A Portable Pickup – HyperX Alloy Origins 60% Keyboard Review

HyperX has just added the HyperX Alloy Origins 60% to their growing list of keyboard collection, here is our review on it to see how it fares with other HyperX keyboards.

Features

• RM 499 (Official HyperX reseller on Shopee)
• Petite 60% form factor
• HyperX mechanical switches
• Full aircraft-grade aluminum body
• Double shot PBT keycaps with side-printed secondary functions
• RGB backlit keys with radiant lighting effects
• Advanced customization with HyperX NGENUITY software
• Three adjustable keyboard angles and detachable USB-C cable
• Included keycap puller and additional keycaps
• Onboard memory
• Game Mode, 100% anti-ghosting, and N-key rollover functionalities
• Multi-platform compatibility

Design

The HyperX Alloy Origin 60% is relatively small in design as compared to other 60% keyboards that are currently available in the market. Its overall size is about as wide as a laptop and the key are limited to the “bare essentials”, as it lacks your regular arrow keys or the function keys.

The additional keycaps for the Alloy Origin 60% are for the ESC key where users can opt to swap out for the HyperX logo, as well as with the Spacebar key which also brands the HyperX logo along with an “oil-like” wavy line design.

Having linear red switches, the keyboard comes with an Fn key, can act as a double up as other hotkeys since the usual F1-F10 keys not included in with 60% keyboards.

The key on the keyboard has a minimalistic design as compared to a fully-sized keyboard, most likely to fit the theme of being a smaller keyboard. An example to that is that the Tab, Caps Lock, & Shift keys only have symbols rather than having both text and symbols.

An interesting thing to note is that the HyperX Alloy Origin 60% has 2 levels of stand adjustments where I personally think the first level is good enough. When using the second level, the elevation of the keyboard position feels a bit too tall for my personal liking.

But if you rather have it laid out flatly on your desk, the keyboard has rubber on the back so it won’t slip around easily.

Being a wired keyboard, it has a USB Type-C port at the back. As for someone who tends to use wired keyboards, I personally think the wire for this keyboard is a bit too long, especially if you’re planning on using it with a laptop. But I think it’s fine if you were to plug it for desktop usage.

The HyperX Alloy Origin 60% has backlit RGB lights for its keys, with the colours by default passes through the keys in a wave-like pattern. The lights by default is relatively bright but users can tweak with the brightness of the lights through the NGENUITY software.

Usage

Personally, as someone who is used to 80% keyboards, I feel like the HyperX Alloy Origins 60% is a bit too cramped if you were to compare it to your usual keyboard on laptop devices, even though it’s about the same size.

When trying to type on the keyboard, I feel like it’s fine as I am able to type around the same speed as I were to type on my usual 80% keyboard besides having the feeling of being somewhat “cramped”, though it’s not that hard to get used to.

Another personal gripe that I have is that it’s kind of awkward for me to get used to not being able to use the arrow keys without needing to use Fn key hotkeys. The Fn key is pretty accessible through your right little finger. Aside from the Function keys, most of the Fn key commands are concentrated on the right side which can be annoying if you’re left-handed.

Although, the keyboard keys does feel “Clicky” enough for me, which I enjoy a lot. It feels just as right as it’s loud enough to feel satisfying but it’s doesn’t potentially distract other people while working.

But admittedly, I would only use this keyboard mostly for typing purposes as the lack of “direct access” to other keys makes rebinding an annoying chore, especially if you’re going to play the critically acclaimed MMORPG – Final Fantasy XIV, like I do.

Customisation

Through the HyperX NGENUITY software, you can play around with the features such as light settings, keybind settings and the Light Sync with other HyperX products, Brightness, Present Accessibility, as well as Game Mode.

For the light effects, users can either have the colours be going all across the keyboard, or select specific zones to go cycle through the colour effect.

You can add a single additional effect (e.g. Fire, Explosion, Fade) so that whenever you press the keys, the lights will change to the pre-set colour (e.g. with a Red Fire effect, whenever you type, the Red light will override lights in the specific area around the pressed key). The speed of the cycling or the overall keyboard light cycling effect can likewise be changed.

For light profiles, you can save them but can’t actually rename them. You can only set them to profiles you can apply with the Fn key (the profiles are mapped to the Fn + J K L keys by default), which means only 3 profiles can be saved at all times. The light preview is instant, so you can see the effects on both the keyboard in front of you and the preview in NGENUITY.

The keybinds should be pretty self explanatory: Reassign either the regular keys or the Fn keys, and save it to a particular profile.

Last but not least is Game Mode. You can turn it off and on through NGENUITY or through the Fn key shortcut. Game Mode will turn off specific keybind combinations, but as far as I can see, you can’t customize if there are other keys you want to turn off.

Verdict

Aside from its small build, there’s nothing bad about this keyboard. It’s relatively easy to customise the lighting effects for that extra “Gamer” feel, and users can have an easy time with rebinding keys through the NGENUITY software.

The keyboard is pretty comfortable, but the double function keys are a double-edged sword. It’s good because it allows the keyboard to be kept in as a small form and the easy rebinding feature means you can use the Fn keys for just about anything you need it to be. But one the flip side, the keyboard’s small stature does mean that you need to reach for the Fn keys, which can be a bit awkward. I personally wouldn’t recommend using this keyboard if you want to use more complicated macros.

All in all, if you’re looking for an external keyboard that is extremely portable and easy to carry about your daily lives, then by all means get the HyperX Alloy Origins 60% keyboard.

For those who are interesting in picking up the HyperX Alloy Origins after reading through our review, you can do purchase it her from the official HyperX website.

Alternatively, you can pick it up through the official HyperX reseller through Shopee.

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