HyperX Alloy Elite 2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with RGB Backlighting

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1. Kyle Verified Buyer – 26 March 2024

   For comparison my last keyboard was a CORSAIR K70 RGB MK.2 RAPIDFIRE Low Profile. This Alloy Elite 2 feels really nice in the hands. Keys wobble a little but are very smooth and solid. I didn’t expect how nice this feels, It’s light on the fingertips and just feels fantastic to type on. Again I’m used to low profile keys, from me that’s a huge compliment. Knew these keys would be louder than what I’m used to but it’s really not that bad. I’m heavy on the key when I type, someone who types with more grace would really enjoy these keys. It’s ridiculously bright. I’ll probably never use the full lighting potential, I like static red or green and I’ve got the brightness turned way down. Do kinda wish the brightness, profile and game buttons had lighting but it’s not super important. Volume wheel feels great and is more solid that the metal one used on Corsair boards. Media keys are smooth, no hitching. Rubber strip on the foot pad, very nice touch. Okay the bad, for me it’s a short list. One, Ngenuity software is not very straight forward. So I’d recommend jumping on YouTube and finding a video that breaks it down. Not really that bad but there is a bit of a learning curve. Two here’s the big one. I did not like how this was shipped. When I buy on go-keyboard.com, I’m used to a brown box and some padding to protect my item. This was tossed in the mail as is. Being shipped through UPS guaranteed the box getting thrown around. I fully expected a broken keyboard when I saw this. I don’t know about other people but I keep the box my devices come in.

   

2. Anonymous Verified Buyer – 29 April 2024

   Great keyboard! This was for my son and he loves it, and I believe I will buy another one for me! Quality and feel is fantastic!

   

3. Merchan02 Verified Buyer – 16 May 2024

   Tiene buena sensibilidad, buena respuesta y el software es bastante customizable para esos que aman mucho el RGB. El software es bastante intuitivo y fácil de guardar en los 3 perfiles que tienes para usarlo cuando viajas o simplemente no quieres tener el software iniciado todo el rato. Compre el mío fuera del pais y me llego en perfecto estado. Lo que si no trae es el gancho para sacar los keycaps pero son igualmente fácil de sacar.

   

4. Edgar Gaona Verified Buyer – 17 May 2024

   Great keyboard and configuration options. Definitely good for writing and gaming.

   

5. Mike D. Verified Buyer – 7 June 2024

   This is my first mechanical gaming keyboard and I’m loving it. Have had only membrane keyboards in the past and was looking to dive into mechanicals. Anybody reading this knows good quality mechanical keyboards are not cheap. When I came across the HyperX Alloy Elite 2 at almost half price figured I’d give it a try based on the reviews I’d seen. I am so glad I did. The first thing is the weight. It’s pretty heavy which goes to the keyboards solid construction. Love the sound and feel of it. Took a little getting used to but now it feels great to game and type on. The RGB is really bright at it’s highest setting. Can’t comment on the control software didn’t install it. The stock RGB effects are just fine. At the current price this keyboard is a great value.

   

6. LUNAV Verified Buyer – 19 July 2024

   The quality of this keyboard is amazing! Its super colorful and the perfect size for gaming! Super easy to use and a very sturdy keyboard. My only issue…its not easy to remove the keys for cleaning even with the key tool to take it off. I suggest getting a small fan or desk goop for cleaning it!

   

7. Joe Verified Buyer – 23 July 2024

   I use a keyboard for video and digital art work, for me it’s a tool. This keyboard is solid as a rock. It weighs 4lbs and doesn’t move. Controlling the key lights is easy with the downloaded software. The keys are responsive and solid. The separate media controls are a must for me and the volume roller is smooth and quick to respond. People who are complaining about the keyboard being noisy are just being picky. If that’s your biggest complaint, then you have no complaint. If you have headphones on or any sort of music/game playing, you can’t hear the keys.

   This will likely be the last keyboard I ever buy.
   

8. Derek Verified Buyer – 11 August 2024

   This HyperX Alloy Elite 2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is arguably the brightest RGB keyboard I have ever used. The keyboard weighs 3.3lbs, HyperX Red linear switches that have a 45-gram actuation force, and a 1.8mm travel distance. This keyboard also comes with staples like pudding keycaps, the signature light bar, quick access keys on the left, and dedicated media controls on the right. What I liked most about this HyperX Alloy Elite 2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard was: – Linear keys. I use this keyboard both for work and gaming and needed something that was sensitive enough for gaming but wasn’t so sensitive repeated keys were triggered frequently. I also needed a keyboard that wasn’t so loud it became distracting during Zoom meetings. This keyboard hit the sweet spot I was looking as there’s a delicate balance struck between it being functional for gaming and not counterproductive when I needed it for other tasks. – RGBs. While this might seem like a duh statement to make HyperX made sure their RGB lighting was bright, pronounced, distinctive, and customizable through the Ngenuity App. – Build quality. This keyboard weighs over three pounds thanks to the metal backplate, great feeling keys and media controls with a metal scrolling volume button. The board doesn’t flex or bend while it’s in use and the thick, braided dual-USB-A connections give confidence this keyboard is built to last. – USB 2.0 passthrough. When I noticed this keyboard required 2-ports I was a bit disappointed. That is until I noticed the keyboard includes a USB-A 2.0 passthrough. This is a useful addition to the keyboard that gives access to using other peripherals if necessary. – Console compatibility. This keyboard has some form of onboard memory that allows you to save settings directly to the keyboard that will be retained when using it with consoles. What I liked least about this HyperX Alloy Elite 2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard was: – No palm rest. This keyboard did not include a palm rest and at this price, I found that wholly unacceptable. – Ngenuity software. This program is only available as an app via the Windows Store. Furthermore, it’s not very intuitive to save settings. Once you have made your customizations you have to take another step to save the profile otherwise all the tweaking you’ve done will be lost. – Price. This keyboard is a bit pricey considering it lacked a palm rest, has tabbed feet that only offer one level of elevation, and has a settings menu that isn’t intuitive. Overall, if you’re in the market for an RGB keyboard this one from HyperX should be on your shortlist. It’s very well made, has signature lighting which might arguably be the brightest lights you’ll see on any RGB keyboard, console compatibility, and a USB 2.0 passthrough. I wish this keyboard shipped with a palm rest, offered a full software download, and not just a Windows Store App, and was priced at or just slightly below 100 dollars. However, these are not dealbreakers for me as this keyboard has become my daily driver. 4.0 out of 5.0.

   

9. Yoto Verified Buyer – 22 August 2024

   It’s not a bad keyboard it does everything a keyboard is type and comfy colors and all that but if ur into RGB colors then this is for you but if you also want it to type faster or the fast pressing keys it also has that too

   

10. Rogue Verified Buyer – 25 October 2024

    Thank God the keyboard isn’t damaged, but the box was trashed from shipping. I don’t know why it looks like that or how it happened. The alloy elite 2 is a tank of a keyboard, its heavy and sturdy, the keys and coloring are beautiful and quick to respond. Ngenuity is fine if you are patient and take your time to learn how it works (only cons of the program is a lack of built in options for customization)

    

11. Tiziano Fassina Verified Buyer – 1 January 2025

    Sono sincero, io venivo da una meccanica di bassa qualita’. Non appena ho visto questa offerta al Black Friday mi ci sono fiondato. Qualita’ costruttiva ottima, i Keycaps trasparenti sono spaziali e la luminosita’ e’ impressionante. Devo tenerla a 1 perche’ a 4 e’ inguardabile, ti si bruciano le pupille.
    Se la acquistate intorno ai 70 euro, non c’e’ niente di meglio in circolazione.
    Consigliatissima!
    

12. Brittany Verified Buyer – 10 January 2025

    Yes! A million times yes!! I love that it’s metal!! I replaced my 9 year old metal keyboard with this one and holy moly this is the best upgrade! It’s needlessly high quality. They designed it as though it’s going to be used as a weapon. It’s heavy and it stays in place if you have a desktop cover that’s the mouse pad material. This will likely be the last keyboard you ever need to buy! You couldn’t break this is you tried. The keys feel good and it types smoothly. Really good for gaming especially since it stays in place! Love it. And you can change the color of the lights (I included a picture of what that looks like).

    

13. Consumer Outlook Verified Buyer – 15 January 2025

    I’ll cut to the chase. There are two things I don’t like about this keyboard: 1) Unlike the Alloy Elite 1, the 2 doesn’t come with a wrist wrest. Nor is there one specifically made for it as the 1 had. Some people might not need a wrist wrest, but I do. Partly due to the height I like my desk at, partly because my smartwatch band rubs the desk surface otherwise, and partly for comfort. I ended up purchasing the standard Wrist Rest that HyperX makes (ASIN: B07GP7JXQY). It’s not custom made for it but does fit the Alloy Elite 2 perfectly (width and height are spot on). It’s comfortable, too. But it does add an extra expense that the Alloy Elite 1 didn’t have. 2) The keycaps are ABS, which are made with low quality plastic. The surface of the keys becomes shiny over time and can develop dents and wear. There is no texture on them either, making them more slippery. For the “Elite” category, I’d have much-preferred PBT keycaps. They are harder, more durable, and have texturing. The keys that come with the Alloy Elite 2 are specially designed to show more lighting, so it limits the options for replacement. I did come across some PBT keycaps made by Havit (ASIN: B07SGF9DTY) that look to match the same design, so will probably be upgrading to them in the future. Again, another added expense. Now, that’s what I don’t like. Pretty much everything else I can say about this keyboard is good. I found I prefer it over my Razer Huntsman Elite. In fact, since I got the Alloy Elite 2, my Razer Huntsman Elite has been collecting dust. That, too, came with ABS keycaps and I replaced them with PBT. I could put those PBT on the Alloy Elite 2, but they would hamper the lighting. Even though it’s a cosmetic feature, I personally like the lighting. It’s brighter and more vibrant than simply leaking out the bottom and coming thru the characters at the top. I will say that the Razer software has better lighting options and customization (even loads special lighting that synchronizes with certain games). But I was able to get the general look I like using the HyperX NGENUITY software. I also prefer the keyclicks better on the Alloy Elite 2. They respond just as well as the Razer Huntsman Elite but are quieter. As such they don’t get picked up in my mic as badly when chatting in-game. (Though, it is mechanical, which means there is some noise). The key presses feel softer and less “clicky” if that makes sense. As far as the HyperX NGENUITY software goes, you’ll notice it’s not rated the best. Compared with Razer Synapse, it’s more barebones. The most annoying part is that it stays open on your taskbar rather than minimizing to the notification area as Synapse does. That said, I got really frustrated with Razer Synapse to the point I’m slowing swapping out my devices to HyperX. It would constantly crash, forget my login, not load profiles correctly, and hijack my keysets even after I closed the game associated with them. While NGENUITY is more limited, it doesn’t give me any of those problems. I’m able to remap keys to specific games, which switch when the game loads and go back to normal when the game closes. Many of the settings save to the keyboard itself rather than a profile I have to log into. Although I do see a benefit to having a login, which I hope HyperX includes at some point. They don’t even have an online account to register your products, making getting support more difficult. As of now, NGENUITY is still in beta, so it’s basic, but it works. The media controls work great and because I use the keyboard for things other than gaming, I like having the numpad. The keyboard is pretty heavy. I weighed it in at 3 pounds 1.7 ounces (with the cord plugged in), which is nearly a pound more than the Razer Huntsman Elite. The combination of the weight and rubber feet keep the keyboard from sliding around during rigorous gaming. ### Conclusion ### The overall build quality of this keyboard looks and feels great. I love the lighting and the keypresses. I wish it came with a wrist wrest and better-quality keycaps, but I’m fine upgrading those things since the keyboard as a whole is nice. As such, I won’t be taking my Razer Huntsman Elite out of the closet anytime soon.

    

14. ｚ Verified Buyer – 18 January 2025

    非常喜欢，；非常漂亮。
    再也不能用其他的键盘了。
    

15. Allen Treschler Verified Buyer – 23 January 2025

    This is the brightest keyboard I have ever seen with a wonderful light touch. The mechanical switches are rated at 60 million strokes and the mystic light control software allows amazing control of the lighting. I also bought the HyperX pulse mouse which is also controlled by that software. The keyboard has a clacky, not clicky, feel but I find it superior to other mechancical keyboards. I love the keyboard and highly recommend it.

    

16. Saba Verified Buyer – 25 January 2025

    It’s to heavy but beautiful and comfortable

    

17. Joyfulnoisefrenchies Verified Buyer – 2 February 2025

    (using my mom’s go-keyboard.com account) I seriously love this keyboard so much. I’ve been using it for 5 months now. You can just feel how high quality it is while using it. The sound it makes while you’re typing is music to your ears, and it feels awesome while typing too. Works as expected for gaming of course. The RGB lighting is very cool. The app allows you to fully customize the lighting, and I honestly haven’t had any issues with the app at all, it works perfectly fine and does exactly what I tell it to. Easily a 5 star review for me. I also have a HyperX mouse and I really enjoy using it as well.

    

18. Gopper Verified Buyer – 22 February 2025

    llevo con el casi un mes y la verdad es que estoy muy sastifecho los leds son muy brillantes tanto que lo tengo en el nivel mas bajo para que no me lastime la vista sin emabrgo se sigue viendo vistoso que es lo que mas buscaba es comodo escribir en el y si lo juntas con el reposa muñecas (no incluido) de hyper X es un super combo muy comodo para jugar y trabajar
    

19. JohnRambosCat Verified Buyer – 25 February 2025

    Keys and keyboard could have been a 5 star but mine was sent by catapult apparently. Piece of the light bar was chipped off and the volume scroll wheel does what it wants sometimes. Highly disappointed for 130 plus 20 for the pbt keycaps I got from HyperX for it. I like HyperX products as I have a cloud II headset and a pulsefire fps pro mouse from them. Wish this would have been better.

    

20. Maximiliano Verified Buyer – 6 March 2025

    This is an all around awesome keyboard !!! At first glance it didn’t convince me at all.. it was just different from other keyboards I had mainly due to the pudding keycaps which never had before.. but I started using it and exploring it day by day and I ended up loving it a lot. In facts I ended up liking these keycaps already! Besides the included ones are ABS you can order an upgraded set of 104 pbt keycaps separately which I’ll order soon. Let’s start with the RGB lighting, you have 5 stages of brightness, 1 is Off and 5 is the brightest which is too much for me. I use it at 2 in the dark which is the most comfortable for me. The rgb transition is super smooth and well done. Love it! It’s also very customizable with NGENUITY Software (Currently in beta sometimes it doesn’t work). Keyboard has also onboard memory with 3 presets which are also customizable. Build quality: It’s built like a tank, it’s heavy with metal and quality plastic. No complaints there.. the metal volume slider is awesome and so are the multimedia keys. Unfortunately no wrist rest accesorios included. Writing experience; Using this keyboard has been very pleasing to use in terms of sound and easiness when it comes to typing experience. It’s smooth and satisfactory, the key pressing becomes an easy task with this keyboard since it requieres very little effort to activate each key (45g pressure), it makes your writing faster, better and effortless. In fact, it’s so easy to activate a key that you might find yourself sometimes touching keys you didn’t want to. Software: This must be it’s only weak point, the software sometimes doesn’t work properly, for example, if I choose a desired lightning effect and click “add” it returns to the standard wave effect. The software also can’t be minimized to system tray. Unboxing experience: It’s been a little disappointing because nothing else is included besides the keyboard. No keycap tool, no extra keycaps, no palm rester, no extra cable or tool of any kind. Just a Manual and the keyboard which it’s not fully protected in the box. For a 129 keyboard it would have been nice some extras, but you get none. Overall it’s a solid 9.5/10, the software doesn’t ruin my experience since i like the default effect. Lighting 10/10 Build quality 10/10 Software 8/10 Typing experiencie 10/10

    

21. Jenny Verified Buyer – 6 March 2025

    This keyboard is totally worth the money. I absolutely love the media control keys, because they’re so useful when you need to quickly pause, go back to or skip a song. Also, the brightness allows me to see the keys at any time from evening to night time. The colors…no words. Ever since I saw this on the shelf at Best Buy, I wanted it. The key designs are unique as well as the custom RGB aesthetics. The software allows me to make literally any combination of colored lighting. The keyboard itself makes noise, but it’s not overwhelming. It is a satisfying clicking noise. Overall, I’m glad I made this purchase. If you’re into hardcore gaming, this is worth the buck.

    

22. Stepinwolf Verified Buyer – 7 March 2025

    The keyboard worked fine. It has a very bright backlight. I like the feel of the keys and appreciate the ergonomic curve of the tops of the keys. Supposedly the Ngenuity software will allow the keyboard to be customized for many features. However, the Windows Notifications told me that the keyboard had been detected, but could not be connected. I don’t know what the issue is, but it doesn’t detect the Hyperx wireless headset I have either. So none of the customizing functions work on either of these two products. I may try this again with another computer. But at this time, I am just going to be content with using the high quality keyboard. UPDATE: I did try this keyboard on another computer and NGENUITY did detect and connect to the keyboard. It would be nice to know why it didn’t connect on the first computer even though NGENUITY detected it. I am adding this last picture to show what the app looks like when it connects. It also did a firmware update to the keyboard.

    

23. Lisa Verified Buyer – 8 March 2025

    I got this keyboard to replace my old one from college. I was surprised how heavy it is. The frame is metal. They keys light up and you can change the colors as well as brightness. You can also turn off the lights if you prefer. Feels very well made. Since it is so heavy, it stays in place while playing. The only down side to me personally is how loud the clicks are. If you don’t mind the noise, I’d highly recommend it. Great for MMORPGs. The caps on the keyboard feel sturdy and very high quality. Overall, highly recommend it.

    

24. Moisei bakshiev Verified Buyer – 8 March 2025

    shippment was really fast! 4 days for getting to israel!!! very fast and track info was great in every moment! The product received as described. Great RGB light with that HyperX new keycaps, great feellin of matirial and very comfort for gaming. Great program for keyboard, lot of combinations to create your own RGB reaction and macro functions. Two days of usage and didnt notice any problems yet.

    

25. Scotty Hamlet Verified Buyer – 14 March 2025

    this is my second time getting this keyboard. i love it. it looks amazing and the leds are very bright and you can customize each individual key with their software. heavy, which is a good thing, and sounds great. i’m posting this away from home so i can’t do a sound test, but it sounds great. i’ve never liked the 60% and all of that i just like sticking to the 100% even though my pc is mainly used for gaming. my old one only lasted about 2 years though, until it started giving me issues on startup, but overall i love this keyboard A LOt. my mouse is also hyper x and same with my headset. everything from this brand is amazing quality ! off topic, but my first headset from hyper x was purchased for me in middle school, i am now graduated and they just died on me a couple months ago only because my cat chewed the wire… i will always come back to this company!

    

26. Sukru Tikves Verified Buyer – 14 March 2025

    As many other computer enthusiasts I have a soft place in my heart for mechanical keyboards. The HyperX was looking very well, and worked greatly, too. However I realized two things: first, I like my tactile keys much more than the linear ones; second, if you design a keyboard with illumination, don’t raise the keys, especially when the switches are colored. The linear switches activate without giving feedback, i.e: you can half-press them, and they still work. However being used to tactile ones, I still fully press them to hear the final “click”, which defeats the purpose. It might take some training to change that though. The red tint (visible in the image attached) is caused by the white LED illuminating the mechanical switch below. This makes all colors shift a little bit, which is less than ideal. Another issue is the USB passthru port. It looks like this is just an extension via the second connector. Yes, I had to use both USB connectors to get the USB port working. Ideally one connection should be enough, and then the keyboard itself would act as a hub, and we can attach a second device (mouse, usually) over the same connection. This, however, uses two PC USB connections for two devices, which kinda defeats the purpose. Those being said, the keyboard is really comfortable and practical. It is fun to type on, and did not cause distress on my hands. For those reasons, I am keeping my score at 4/5. I can ignore the light and the USB connectors, as long as the primary functions are great.

    

27. Kb Verified Buyer – 17 March 2025

    Best keyboard ever upgrading won’t ever be necessary

    

28. ANTONIO BIRHUETT REQUIAO Verified Buyer – 3 April 2025

    Parou de funcionar do nada…
    

29. CG Verified Buyer – 9 April 2025

    Very nice gaming keyboard if you’re tired of your basic $10 no-name scissor-switcher. If you’re into mechanicals, there’s a whole range out there. By way of reference, I know a little about keyboards – I keep two Leopolds with Topre switches for work. Mine have the HyperX Linear Red, which I preferred over the other more clickey-switches (I tried them both). I also upgraded and got the black and white “pudding cup” keys – they really make this keyboard’s RGB feature pop.

    

30. It’s Tony!! Verified Buyer – 13 April 2025

    First, one major thing out of the way before I explain this review. I am disabled, in 2017 in my mid 40’s I had to retire. Luckily enough for me, I was able to do that. One of my major problems is swelling, and yes in my hands. So here I was retired, and unable to do many of the things I enjoyed. So I decided for my creative outlet I would start writing again. This started my long journey to find the right keyboard. Now to the review. I have been looking and yes spending way too much money in my search for the right keyboard for me. I am not a gamer. I primarily write and utilize graphics applications. I found out quickly that “chiclet” style keyboards weren’t going to work. They are hard due to bottoming out against the backplate. This would cause physical issues for me if I used them for more than an hour or so at a time. So after some pain, and no less than 4 different “high-end” keyboards I had to keep searching. These keyboards are now part of my keyboard drawer of demise. Next came the mechanicals, okay this was a nightmare! I started with Razor and Corsair. My first switch was blue, and quickly that was not going to work. The actuation length was just way too long so in order for me to actually know I engaged the key I had to bottom it out. Remember I am disabled so I have a lack of fine feeling in my fingers. They aren’t 100% numb but enough so that I get no tactile queues from the switch. So the Huntsman, and MK2 visited the drawer to be entombed. Next, I moved on looking for a low profile thinking maybe the actuation length was the issue. I even experimented with membrane keyboards again. The Ornata was a no go the same issue with bottoming out and hitting the backplate to hard. MK2 Low Profile in a red switch and that was a hard no. The actuation wasn’t so bad as it is the pressure needed to engage the switch felt off to me and I was hitting the backplate. I tried some off brands as well like a Redragon low profile, and 3 other keyboards with brown switches. Before you judge me this process took a little over 2 years. I would try different wrist rests and form factors. All in all, I bought and now have in my drawer 11 keyboards, probably $1,200 or so in the hole. Now up to this point how I have been surviving and writing is what I call keyboard merry-go-round. I use a keyboard and when I start to hurt I switch to another. So daily I switch at least once, but usually twice. Now, mind you I write and use my graphics applications a lot. Usually, 4 to 6 hours a day and some days 12 since my pain doesn’t let me sleep much. I ran across the Elite 2 earlier this week. So I ordered it and it arrived yesterday early afternoon. The first impression was this was a beast. Well built, and heavy which I like because I have had keyboards slide around on me because I am bottoming them out so much. Got this plugged in and turned it on. The lighting was beautiful. See the RGB really adds nothing to a typing experience physically of course. But it does add something more important. I find it adds sunshine and more importantly inspiration. There is something to color science in the face it can help with creativity and help relax you. So I was very pleased with the excellent lighting of the board. Hands down the best I have seen so far. Now the most important part. These switches are like butter to my fingers they are smooth and soft enough that I felt no pain. The keys are a bit more spread out so that is going to take some time, but man does it feel nice. They are simply perfect for me. I used the keyboard for almost 10 hours on day one. and didn’t feel any pain from bottoming out the keys. The response was amazing and the travel distance perfect. The pressure needed to actuate the switch was light and the resistance was balanced perfectly with excellent backpressure. Honestly, for me, this was the most pleasurable experience I have had typing since I fell ill. HyperX you won me over with this product, and I want to thank you. This keyboard felt like it was made for me, and this is about all I have to say… I paired this purchase with the HyperX wrist rest, and that was an excellent choice. Combined the experience was even better. The rest perfectly fit the board height and width and was supportive but not to firm, excellent product as well.

    

31. LC Verified Buyer – 13 April 2025

    I like HyperX keyboards a lot. For the last several months, my daily driver has been their Alloy Origins Core Tenkeyless, with their HyperX Red switches. I usually write several thousand words a day, so I liked the switches for comfort, the RGB lighting for fun, and the keyboard as a whole for being able to switch seamlessly between work and gaming. Enter in the new HyperX Alloy Elite 2. I haven’t touched my Origins Core since unboxing the Elite 2! The Elite 2 is full-size, with num pad and media keys, so it takes up a bit more space on my desk. It’s heavier too, weighing in at 3.3 pounds (1530 grams) compared to 1.98 pounds (900 grams) for the Origins Core. But I’m fine with all of that, because the Elite 2 looks SO COOL. The ABS Pudding Keycaps are hands down the coolest part of this keyboard. The sides of the keycaps are translucent, which allows a ton more light to shine through. The top of the keycaps are black, and actually look like they are floating on a sea of LED light. If you like your keyboard to light up, it doesn’t get brighter or cooler than this. At certain angles, you can see the red of the switches. I’m already used to and like the company’s HyperX Red switches. Switch preference is a personal and tactile preference, but I will say that for me, these switches feel like typing on air. Performance feels good, though I do think it’s easier to bottom out linear switches compared to clicky switches. I play Paladins and have a light hand; this keyboard works well for me in that game. I use the keyboard with Windows and Mac computers. Another thing I like is that the keyboard has 3 onboard memory profiles, so I can use HyperX’s NGENUITY software on my Windows machine to customize profiles, plug the keyboard into my Mac, and be able to use those customized lighting profiles. I’ve also tried HyperX’s first Alloy Elite keyboard, and like the Elite 2 much better. My first Elite had Cherry MX Blues, and I definitely prefer the HyperX Red switches on the Elite 2. I do want to point out that the Elite 2 does NOT include a wrist rest or different WASD keycaps.