HyperX Alloy Elite 2 Mechanical Keyboard Review

Performance

Well there’s one thing we can right away. OMGWTFBBQRGB, because wow, look at that parade of colour. The richness of this keyboards RGB is unmatched, they’re practically neon, and I love that. What’s great though is the way the pudding caps work. The keyboard is very well lit up, but it’s not projecting the light that much so it doesn’t feel blinding to use. Of course, it’s still a LOT brighter than most keyboards though, but if that’s what you want, that’s what you get.

Of course, you can tinker with the colours in the software, change everything on a per-key basis, turn them off, change the brightness, etc. It’s the joy of RGB, you can do what you want here. The Elite 2 easily has the most impressive rainbow fade I’ve seen yet though.

Overall though, the RGB is brilliant, I can’t fault it. However, I think it’s worth pointing out (again) that these are HyperX switches, not Cherry or Kailh or anything like that so they’ve got 100% their own RGB tech here too. The switches are phenomenal. They’re a red switch, and they’re linear and basically a Cherry clone. However, they’re 1.8mm actuation point is shorter than the 2mm of the MX Red and you can feel it, they’re faster and smoother. Subjective I’m sure, but given the choice, I’d take these of MX Red any day of the week.

It’s a very well equipped keyboard, but when it comes down to it, it’s as good as any premium mechanical keyboard out there. It’s light, fast, reliable, 100% accurate all of the time. It’s been a blast to use in the office for writing reviews and email. However, playing a few trials in Elder Scrolls Online, I found it very comfortable overall.

The only thing missing is a wrist rest, but it does have the mounting point for one. I am happy to see the dedicated multimedia controls, and they work really well. I like that they’ve added some RGB to them too.

Plus, the addition of an RGB strip above the F-keys, ya know, because the keyboard was lacking in RGB already.

One more time, just look at those colours!

Pudding caps, the king of caps for RGB lovers.