|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
NZXT Sentry LX Review NZXT is a name we usually associate with fancy case designs but that's not all they have to offer. Today we will be looking at the latest in their line of fan controllers, the Sentry LX. The Sentry LX is a full featured fan controller designed to take up two slots in any standard case design. What really sets the LX model apart is the attractive oversize display. Is the Sentry LX the controller for you? Let's take a closer look.
NZXT packaging always features the product design and the Sentry LX packaging is no exception. The black anodized aluminum finish with silver trim is an eye catcher but the top product features are also on display.
The back of the box displays the product features in 4 languages and more detail. With a fan controller there isn't much to surprise, but its still nice to know you are covered before purchasing a high-end controller.
NZXT ships the Sentry LX with a protective screen cover. As the Sentry LX can be a bit of a handful to install in some cases due to the size (or in my case the rail installation), I would save taking the cover until the end. Pictures don't do the large screen justice as it measures 4.5" by 2.75" at the longest point. Features:
Specifications:
The Sentry LX ships with a battery to hold your settings when the system is powered down, mounting hardware for the drive bays, nine pieces of adhesive for the probes, and two extra probes. The inclusion of two extra probes was a nice surprise though hopefully you will never need to replace one.
As we take a closer look at the board you can see the cables for the fan leads are basically glued in place. An extra layer of glue on the temperature lead sockets insures they are not going to pull loose if you need to replace a probe down the line. The battery installation is identical to the BOIS battery on your motherboard and should last a long time.
The Sentry LX can control up to 5 separate fans through the clearly labeled 3 pin leads. The five temperature probes can be placed anywhere but will be most efficient if paired with eth fans for monitoring. A single 12 V Molex lead is required to power the units large display.
Setting up the Sentry LX is pretty easy. With the battery in place simply use the Mode and Set buttons on the left to roll through the date and time while using the up and down arrows to make changes as needed. I installed the sentry LX into my black NZXT Zero 2 case using the case rails. The set screws provide with the rails were a bit tight resulting in my using the sentry LX's included screws with the rails to get a good fit. The side of the Sentry LX is even slotted to fit in double bays with bay dividers. For testing I used four different fans to get an idea of just how the automatic control would power them: Fan 1 - 120mm AcoustiFan AFDP-12025 120mm As you can see from the picture above, the different fans are individually controlled based on the temperature of the matching probe. with the three external fans installed in the door and the NZXT in the back, we get pretty similar readings based on the ambient temperature. In this case the ambient case temperature was about 24 C (about 78F) and the ambient room temperature was confirmed by my laser thermometer to be 27C or about 80 F. The fan control can be set to auto or manually set for the control freaks among us with an animated fan icon to show cooling at a glance. I always appreciate the ability to manually control my fans for overclocking runs and the Sentry LX allows manual changes by 100 RPM steps all the way down to off. Temperature settings are displayed only in Celsius but the large font makes monitoring them easy. During testing I removed a fan and also stopped a fan with a loose cable. In both cases the alarm was immediate and noticeable from outside the office. Conclusion: The Sentry LX is clearly a step above the smaller single slot or floppy sized controllers. The large screen and anodized aluminum construction go a long way towards justifying the premium price. The large size makes displaying the 5 fans and temperature probes from getting cramped. The ability to manually set your fans or simply set them to automatic and forget about them is a nice feature as well. Really the only major drawback is the two bay size. I always recommend an active fan control in any custom build whether it be on the motherboard or a controller like this. There is simply no need for manual control during normal operation when a active control can keep things cool and still keep the noise down at idle but its a nice option to have. There are certainly cheaper controllers out there (and smaller too) but the quality and feature set NZXT provides with the Sentry LX is an easy recommend.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
