Gaming Keyboards – Size Matters, But is Bigger Better?

HyperX Alloy Origins 60

The size goes down once more to the crazy small 60% design. Much like the 65% on the last page, this is still packing a crazy amount of features for its size. However, there are a few more compromises too as you can’t get this small without trimming down even more keys! However, with a full aluminium body design, HyperX mechanical switches, and much more, it’s still as feature-rich a gaming keyboard as many full-size models.

Features

• Petite 60% form factor, Full aircraft-grade aluminium body
• HyperX mechanical switches*
• Onboard memory, Game Mode, 100% anti-ghosting, and N-key rollover functionalities
• 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 a detachable USB-C cable
• Included keycap puller and additional keycaps

Performance

The 65% looked cool, but remember that little gap in the key caps on the bottom row? Yup, that’s gone now, there’s no wasted space here, it’s keys top to bottom, left to right! Don’t be fooled though, the keycaps are still a traditional full-size design, with traditional key spacing too, so touch typing feels very natural.

However, it’s obvious that a lot of other things have been moved or removed to shrink it down. The F-keys are completely removed, and again, the Esc key replaces Tilde. However, the F-keys and other functions are still available via the Fn-Shift layer.

What’s interesting is that while the 65% had only the left Ctrl, this keyboard has both. Of course, it’s not got any traditional arrow keys here, so that did free up a few caps for the bottom right, which now has Alt, Menu, Ctrl, and Fn.

You can actually lock in an arrow key mode though, and Alt, Menu, Ctrl, and ? will act as Left, Down, Right and Up respectively. Again, compromise, but not complete removal of the key functions, which is really clever.

Shift and Enter use a US-style configuration again, but as you can see, that extra space is needed for other functions.

Home, Del, PgUp, and PgDn keys are gone on this one, however, if you look, they’re nearby on Fn-Shift functions. Actually, most keys provide a secondary function on this keyboard. It takes some practice to recall where they all are, but it’s nice they’re not just completely gone. Again, this keyboard has those HyperX-designed switches, and they’re delightful to use. You also get HyperX NGENUITY, allowing for layers, key configuration and macros that make it more gamer friendly. That being said, for office work it’s a bit of a pain to use, but for gaming, it’s like a surgical scalpal.

The biggest advantages are it’s extremely portable. It can fit in a pretty small backpack, it’s easy to travel with, and if you’re light on desktop space, or just want even more room for your mouse to move, this is a great solution.

Price and Availability

The HyperX Alloy Origins 60 is a lot more available in the UK than the 65% seems to be. It’s currently on Amazon for just £70 at the time of writing, which is down from the original £110 MSRP, so you may want to strike while the deals are hot on this one.