Software

The software program for the HyperX Alloy Origins and other recent HyperX peripherals is HyperX NGENUITY, and can be downloaded on this page, which currently ends up leading you to the Microsoft store instead. The latest version at the time of release is apparently a beta release from last year, but HyperX has clearly updated it since the last version when I had checked, and this release on the Microsoft store is to help distinguish it from previous ones. It is also a lot lighter than the previous version I used, taking up ~72 MB on your system and then adding on product-specific modules as needed. The drivers also immediately recognized the keyboard, alerted me to an available firmware update, and updated flawlessly as seen above.


Opening it for the first time with the keyboard connected, we see a homepage that is product-specific. Given I have no other compatible peripheral for the driver at my disposal, I cannot say if this changes with more than just the keyboard connected simultaneously. As it is, the layout is not the best as far as the user experience goes, especially for beginners. This new version, compared to before especially, does look a lot more polished and has a better overall UI, so I will give props to HyperX where it is due.

There are two primary tabs for the Alloy Origins, and the default tab is Lights. To no one's surprise, it is all about controlling the RGB lighting on the keyboard. The keyboard in the default profile is pre-programmed with an RGB wave effect, and HyperX has an interesting layout of customization options for the various effects, including the usual brightness/opacity slider, but also a color bar with segments for even more customization for each effect. You can also choose to have the effect applied on a per-key or bank-of-keys basis, as well as add in multiple effects at the same time. There are a few other pre-programmed effects to choose from in the drop down menu on the left, and this is a big improvement compared to before in terms of the extent of end-user control. The screen with the virtual keyboard also does a good job showcasing the changes made, including the angled effects if applied. Note that you will need to have the software running, be it in the foreground or the system tray, for the various custom effects work.

Keys is the next tab, and it is for customizing the functionality of the keyboard beyond the lighting. There are three profiles saved onboard, and these can be associated to run with a game or program of your choice. With each profile, the software, when running, also allows for per-key customization based on the various options shown in the video above. This includes key mapping to other keys, mouse actions, recording and assigning a macro action, and more. You can thus switch to a different typing layout, such as Dvorak if QWERTY is not to your liking. I will also say that the software did suffer from delays from time to time, including with my mouse travel, but as of the time of this review, I did not diagnose it enough to rule out external factors.