For this review, I'll be comparing the HyperX Alloy Elite RGB against the Corsair K70 LUX RGB. With similar MSRP and feature set, these two keyboards are direct competitors. The model I purchased as cherry mx red keys.
My first mechanical keyboard several years ago was a Corsair K70 with red LEDs and cherry mx red keys. I absolutely loved that keyboard, and after about 2 years of use I upgraded to a Corsair K70 LUX RGB. I've owned that keyboard for just under a year at this point, and I gave it a 5 star review here on Amazon. I'm a big fan of Corsair's keyboards, and obviously have gone back to a K70 when I upgraded, I think the K70 is one of, if not the best gaming mechanical keyboard on the market.
Having said all of that, I actually think the HyperX Alloy Elite RGB is even better. I'll explain the areas where I feel the Elite RGB tops the K70 LUX.
HyperX has been killing it in the PC peripheral game the last few years. The Cloud II is the best gaming headset on the market in my opinion, and the value you get for $99 is incredible. Their entire line of gaming headsets has basically changed the gaming headset landscape and moved it toward a more audiophile-centric approach. They also have a very solid first mouse in the Pulsefire FPS, and they have been releasing great mechanical keyboard entries- focusing on great build quality, understated aesthetics and standard key sizing (standard bottom row!).
When I first unboxed the Alloy Elite RGB I immediately felt like it was a better built and more premium keyboard than the K70 LUX. The design was definitely heavily inspired by the K70 series, but HyperX seems to have focused on addressing all of the cons on the Corsair boards. For one, the keycaps are much higher quality than those found on the K70. I like the shape of the keycaps better, as they are more angular and sleek. The caps also feel much better to the touch- the K70 caps feel decidedly cheap and thin, while the alloy elite caps have a smooth, soft coat to them. They feel fantastic. The included gaming keycaps also feel much better than those included with the K70. Perhaps most importantly, this keyboard has a standard layout including a STANDARD BOTTOM ROW, making it super easy to buy replacement keycaps sets if you so desire. Corsair has continually used a nonstandard bottom row, which makes finding replacement keycaps a pain. Because of this, although this is a "gaming" keyboard, mechanical keyboard enthusiasts will be more likely to give it a shot and/or recommend it.
Cherry MX reds are my favorite mechanical switch. I had reds on both K70s I owned, and I chose to go with reds again on the alloy elite RGB. For some reason, the mx reds feel different on this board than they do on the Corsair. The actuation is smoother, and they are much quieter. The reds on the K70 LUX are really loud- I this this is due to a combination of the keycaps Corsair is using as well as the mounting of the switches on the back plate. Although reds are marketed as a "quiet switch" I never really understood that because I still found them quite loud on the K70 (although obviously not as loud as something like mx blues). On the Alloy elite RGB, the mx reds are actually fairly quiet- another win for the HyperX board.
The lighting on this board is just as good as on the K70 LUX. I actually think the colors are more accurate, even though they are using the same Cherry mx RGB switches. It probably has something to do with the brushed aluminum back plate of the K70 LUX. Blue especially never looked quite right on the K70 LUX, but on the Alloy Elite RGB is looks more vibrant and true blue. Orange also looks quite a bit better. I am not sure if Cherry made improvements to the RGB switches, or if this is a result of having a matte black metal plate instead of the brushed aluminum on the K70.
The HyperX Ngenuity software is just fine in my opinion. Its obviously in its infancy, and I expect it to improve as time goes on (Corsair's CUE software was a hot mess when the first K70 RGB released). Its easy to set up basic lighting effects in the Ngenuity software, but it doesn't seem to have the ability to create as complicated profiles as users can on the CUE software. However, the CUE software is probably the main reason I wanted to move away from a Corsair board. CUE is a buggy mess- my K70 LUX would often not be recognized by the software, the software would crash periodically, and sometimes my keyboard's lighting would just refuse to work. Only uninstalling and reinstalling the software could fix it. I haven't had any of those problems with the NGenuity software.
The keyboard also comes with a profile switching button on the top left of the board, and the 3 default profiles are actually really great. The first is rainbow wave, which is just as nice as that found on e K70 LUX. The second is a basic blue with white WASD and 1-4 keys, and the 4th is basic red with "HyperX Flame" key press effect. They all look great- which means if you don't even have to install the software if you don't want to. On the K70 LUX, the software is required to run to use any sort of lighting effects. You can only save one basic static lighting profile to the board (which I should mention would sometimes not load on startup- sheesh!).
Also, the light bar at the top looks FANTASTIC and is a really nice touch.
The media keys compare well to what the K70 has on offer. The volume scroller is MUCH nicer than the one on the K70 LUX. The K70 has a really unpleasant metal-on-metal feel when scrolling, while the alloy elite is smooth. I also really like the silver accents of the media keys.
The wrist rest on the Alloy Elite RGB is also really nice. I was worried about it from the pictures, and how it would compare to the K70 wrist rest with its soft rubberized plastic feel. The left side of the wrist rest feels really nice and soft, even better than the Corsair. The right side is plastic, but still soft to the touch. I also think the wrist rest pops on and off easier than on the K70. Its a really nice inclusion and adds to the value of the board.
Overall, I think the Alloy Elite RGB is just a better keyboard than the Corsair K70 LUX. Although it borrows a lot from the design of the K70, it improves on it in a number of ways. At a price of $170 at the time of this review, you are getting a really great value, and what I feel is the best gaming keyboard in the price range. The K70 LUX can often be found for cheaper, but do understand that you will be sacrificing quality in a number of areas. I think the Alloy Elite RGB is worth the price premium. HyperX has yet to let me down with any of their PC peripherals. They also have incredible support (I had experience with it for my Cloud II, and it was painless and...actually fairly pleasant).
I can highly recommend this keyboard for anyone looking for a gaming keyboard with all of the features- media controls, RGB lighting, onboard profiles, gaming keycaps, wrist rest, etc. This board has it all, with an extremely premium build.
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
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