How to Use HyperX NGENUITY Software to Customize Your Gear

Customizable gear is all the rage. Nowadays, every peripheral you buy comes with programmable RGB LEDs and macros that you can use to up your gaming experience. However, to get access to your peripherals’ programmable functions, you need to use a program that can rewrite the coding in your device to make it do what you want.

HyperX peripherals interface with a program known as HyperX NGENUITY to access and change their programmable functions. We’ve compiled everything you need to know to customize your gear with HyperX NGENUITY. Let’s dive in!

HyperX NGENUITY: Compatibility

For starters, you’ll want to ensure that your devices are compatible with HyperX NGENUITY. Most modern HyperX peripherals will connect to NGENUITY automatically as soon as the program starts. However, older HyperX products may not interface with NGENUITY even if they have RGB LEDs.

If you’re purchasing new products with the intent to use them with HyperX NGENUITY, ensure that the products you’re buying interface with the program by checking the technical specifications on the product page.

NGENUITY is designed to be used with keyboards and mice. So, don’t worry if your headset doesn’t show up. NGENUITY isn’t really designed for that device.

HyperX NGENUITY: Main Page Guide

First, let’s start by reviewing how to read the landing page you get when connecting to a compatible HyperX device. The first thing you’ll see is the name of the profile you’re currently looking at, which can be found in the upper left-hand corner. Below is the search bar you can use to search your saved peripheral profiles, and the list of profiles you have saved is just below the search bar.

Below that interface is the onboard profile memory slots and the customize button for profiles. Finally, the last part of the sidebar interface is the profile control buttons. There are five buttons. From left to right, they are Create Profile, Duplicate Profile, Import/Export Profile, Edit Profile, and Delete Profile.

You’ll see the minimize and exit buttons in the top right-hand corner. The question mark button opens the Tips menu, and the cogwheel opens the Settings menu.

In the center of the screen, you will see a 2D render of the device you’re editing and a preview of the lighting settings you have loaded. Below that and slightly to the right is the Apply button to apply the settings you’ve selected to your device.

Finally, in the bottom right-hand corner, you’ll see a list of devices connected to NGENUITY. If you have more than one device connected to NGENUITY, you can use this menu to select the device you want to edit.

HyperX NGENUITY: Creating a Profile

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the landing page, you can start customizing your peripherals by creating effect profiles. To start, you’ll want to tap that Create Profile button on the landing page. That will bring up the Create a Profile page.

Opening the Create menu will clear out most of the sidebar options and add a bunch of dialogues below the 2D render of your peripheral device. You have the profile name, the icon uploader, and the save and cancel buttons on the left side.

Next to that, we have the Linked Application dialogue. You can use this dialogue to link certain profiles to specific applications. When you connect a profile to an application, opening that application will automatically load the profile from NGENUITY as long as both programs are open. So, for instance, you can have your QWER keys light up a different color when you’re playing League of Legends or another MOBA that uses QWER.

HyperX NGENUITY: Duplicating a Profile

Pressing the Duplicate Profile button will duplicate the selected profile into your Profile Library. The two profiles will be independent. So, you can edit them to have unique characteristics if you wish.

HyperX NGENUITY: Importing/Exporting Profiles

Using the Import/Export function, you can export your HyperX NGENUITY profiles to .hxp files, which can be transferred and used by any computer with an up-to-date version of HyperX NGENUITY.

Once you open the Import/Export menu by pressing the Import/Export Profile button in the sidebar, you’ll be greeted with two new dialogues beneath the 2D render of your device. On the left is the Import dialogue, and on the right is the Export dialogue.

The Export menu will auto-populate with all the profiles you have loaded for your selected device. You can tick as many of them as you want and hit the Export button at the bottom of the dialogue to export all the settings to .hxp files.

The Import menu is a little more in-depth. First, you’ll need to browse your computer to select the folder where the .hxp files you want to import are located. Once you locate the folder, the menu will populate any .hxp files it finds in the folder. Then, you can select them in the dialogue to import.

HyperX NGENUITY: Deleting a Profile

To delete a profile from your profile library or onboard memory, select the profile you want to delete, then press the Delete Profile button in the sidebar.

HyperX NGENUITY: Editing a Profile

To edit a profile, you must select the profile in the Profile Library. Therefore, you cannot edit onboard profiles without first importing them to the Profile Library. To import profiles from the onboard memory, drag and drop the profile from the Onboard Memory zone to the Profile Library Zone.

Once you’ve got the profile in the Profile Library, you can load it by pressing the Edit Profile button in the sidebar. The Edit Profile menu is the same as the Create a Profile menu, except the information is already populated with the previous set of data saved to this profile.

HyperX NGENUITY: Customizing a Profile

The customization menu is the real meat of the program. This menu is where all the pretty lights and useful macros get edited to bring the keyboard to your personal specifications. The customize menu has three pages, Lighting, Macros, and Game Mode. These three sections encompass all the essential customizable features for your keyboard and mouse.

The Lighting menu has three sub-options that determine how NGENUITY lights your keyboard. Effect mode chooses an effect from the Effects Library and then applies it to the entire keyboard. Zones allow you to choose different “Zones” and change the effects in each Zone, such as Number Keys, WASD, or NumPad. Finally, freestyle will enable you to choose effects and lighting on a key-by-key basis.

Game Mode allows you to choose which keys to turn off when the keyboard enters Game Mode. Setting some keys, like the Windows Key, to not respond when you’re gaming can help prevent you from accidentally opening the Windows menu and kicking you out of your game mid-session.

The Macros menu allows you to create and bind key macros. Using this menu, you can have one key on your keyboard trigger several different keypresses. This feature can be especially useful for people with arthritis or carpal tunnel. They can avoid having to press awkward key combinations by binding the whole combination to a single key that they can press.

HyperX NGENUITY: Lighting

The Lighting menu is split into three different menus. Although, as we’ve covered, the Effects menu affects the entire keyboard, Zones allows you to select preset Zones and change their effects independently. Finally, freestyle will enable you to adjust each individual key’s backlighting.

If you choose the Effects menu, you’ll see your 2D render of your peripheral, below that you’ll have a color wheel and some dropdown menus, and a little dialogue at the bottom where you can select whether you want the effect to use the whole color spectrum, a single color of your choice, or dual colors of your choice.

The color wheel is pretty self-explanatory; you use it to select the colors you want your keyboard or mouse to display. Then, you have the options for effects. Six effects are loaded into the program: Solid Color, Breathing, Wave, Trigger, Explosion, and HyperX Flame. These effects change how the lighting in your keyboard looks and what triggers it. Some effects can be stacked on each other, so your keyboard shows two effects at once.

The Zones menu changes the selection option to include several different zones, including the NumPad, Number Keys, WASD, and Arrow Keys. Finally, freestyle looks just like Effects but allows you to select individual keys on the render of your device and change their lights individually.

HyperX NGENUITY: Macros

The Macros menu allows you to rebind keys. You have many options as to what you can rebind them to. You can either rebind them to a single keypress or multiple keypresses, and using this menu, you can change the order and orientation of your keys if you want to. This is great for people who are looking for a more customizable and pretty keyboard but are used to alternative keyboard layouts like Canadian Multilingual Standard or Dvorak.

You can also record multiple keypresses and bind that combination of keypresses to a single key. So if you’re someone who has additional macro keys on their keyboard, you could bind them to a combination of skills for a game or difficult combinations to press if you have arthritis or another hand condition.

The Macro menu has two sub-menus, Macro Library and Key Assignment. Macro Library is where you can record and set up new macros; Key Assignment is where you assign them to keys. You can also use Key Assignment to change the orientation and layout of your keyboard.

HyperX NGENUITY: Game Mode

Game Mode is where you can change what happens when your keyboard goes into Game Mode. Game Mode is a newer feature that now comes bundled with gaming keyboards where certain keys are deactivated when the computer is gaming. This prevents accidental keypresses that could interrupt the flow of the game.

Final Thoughts

HyperX NGENUITY is an excellent way to take control of your peripherals and modify them without needing to crack them open with a screwdriver. This little tool is exceptionally powerful and can modify most of the basic functions of your keyboard as well as aesthetic choices like lighting. We’re excited to see what HyperX comes out with next after taking a deep dive into their customization program!