In an era where higher-end mechanical keyboards are expected to have a software driver and RGB lighting, at least as it pertains to the more mainstream arena, HyperX was definitely found wanting before they came out with the Alloy FPS RGB, a natural extension of the older Alloy FPS keyboard with a few tweaks here and there in addition to merely adding more colors to backlighting. The names are at the left with the line "compact design with brilliant RGB effects" explain what this is all about.

The sleek tenkeyless form factor gives you more space for rapid mouse movements, especially in desktop setups that are too tight for a full-sized keyboard. We've also added a new Switches test box, added additional test comparisons to our Hardware Customizability test box that we introduced with our last Test Bench. Its gunmetal backplate and mere half-inch or so of bezel on every side make it a refreshing alternative to the oversized HyperX Alloy Elite—less feature-packed, granted, but more attractive by far.

This software adds some new effects but has some from the older version missing (like the Flame effect), so it is not possible to recreate some profiles you could do before. The second reason isn't a deal breaker, but the fact that the keyboard will vibrate and resonate when in use is something that will cause a numb feeling ion your fingertips. Overall this is another well-constructed option from HyperX, and adds diversity to their growing mechanical keyboard offering as the first with Kailh switches.

And now the unassuming Alloy FPS has received an upgrade, finally getting the full RGB-backlight treatment and new switches. Today, we’re looking at a refresh of one of their most popular mechanical keyboards with the Alloy FPS RGB.

The legends are placed at the top of the keys for great shine-through, including the secondary legends on the number row. Unless you have light fingertips and are an excellent typist, if the soft linear switches do not bug you, we feel the ringing of the keyboard as it vibrates from use likely will. On NGenuity 2 you have a fair number of effects that you can layer on top of each other, and unlike its predecessor, we can actually put any kind of effect on top of each other and there are more than 2 to use in a profile. The keyboard feels well-built, with a metal top-plate and no flex evident when I gave the board a good twist. The FPS RGB has a detachable cable, though it can only be used wired, and uses linear switches with a much lower pre-travel that results in a very responsive feel, which is great for gaming.

Of course, RGB lighting is not really the same between models (different effects, light intensity, keycaps) but that's not all since consumers also need to know which type of switch they would like (mechanical, membrane or hybrid), brand name (the most well-known of which are Cherry, OMRON, Kailh/Kaihua, Gateron, Outemu, Greetech and Matias - brand also equals quality in most cases) and also what characteristics they want those switches to have (defined by their color when it comes to mechanical switches). However, when playing PUBG, we also noticed the ugly side of having a keyboard with soft springs and short throw. They do seem to allow for faster repeated strokes than other keyboards I’ve used thanks to this very shallow activation point. The Alloy FPS RGB uses the popular floating key design which is about perfect for clear-topped RGB switches. With all fifteen screws taken out, the two main pieces of the keyboard can be easily separated given the lack of internal USB cables and use of a detachable keyboard cable.

The ABS keycaps feel a little slippery, and all the alphanumerical keys have a slight wobble to them, but there aren't any noticeable loose parts.

The cloud sync feature is available by using a Windows Live account, so you don't have to create an extra HyperX account for this.

Thus, while these Silver Speed switches may be superb for gaming, I’d prefer to stick with Cherry MX Blues for long form typing. It has a wrist rest and more extra features like dedicated media keys, a volume wheel, and a USB passthrough. The spacebar not only is poorly stabilized but also has some kind of issue with the left side of the keycap, which is able to get stuck. Customization apart the software is not really reliable and crashes randomly, it is still on beta but these issues should be looked after, I wouldn’t recommend syncing any complex profile to your keyboard though, as it may cause your keyboard to go wild ( EPILEPSY and low-quality WARNING) and, if you suffer from epilepsy, cause at the very least some uncomfortable feelings. Via the NGenuity software you can also configure the game mode feature and create and assign macros to any of the keys.