Blue Switches for the gamers who love ‘clickiness’ • HyperX Alloy Origins Review

HyperX released a bunch of new switches during PAX last year. Now there’s a new keyboard on the loose with fun blue switches. We got our hands on the HyperX Alloy Origins keyboard to give you the run down.

Compact keyboard for gamers

The HyperX Alloy Origins keyboard is nice and compact. It doesn’t take up a ton of room on your desk, and it’s easy to move around. The keyboard is also compatible with Xbox and PlayStation. Its compact size and compatibility with consoles make it ideal for console gaming. Often you’ll need a keyboard for group chat, and it’s much easier to type your passwords with a keyboard.

Its compact design also allows it to be easily stored in a shelf, desk, or drawer along with the rest of your console gear. The USB-C cable is also detachable, adding to the compact nature of the Alloy Origins. Its small size also makes it idea for travelling… when we’re allowed to travel again! For something so small however, it’s got a surprising amount of weight to it. I guess that’s what solid aluminum feels like. When you do end up travelling, make sure you weigh your bag so you don’t go over the carry-on limit.

Blue switches

The Alloy Origins has the option of Blue switches. These are known as “clicky” switches and are different to your Red linear or Aqua tactile keys. If you love the sound of a good keystroke, then take a look at the HyperX Blue switches. They are however much more “clicky” than they are “clacky.” The keys aren’t as loud as some keyboards on the market and the response time is ever so slightly slower than the Red keys. But unless you’re doing a crazy amount of double (or triple) key tapping, you’re not going to notice the difference. If you’ve used Cherry MX Blue keys before, then it’s a similar experience with the HyperX Blue.

I also like the shape of the HyperX keys. They feel really nice when typing away and each key has a nice soft rebound on it. Red and Aqua keys is . If you want to read more about the different types of HyperX switches, check out the comparison guide.

Lighting and controls

RGB lights are one of the coolest things about peripherals. There isn’t much on the market you can buy these days without RGB. The pre-built function on the HyperX Alloy Origins were so good I just stuck with that. Who doesn’t want cool rainbow funky lights? But there are lots of different lighting functions you can choose.

If you want to change the brightness on the fly, it’s easy. The “Up” and “Down” arrow keys allow you to change the lighting brightness without having to open up extra software. The “Function” keys allow you to have three separate lighting profiles. You might want different light sequences for different games, or even different times of the day. Everything is programmable with the HyperX NGENUITY software. If you have other HyperX products like the Cloud Stinger, you can configure these together.

You can even control the height of your keyboard to three different levels! Sometimes you don’t want it too high, so you can set your keyboard to flat, medium, or high angle.

Overall, this is a fantastic compact keyboard and is perfect for everyday gamers. And it’s not too expensive (hint: keep reading).

HyperX Alloy Origins

If this sounds like your kind of keyboard, then read all the juicy specs of the HyperX Alloy Origins keyboard on the HyperX website. The Alloy Origins is a very reasonably priced. The keyboard is retailed at for $109.99 USD (approx. $229 AUD). Although there are some really cheap deals going around for Christmas. Some places are even selling the keyboard for as little as $149 AUD.  This is the perfect time to get in on a mechanical gaming keyboard if you don’t own one. But even at full retail price, this is a great buy!