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By Oneslowz28 at 2009-11-18 05:23
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What is sleek, stylish, has a touch screen and is all the craze nowadays? No! I am not talking about the latest trendy phone with a fragile screen, or the latest touch screen computer on the market. I am referring to NZXT's latest offering in the fan controller world. The Sentry 2 offers Full auto and Full manual control for up to 5 fans with a modern touch screen interface. Click here to continue reading.
Features & Specs
- Fits in a single 5.25" bay
- Touch screen interface
- Five fan control through an intuitive interface
- Ultra fast selection and response time
- Display temperatures in both F and C
- Light switch turns off the meter when sleeping
- Automatic and manual modes of control
- Full compatibility with all types of fans using voltage control
- With 10 Watts per channel, the Sentry 2 will support almost all high end fans
- Tuned accuracy with only a tolerance of one degree
- Sound alarm to alert when the temperature is over set limit
- Stored settings, the Sentry keeps your settings even after power off
Packaging
The Sentry 2 comes in a small box only a few mm larger than the dimensions of the actual fan controller itself.
Inside the box the Sentry 2 is cradled on each end with foam and wrapped in an anti static bag. NZXT included 2 spare temperature probes and what appears to be Kapton high temperature tape to secure them to surfaces. Also in the accessory bag is a set of 4 screws for installing the Sentry 2 into your case.
Overview
I think we can all agree that fan noise is something we all hate when using our PC. The easiest solution to reduce that noise is to use a fan controller to slow those fans down when lots of airflow is not needed. For years we have had two options when it came to fan control. A front panel fan controller with buttons or knobs or a simple high / low switch that was either located on a PCI slot cover or in the PC somewhere. NZXT has changed that with the Sentry 2's touch screen interface. Now adjustments are as simple as tapping on the screen. In auto mode each of its 5 fan channels can be programed to increase fan speed at a desired temperature reading from that channels respective temperature sensor. Alternatively you can tap on the manual spot on the screen and have complete control over any single channel or all the channels at once.
NZXT used a dab of hot glue to secure the temp probes onto their header pins. In the event that you may need to use one of the spare temperature probes you will need to use a pair of needle nose pliers to peel back this glue. I tried it and it pops off fairly effortlessly.
Each fan channel is capable of controlling a single fan equipped with either a Molex, 3 pin or 4 pin connector. Each channel is labeled on both the fan connector and the temp sensor.
Each temperature probe is labeled with its corresponding fan channel.
Conclusion
I tested the NZXT Sentry 2 with a load of five fans. Three were 120mm NZXT and the other two were power hungry 120mm apevias. At a full load the Sentry 2 never stumbled. After 4 weeks of using the Sentry 2 I am happy to report that there has not been a single issue. The build quality of this fan controller is above that of every other fan controller on the market that I have had my hands on. The bezel is plastic but is not flimsy what so ever and the screen is viewable at all but the most extreme of angles. The one thing I would like to see NZXT maybe add in the future is a small IR sensor so you could add MCE control for any of us with a spare MCE remote. Since I have yet to find a single flaw in the Sentry 2 I am giving it a TBCS Recommended rating of 5/5.
You can purchase the NZXT sentry 2 for around $30 at newegg.com and Amazon.com
Banner Artwork by Slaveofconvention
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