To begin, I did not buy this keyboard for gaming. I work from home and wanted a keyboard that was quiet but still a great mechanical keyboard. I have strong disdain for membrane keyboards and I type faster on mechanical keyboards; they make me feel more productive. The build quality is remarkably good for the price. It is expensive, but quality mechanical keyboards are expensive. I don't need the software as I cannot install that on my work computer, but the keyboard worked right out of the box, no problem. The keyboard came with a braided usb-c cable and the keyboard has an interchangeable face plate. The Red Linear Switch is quieter than my previous First Blood Only keyboard. Overall, I am satisfied. This is probably a forever keyboard for me.

Fantastic keyboard with a nice knob for volume. Knob is also clickable and by default that mutes sounds. RGB can be customized per key and saved under different profile. Switches aren't as loud as a standard mech keyboard but they have a nice tactile feel to them and subdued sound.

Nice and heavy keyboard. Not a fan of cherry red as I don’t game but like a heavy clicky switch so I swapped for something more my style. RGB is good and bright.

THIS…Is the HyperX Alloy Rise fully customizable full-size keyboard and it is packed with several unique and high-end features and touts customization from the face plate down to the switches. In an expanding and competitive market for customizable keyboards, HyperX is taking the jump in…So let's see how this keyboard stacks up to the growing competition! Let's kick this off with the reason we are all here. This keyboard has Linear (so non-clicky) HyperX Red (don't confuse with MxRed) switches that come pre-lubed and have 40g of actuation wrapped in PBT keycaps. I have to say typing on this keyboard feels really good, and it is almost addicting coming from MxReds and other brand linear switches. These are NICE and glide so well. The keys also have a half-wall POM stem which is fancy talk for a bit better duration and stability in the keys over time aka no crooked keys in a year or so. With wired 8k polling there is virtually zero lag! Something interesting about this keyboard is that it is ‘Gasket’ mounted…meaning that there is a rubber grommet between the keys PCB and the housing around it and for me, it makes the key press more precise feeling … it is supposed to make the keystrokes quieter but I did not observe this effect. There is still a soothing tapping noise from the key strikes. This keyboard, like most others, comes with software to further your customization. The software is good and has ‘10 profiles’…which for me… is more than I will ever use but I can never complain about more. Some other cool software tricks that they used since there is no actual LED light indicators for caps and num lock, when caps or num lock is on the key remains white. So let's say that you have a red-lit key, it would be white when caps or num is activated which I think is super cool. This keyboard also has an ambient light sensor to adjust the brightness up and down on the keyboard based on the room's lighting - and is a feature you can turn off if you don’t like it. Now let's talk about the customization and what that ACTUALLY entails. Out of the box, you can swap out the top plate, volume knob, keycaps, and switches (to any 5-pin switch). As it stands, HyperX only offers black, white, and navy blue for the top plate / rotary knob set (those come as a combo), so if you want something more you’re going to have to wait on them or 3rd party. The same goes for switches as well, as they only offer tactile and linear switches - however, they use a standard 5-pin switch format so you can always swap it out with other 3rd party switches. To wrap this up, this keyboard hits the sweet spot for me. For people who are just dipping their toes into the customized keyboard realm…this keyboard starts with a lot of the long-term features that you'll enjoy over time such as 8k polling, RGB, and good software. Beyond that, you can customize this up to a very high-end board from switches and keycaps. HyperX built this in a very open-source method that allows you to go with 3rd party switches and keycaps which I do appreciate, and the build quality is seriously great out of the box… I mean the thing weighs over two pounds and isn't $400+. The best part of the whole thing is when you buy this at Best Buy… you never have to worry about getting the wrong keyboard, they have this model and several other variations as well to fit all needs and setups. I love this keyboard, but it is a very opinionated subject which is what makes Best Buy awesome as they probably have it on display to be tested as well as several other options. Best Buy has an excellent return policy and even better customer service, so you never have to worry about buying a product that you don’t like… so why not test it out!?

I’m the PC guy in my circle of friends, often being asked for recommendations on what to upgrade or buy. High up on my list of upgrades is the keyboard, which is subjective to each person. That’s where highly customizable keyboards with features like swappable switches really shine. I saw Hyper X has some good-looking mechanical keyboards that I’ve never had the chance to try, so I picked up the Alloy Rise to get an opinion on it. Pros: - Solid & Simple. - Typing is smooth, highly responsive, and comfortable. - No need for software but adds features worth using. Cons: - No palm rest included, typing is much better with one. Setup: Hyper X made a good choice in making the Alloy Rise Plug-&-Play. You don’t need any software or prep to start using the keyboard, just simply plug it in and go. One of my major issues with higher end keyboards is needing custom software just to get the keyboard working, which is a bigger issue when building a new PC, as often you must get into base settings before you’re able to load the OS where the custom software installs. The only concern I had while setting up the keyboard was that the USB C port is sunken in, meaning that only specific USB-C cables will fit based on the size of the housing. This isn’t a major issue, but anyone who wants to use a cable besides the one provided might need to double check that their USB-C cable will fit. The fact the cable is replaceable is a huge plus over the small concern with the port being sunken. Feel: The Alloy Rise has a solid build with an Aluminum top case and durable plastic body under. The aluminum top case can be replaced with other magnetic top plates for anyone wanting more options than the standard colors. The included key caps are made from a durable PBT plastic that is lightly textured for grip but doesn’t feel flimsy or cheap. The focus here, even though they are swappable, are the switches! I got the Linear Switches, which are super smooth and responsive while also being some of the quietest mechanical switches I’ve ever used. These do make an auditable typing sound but are levels quieter than most mechanical keyboards. This is due to the pre-lubed switch and gasket mounting structure, which is something you usually only get on the more niche brand keyboards that cater to hardcore keyboard nerds. The typing experience is extremely pleasant while being quiet and smooth. I don’t think I’ll need to swap the switches out anytime soon. The only major concern I have with the feel of the keyboard is the lack of an included palm rest at this level of keyboard. I can understand for budget models, not including the added palm rest keeps the cost down, but for the Alloy Rise, the overall comfort of typing greatly improves by adding a palm rest. The height and angle of the keyboard means you either must keep your hands raised above the keyboard or rest them on the surface which puts unneeded strain on the wrist. Adding a palm rest makes the typing experience even better. Software: I like that the NGenuity software is simple and easy to use yet has some depth to it if you are familiar with layers and scenes. Selecting a preset lighting pattern is easy, with easy-to-understand adjustable options such as Target keys, Opacity, Color, and Speed. At first, I thought that only the presets were available, which is kind of true, but you can use video capture to get as creative as you want. But the special part, that may escape many people who have never used applications like OBS or Editing Tools, is that there is the option to layer effects over each other. Say you want rainbow wave for most of the keyboard and one row of keys to be a separate static color. Add a layer for Wave and Solid, select the different keys, and done! NGenuity makes it easy to select keys or layers with click and drag or single click, all of it is very intuitive. The only thing I found missing from NGenuity is Third Party integrations with other commonly used lighting control software. I can understand why this might be the case, but this could be a downside for some users. Though, it is offset with the fact you don’t need NGenuity running in the background after saving the profiles to the keyboard. Which is a plus, but still doesn’t allow for full system light control. Customization: The Alloy Rise is the dream keyboard for those who want to customize every key. Literally, every key can be remapped with a macro or function you want. There are no dedicated macro keys, but NGinuity allows you to assign mappings to the “Fn Layer”, which is a combination of Fn key + another standard key on the keyboard. There are 12 keys you cannot map in the Fn Layer, but I find it hard to say this is an issue. NGenuity allows up to 10 different profiles to be saved onboard, which can be swapped between using the default key binding of Fn + Right Shift or another key binding if you switch it. You don’t have to have EGenuity running to access any of the onboard profiles. For the general user, this might be overlooked easily, but for anyone who must juggle multiple games or productivity tools, this will allow saving of different often used short cuts straight to the keyboard instead of having to configure it into the OS or tool. The benefit of having the profiles saved onboard means any computer you plug your Alloy Rise into will have access to that profile you’ve created. You can also export and import profiles, which makes sharing and accessing streamlined profiles super easy. Conclusion: Overall, I’m really enjoying the feel and simplicity of the HyperX Alloy Rise, it is designed with quality and comfort of the user in mind. Additionally, the NGenuity software is easy to use, built in a way that doesn’t require it to run all the time in the background. Though I’m split on my recommendation for most people here, as it will come down to what keyboard do you currently have and if the HyperX NGenuity software is tempting to you. If you are new to mechanical keyboards or want to upgrade to a swappable switch keyboard, then I would highly recommend considering the HyperX Alloy Rise. This will be a keyboard that will out-last your PC builds for years to come while providing a smooth and comfortable typing experience whether you’re gaming or using it for work. There will be more features than you probably will ever use. If you already own a high-end keyboard, then I would recommend checking if your current keyboard supports the HyperX switches and taking a look at the features of the NGenuity software before jumping over. Most likely, your current keyboard could benefit from a switch in switches to gain most of the benefits, and that would cost significantly less than buying a new keyboard. Though, if you are looking for simpler software to use with your keyboard, then a HyperX keyboard might be the solution. In the end, I will be keeping the HyperX Alloy Rise and swapping out my current keyboard until I find another keyboard I want to try out, mainly because of how enjoyable the typing experience is. I’ll be adding a recommendation for HyperX keyboards to my list of upgrades to consider.