HyperX Alloy Core RGB Gaming Keyboard

I like it when keyboards don’t require additional software installed to adjust the lighting effects. At full brightness it looks wonderful with deep colors. I got this on Prime Day when it was discounted and had an additional promotional PrimeDay coupon so for the price paid, $30, it really is a slick looking keyboard with vibrant full RGB. Since this isn’t going to be the typical price-point for the product, I’m rating it as 4 stars at the normal $50 price.

PROS:
+ Membrane keyboard is quieter than mechanical, and doesn’t trigger your wife.
+ Enough built in lighting effects and variations to appease most folks.
+ RGB colors are rich and vibrant.
+ Dedicated media buttons are nice.

CONS:
– keys have a slight wiggle. Coming from a mechanical keyboard it can feel cheap. The physical feel of it is barely over a stock keyboard
– Some of the keys (Print Screen, DEL, Home, PGUP/Down area) have really small print
– I would have liked the space-bar to have the light show through much more of it than the small dash that it has.
– FN key is used explicitly for the RGB themes. There’s no additional FN functions built in which could have been nice (Shortcuts for, say, calculator, display, or other tools, or some way to bind FN shortcuts. However, Since it has Dedicated media buttons, this may not be a concern for you).

If you can get it on sale, it’s a very nice looking keyboard that feels similar to a basic stock keyboard that might come with a computer. At full price you may judge it more harshly on the physical feel of it.

I’ve been using old and/or cheap keyboards for years now, and finally decided to upgrade.

The frame feels solid, doesn’t wobble, and the keys are super satisfying to type with. Overall, keys are pretty silent, with a distinct feeling when each key is pressed.

The RGB lights have their own button for a quick change of style (or shut them off completely.) I wish the volume buttons also lit up, so it’s easy to see in low light, but otherwise this has been a great keyboard.

My Razer broke and I didn’t want to get another Razer, also needed something quieter to not disturb family. This one fits the needs quite well. Sure it’s not mechanical but the feedback is pretty good and consistent (including the space and windows keys), pretty easy to type on and I can easily reach 80~100 WPM. The keys are quiet but I wouldn’t call them silent. Limited light effects to choose from and only three levels of brightness (off, low, high), but it’s simple and can be all set from keyboard without any software on the PC. Overall I like it and can recommend.

This is my first keyboard above $30. I went to my local Micro Center and tested every keyboard they had looking for one that felt nice, and the nice clicky ones tended to be very expensive and relatively noisy. This keyboard captures most of the feel of typing on those keyboards, but is quiet and much cheaper.

The backlighting is blindingly bright, the color transitions on the flow mode are smooth and pretty, the lighting is even, and the colors are vibrant. I like that I can set it to plain white if I want. I always use it on the lower of the two keyboard brightness settings, and that’s still too bright in a dim to medium lit room.

The keys all work, they feel consistent and smooth, and it’s comfortable to type on. I do think a wrist rest might be needed though. I don’t think the keycaps will wear over time, which is good because while they’re removable, they don’t take standard keycaps and replacing them would likely be difficult.

The keyboard frame is surprisingly dense and heavy. It is made out of a very sturdy plastic that feels solid, has no flex/creaking and sits evenly on my desk.

Other pros: Number pad and dedicated media keys are great. The media keys don’t feel as nice to press as the normal keys, and they aren’t backlit, but they do work well and aren’t too difficult to locate without looking.

The cons:
-Media keys are not backlit. This really bugs me for some reason, I want all the keys to be backlit and it bothers me that some are and some aren’t.
-The keyboard height is a little too tall and I think a wrist rest is probably needed for comfort for most people.
-Numlock light is bright white and there’s no way to leave numlock on and turn off the light. This is particular to my use, since I always leave Numlock on. I’ll cover it with a sticker or something.
-it’s got liquid drainage holes and would probably survive a spill, but my keys are particularly hard to get off and removing them and cleaning underneath would be probably take an hour or more.

Overall, I do strongly recommend this keyboard. Other keyboards have per-key backlighting or Cherry MX keys or whatever but this one is good at the stuff a keyboard is supposed to do for the price. Most importantly, compared to the other similarly priced keyboards at Micro Center, these keys felt the nicest to type on- not wobbly or mushy.