"NZXT" SENTRY LX REVIEW
Introduction
Fans are a very important part of the case. They create circulation and lower the overall temperature inside the case, which is very important for the life of the hardware. If a component over-heats, you can experience reduced performance or permanently damage your expensive hardware. Overclockers know how important it is to monitor your temperatures, and there are many ways to do it. There is software for monitoring temperature, but that can take up valuable resources needed for games, and since the game is probably full screened anyway, software won't do much good. So that leaves us with hardware, and what better hardware than a fan controller. With a good fan controller you can quickly monitor the temperature of your system and adjust the fan speeds when necessary; you can lower the fan speeds when you need quiet or bring them to a roar when you need to let out the beast. If a high end fan controller is what you are looking for, than the NZXT Sentry LX might be up your alley.
Packaging
[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/191/dsc00965l.jpg/]
[/url]The Sentry LX arrives in a simple and sleek box. Not one that demands a lot of attention on the shelves, but one that gets the job done. There's a picture of the Sentry LX on the front, and on the back some features are outlined. Not only does the Sentry LX have room to control five fans, but it also has room for five temperature sensors. It also has time/date functionality, auto settings, and a temperature alarm. Here is a list of some features and specifications as mentioned by NZXT;
Features
- Simple Installation: Sentry LX slides easily into any dual 5.25 drive bay
- Complete Control: 5 Temperature Probes keep tabs on all areas of your system while the 5 Fan controllers adjust the fans' RPM speed
- Auto/Manual Modes: Allows users to automatically adjust the fan speeds to correspond to a specific temperature or manually set your system for extreme overclocking capabilities or absolute silence
- Temperature Alarm: Instant notification if temps rise above a designated point
- Intuitive Interface and LCD Display: NZXT's ergonomic interface design allows you to customize your airflow on the fly
- Sleek Design: Aluminum plated front panel is designed to match any high-end chassis
Specifications
- Large dual 5.25" LCD screen
- NZXT designed intuitive control, set and change fan speeds and settings on the fly
- Auto/Manual modes, let the LCD take control or set fan speeds to your liking
- Temperature alarm
- Aluminum finish
- NZXT Designed graphical interface, easy to read and understand
- Saved Settings, calendar and fan settings are stored even during system off so settings don't need to be redone
- Supports up to 4Watt per channel
Right out of the box, the Sentry is something to behold. Bundles of power plugs and temperature sensors adorn the black aluminum frame that is housing the huge LCD display screen. A small plastic bag contains extra sensor wires and a battery for the system’s memory and lastly a manual.
Installation
Installation seems really fast and easy. Keep in mind that the Sentry is going to take up two bays rather than the one that a traditional fan controller would. I didn’t realize until I took the side of my case off that I had shoved some of my wires into the empty bays of the case. So decided to review it by keeping it on top on my cabby, since all my CM was done by cable ties in this area. I used all 5 fan monitoring pins and left the temperature probes hanging.
In use
The NZXT Sentry LX is rather easy to use. After powering up the system with it for the first time, a bit of initial setup was required. The left side of the display provides information unrelated to fan control, but useful. You get the day, time, and date in a field that also indicates whether the temperature alarm is on and whether the fans are in automatic or manual mode. In automatic mode, the fan speeds are adjusted to try to maintain target temperatures, while in manual you can set the speeds where you would like them.
The screens below provide a look at the display with the temperature read outs switched in Celsius (can be switched to Fahrenheit as well). Everything is laid out nicely, and all the data is easy to read.
Each fan speed is represented by a four digit display, and the values are all rounded to the nearest 100RPM. When in manual mode, adjustments can be made in 100RPM increments, and you can turn fans off by going down to 0 RPM. Just below the speed indication is a bar that provides a relative indication of speed, and to the right of the temperature is an animated fan graphic that provides a rough indication of fan activity (fast for full speed, still when stopped).
Conclusion
All considerations covered, I believe that the Sentry LX would be a very useful addition to any computer, but would benefit the serious gamer most of all. The ability to connect and control up to five fans is a beautiful thing, as is the large screen that comes on it. I personally would recommend anyone with heat issues to consider buying a few fans and purchasing one of these and see what a difference total control can make. Overall I really liked this product and will keep it long after I finish this review.
Lastly comes the pros and cons of this product. I have read most of online reviews saying that they NZXT doesn’t provide screws for mounting or the screen cannot be read from certain angles, let me tell you, in this new package screws are provided as well as the screen is clearly readable at different angles as shown in above image.
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Pros:[/font]
- Can control up to five fans
- Gathers temperatures from up to five probes
- Cool design
- Unused wires can be disconnected
- Auto and Manual control
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Cons:[/font]
- Only 3-pin fans can be used
Special Thanks to PRIMEABGB and NZXT to provide me SENTRY LX for a review.
