperX was thinking of when they showed off their own branded switches at Computex this year. It has been a few months since, and we now have the first retail product using these switches in the form of the HyperX Alloy Origins. Thanks again to the company for sending a review sample to TechPowerUp!


The HyperX Alloy Origins follows the naming scheme of their keyboards we have previously seen, with the use of an aluminium alloy case coupled with new switches justifying the name better than most such products in the market today. The keyboard itself will look familiar to people familiar with HyperX keyboard offerings, especially given it is a full-size keyboard in a completely black color scheme and minimalist design based off the Alloy FPS out of the box. We begin the review of the keyboard with a look at the specifications below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

HyperX operates a web shop in the USA. However, this sample came from a marketing hub, so we begin with a look at the product packaging. The packaging aesthetic is a departure from the older Alloy keyboards that used a predominantly black and red color scheme on a matte cardboard wrap compared to the more vibrant, white-themed glossy wrap here. A lot of information has been put on the front, including the product and company name on the corners, mentions of the switch type and layout used, and a big illustration of the keyboard with some marketing features. This continues on the back and sides with more illustrations, features, and specifications. There are two seals on an edge to keep the contents inside in place.


We see single flaps on the sides, and opening the box gives us a look at the keyboard front and center, which is surrounded by more cardboard on all sides for additional protection during transit. Under the keyboard is some documentation, and note also the writing on the cardboard. The included quick start guide is really all you needs to go over the first few times you use the keyboard for familiarity with the pre-programmed functions HyperX has built into the keyboard. The Alloy Origins, as with other Alloy keyboards from HyperX, uses a detachable cable, and we get one with a USB Type-A connector on one end and a Type-C connector on the other. To keep with the color scheme of the keyboard, the cable uses black sleeving and housing for the connectors.

HyperX has decided not to include any replacement keycaps or a keycap puller with the stock packaging, which is a small letdown considering the predecessors include both, so that is about it as far as the keyboard packaging goes. They do sell an optional wrist rest, which we took a look at before here. For those wondering: this wrist rest will cost you an additional $19.99 on top of the keyboard itself.