Today for review I’ve got another product from our friends over at NZXT, it’s their new fan controller the Sentry 2. This isn’t just any fan controller though, it features a touch screen and it only takes up one 5.25” bay. Personally I like this product quite a bit, in my opinion it’s the best fan controller on the market today. It’s easy to use, it works well and it looks great.
Specifications:
5.25″ Touch Screen fan controller
Introducing the Sentry 2, a full system fan controller with an advanced touch screen interface. Sentry 2 easily installs in a 5.25: bay and is compatible with any fan that uses voltage control. The innovative touch screen features ultra fast selection and response time and displays all pertinent info including temperature readout in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. Sentry 2 allows users to control up to 5 fans with the option for manually tuning individual fan speeds or letting the automatic controls take over to correspond to a specific temperature. The controller’s advanced functionality sounds an alarm to alert the user should the temperature exceed a preset amount and stores saved settings even after it is turned off. Designed to maximize efficiency, the Sentry 2 supports 10W per channel and creates less heat than traditional temperature displays.
Features
* 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 a minimum of at least 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
* Stored settings, the Sentry keeps your settings even after power off
Unboxing:
We’ll start off with the video unboxing:
The included power adapter is the pass through style so you won’t lose a Molex power connection:
One of the great features of the Sentry 2 is that is includes both styles of fan connections, Moles and the 3-pin style so you can control most any type of fan with the Sentry 2.
Installation, Performance, Comparison
Getting it installed is fairly easy, you’ve got a lot of long wires to work with which means you’ll be doing a bit or wire management in your case. The long wires though insure that you’ll be able to reach anywhere in the case for the temperatures of the fans.
I installed the Sentry 2 in the NZXT M59 case, so here’s a picture of it installed from that review actually:
Here’s a few shots of the Sentry 2 in action:
On the touch screen there are only a few spots you can touch which makes things easier really. The spinning fan is to select the fans, tap it and you’ll cycle through them. The Plus and Minus are touchable as well, these are to adjust the fan speeds manually. In the middle is a smaller touch spot, the word ‘Auto’ can be tapped to change it to ‘Manual’. In Auto mode the Sentry 2 will monitor and adjust the fan speeds for you, for this to work properly though you’ll need to install the temperature monitors where you want them in conjunction with the fans. For example if you want the Sentry 2 to adjust your CPU fan, you need to stick the sensor on your cooler near the CPU, this way it can sense changes in temperature and adjust the speed of the fan.
The Sentry 2 is easy to use and I’ve found it works well. I compared the temps it showed to those I got using an infrared thermometer and they were very close. My thermometer is more accurate, but the Sentry 2 does give you a good idea of the temperature within a degree or two.
I do have one small complaint though, the tape used is not good at all, within in a week of applying it it was already peeling off… Easy fix of course, just use new tape, but it would be nice if better tape was included. This isn’t just limited to the Sentry 2 though, all fan controllers and other things that use this style of tape have the same problem of peeling off within a week. Someday these companies will figure out that the adhesive is just no good and give us something else to use.
Conclusion:
The NZXT Sentry 2 is the best fan controller on the market today, it’s very easy to use, it’s well made, it looks great and it only takes up on 5.25” bay.
Other than the tape issue, I’ve got no other complaints about this product. I actually have two of these now, one in my main system that’s been in there for a few months now actually, I like this product very much and can easily recommend it to any and every one looking for a great fan controller.
Pros:
+Easy to use
+Well made
+Works great
Cons:
-Tape isn’t as sticky as I’d like it to be
Ratings
Overall: 5 out of 5
Performance: 5 out of 5
Aesthetic: 5 out of 5
Build Quality: 5 out of 5
I would like to thank NZXT for the opportunity to review the Sentry 2 and for their support of Bona Fide Reviews.
