Nexus Fan & Light Controller NXP-301 - INSTALLATION
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INSTALLATION
Installation is extremely simple. Simply slide the controller into an empty 5.25 inch drive bay slot and secure with either 2 or 4 of the chassis screws once the face of the controller is flush with the front bezel. After mounting the controller, just connect each power cable to one of the three pin connectors on the rear of the unit. Since each cable is almost two feet long, you should have plenty of slack to route the power cables neatly within the PC case. If done correctly, you should be able to stealth the cables completely. You may want to wrap or tape each power cable for neatness and ease of routing. Below you will see where I installed the fan & light controller above my existing installation of the NXP-205 Multi-Fan Controller.
(before installing the fan & light controller)
| (Insert) | (make flush) | (secure with screws) | (rear view installed) |
I have six of a possible eight case fans installed in my system. So, with 18 watts of available power per channel I connected two fans to each channel by connecting one fan to the three pin connector and connecting the other fan to the four pin connector. This puts the fans in parallel but the controller channels are more than capable of supporting two standard 80 mil fans each. Then it's just a matter of connecting all the cabling and placing the cold cathode lights.
(connect main power)
As you can see the connection of all the cables can be a little difficult within the tight confines of the drive bays if you already have equipment installed. Just be careful and watch for sharp edges.
| (three fan power cables) | (connect each one) | (power cables connected) |
| (place adhesive pads) | (place cold cathode 1) | (place cold cathode 2) |
| (connect cold cathode power cables to fan & light controller) |
Be aware that the cold cathode connectors have locking tabs on them so once you insert them into the connectors on the fan & light controller PCB, it may slightly difficult to take them back off. A word of warning about the cold cathode power cables, they are shorter than the fan power cables so placement of the lights will take some careful thought unless you are going to replace the kit's adhesive pads with something else like some velcro pads. The adhesive is very sticky but you can only put it in place once.
PERFORMANCE
Once the controller was installed and the PC was booted up, I had the chance to compare it's performance with my nxp-201. The fan channels work just as well as the nxp-201 with the added benefit of being able to brightly illuminate my case. Check out some pictures of the controller in action. One thing that bothered me is that the backplate for the controller knobs is made of clear green plastic which gives the the front knobs their green backlight. however, the cold cathodes are high intensity blue. The blue cathodes go well with my case and they would wonderful with the nxp-201's blue LED backlight but the green of the controller and the blue of the cathodes clashes in my opinion. Keep in mind that Vantec will soon be releasing a separate cold cathode kit that will connect to the inverter on the fan & light controller. Hopefully, there will be a green cathode kit to match the green backlighting of the controller knobs. Maybe Vantec will take a cue from Enermax and install a clear backplate knobs with a switch and multiple LEDs so that a user can push a button and switch between multiple colors like red, green or blue. Please be aware that this controller gives you full control of the fans on it's channels. Do not forget and leave the knobs turned all the way off as you will have no airflow from your fans.
| (in normal room light) | (with room lights dimmed) |
The green LED backlight around the knobs goes well with my green power LED but nothing else on my case.
(Here you can just see the cathodes on in daylight, but they shine beautifully with the lights dimmed.)
CONCLUSIONS
The Vantec Fan & Light Controller is definitely an improvement on the npx-201 Nexus Multi-Fan Controller but it could have been better than it is. The included cold cathodes are terrific and the light control is pretty neat too. My two year old son was mesmerized by the fact that he could talk and yell at my computer and the lights would blink. If you want to add some pizzazz to your case but you aren't handy with tools or you don't have the time then this is one quick and attractive mod to add. If you have a grey or brushed aluminum case with some green front panel lights then this will fit right in. This is the first kit in a line that will include the Vantec "Spectrum" series of cold cathode lights. Keep your eyes and ears open. I'm sure these kits will be huge crowd pleasers.
PROS
Quality parts and construction
Quick and easy installation for anyone.
Capable of controlling multiple fans per channel (with proper planning)
Fills an otherwise unused 5.25 inch drive bay
Gives the user the ability to control installed case fans from full power to completely off
Definitely adds "cool points" to a modded PC
CONS
Only comes brushed grey aluminum
No option to change the color of the control knobs' backlight (very minor nitpick)
Fan cables could have been sheathed tubing for neatness and ease in routing
Cold cathode cables could have been 12 inches longer to allow for placement on full tower cases
I really like this Vantec kit. I am extremely pleased with it and I suspect you will be also. I would like to thank Vantec for providing this item for review. I look forward to seeing what their NXP-305 kit will be like. I invite you to discuss your experiences with this product or your comments on this review in the Devhardware Forums.
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