HyperX Alloy Origins Core

The Alloy Origins Core is HyperX's tenkeyless board with a full aluminum body. HyperX's page lists custom HyperX switches in Red (linear) or Aqua (tactile) with an 80-million-keypress rating, a detachable USB-C to USB-A braided cable, three tilt angles of 3°, 7° and 11°, onboard memory for three profiles, N-key rollover, and NGENUITY software for lighting and macros. The listed weight is 1.98 lb with the cable, and the footprint is 360 by 132.5 mm. ZDNet praised the rock-solid case, bright RGB and an office-friendly look, and the NGENUITY key remapping, but called the keycaps some of the worst it had reviewed, plasticky and rattly and prone to shine within minutes, and found NGENUITY's lighting settings unintuitive. The reviewer suggested a cheap aftermarket keycap set as the fix. HyperX's page does not state the keycap material. TweakTown rated the board well for build and lighting, but said the 45 g figure HyperX quotes for its switches is reached before the Aqua's tactile bump, putting the real force to actuate nearer 60 g. The switches are fixed rather than hot-swap, the board is wired only, and HyperX lists Windows-only OS compatibility for the software. In short, it pairs a solid metal frame with a flexible but fiddly NGENUITY and a weak stock keycap set. It suits gamers who want a compact, rigid board and plan to swap the keycaps.