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Vantec Nexus NXP-205 Fan Controller Review
Product: Vantec Nexus NXP-205
Author: Weiye Zhou
Date Published: 03/08/04
Price: $17.99 + $4 S/H
Purchased at: Newegg.com
Introduction
Remember the Vantec Tornado 92mm Case Fan Review? That thing was LOUD (56.4 dBA)! So loud that I couldn't even use it; I really needed a fan controller. Thankfully, Vantec offers the Nexus NXP-205 Fan Controller. This is the 3.5" bay version (the 5.25" version is called the NXP-201). It is black, lightweight (120g), really small, and looks really good.
Features (From Vantec Website)
Specifications (From Vantec Website)
The Box / First Impressions (click on pictures for bigger view)
The box looked good to say the least. It has all the info you need, tells your exactly what your getting, and has all the specifications/installation instructions listed clearly on the back of the box.
Front of the box; nice interesting design
Back of the box; specifications and installation instructions
Here's what you get: The fan controller, a power adapter, four 3/4 pin universal cables ( I used masking tape to wrap up the wires since they were very loose when I first got them. It's also a good idea to mark the cables so you know which one is which), and four mounting screws.
Installation
Installation was very straightforward. You simply use the mounting screws provided and screw it into a 3.5" bay. Plug in the power adapter (your power supply to the fan controller), plug in the 3/4 pin universal cables (what's neat is that if you have a mix of 3 or 4 pin fans you don't need to worry since the universal cables have both 3 and 4 pin connectors), and then plug the fans you want to use into the universal cables (refer to the picture of the back of the box). Again, very easy installation. The only problem I ran into was the mounting. The holes were a little funky and I had to work the screws in a few times to make it smooth.
Some more pictures of the back of the fan controller on nice blue PCB
Front Panel; the knobs are fairly small
Testbed
P4 2.6C @ 3.25Ghz / Abit IS7
Swiftech MCX478-V Heatsink / Vantec 92mm Tornado
Radeon 9500Pro
1GB Corsair XMS-3200C2 RAM
Western Digital 36GB Raptor
Aspire 500W PS
Windows XP SP1
