Vantec NXP-205 3.5

Reviews: Cases

Vantec NXP-205 3.5

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
Vantec
Aug. 18, 2003

Introduction

One of the most popular modding accessories in the market right now is the fan controller. Unfortunately, having a cool system often comes at the expense of noise. Fan controllers are great for those who don't like a lot of noise when they are idling, but don't mind cranking the volume up a notch when they are gaming or running some other hefty application. Today we bring you one of the newer fan controllers from Vantec. Vantec was even kind enough to send us two controllers, a silver one and a black one.

The Box

As expected, the fan controller box is well-designed with plenty of eye-catching graphics on every side. The box also lists the features and specifications along with a list of included items. Something I found funny is that on the back it says "Use only one fan per channel. DO NOT exceed more than 18W per channel. If you have seen our Zalman Multi-Speed Fan Controller review, you know that even 7W per channel is enough to power multiple fans. Silly Vantec, of course we will put more than one fan per channel. As you will see later, we even went as far as to put two 120mm fans per channel. =)

Included Items

1 x Fan Controller Module
1 x Power Adapter
4 x 3 Pin / 4 Pin Universal Cable
4 x Mounting Screws

Taking A Closer Look

When you first look at the NXP-205 fan controllers, they may remind you a lot of their older, larger brother, the NXP-201. The front design is very similar, and other than the placement of various graphics on the controller, the only difference you may notice at first is that the knobs have notches for grip. There is also a dot to indicate the current setting the knob is at, where as the NXP-201 has a line.

Vantec decided they would use high quality components this time, as there is no clicking sound any longer. Like its bigger brother, this controller still has no heatsinks, as it puts off very little heat. The LEDs are placed partially inside an acrylic panel that is used to transfer the light to the plastic rings that glow around the knobs. This is good because it sends an equal amount of light to the entire ring, so there is no bright spot.

On each side of the fan controller there are two screw holes so that you can mount it firmly. As I was looking at the sides of the controller, I noticed how weak they are. I was easily able to bend the sides away from the PCB. I would like to see this controller constructed from stronger materials to make it sturdier. Enough about all that, time for testing.

Testing

The controller has two screw holes on each side, which would make you think you can mount it using both screws. However, as I found while trying to mount the controller, I could only use the screw holes that were situated further towards the rear of the device. I had the same result while mounting in three cases: Enermax CS-1018S, AMS G-Mono, and the oh-so-popular Chieftec Dragon.

The next thing I tested was making sure all the channels work properly at high and low settings with standard 80mm fans. I hooked up four Vantec 80mm LED fans, and the high and low settings worked perfectly. Unfortunately from the pictures I took on low and high settings, you can't really tell whether the fans are on high or low, this is because they are not standard LEDs, but instead are UV reactive ones. I also tested the controller with a couple of my old Quad Blue LED fans to see if the low setting would turn the LEDs off as the Zalman controller did. Unfortunately, I found that the low setting is at 7V instead of 5V. This is quite common with fan controllers, it is hard to find the ones that go as low as 5V, and even harder to find ones that go as low as 0V. It isn't a bad thing that the low setting, but it is nice to have more control over your fans.

Next I tested the controller with four 120mm fans, one per channel. The controller had plenty of power to put all four of them on the high setting. Unfortunately, this is also when one of the 120mm fans was blowing so much air that it knocked itself over, and tore a couple holes in my studio sheet. Oh well, I suppose it was time for a new sheet anyways. Moving on...

Next thing to test was multiple fans on each channel. Vantec says there is 18 available Watts per channel, so we shouldn't have any problems. We first tried two 80mm fans per channel, and the controller performed just as well as before. Next we pushed the controller by putting two 120mm fans per channel. Again, the controller worked flawlessly. Unfortunately, the controller does not come with all of the cables you would need to hook up multiple fans per channel, but a quick wiring job will get it done.

One last thing I would like to make note of before proceeding to the conclusion is that when you turn the knobs on the controller, the LEDs that backlight them do not vary in brightness. The reason for this is most likely the arrangement of the LEDs, and the limited space that Vantec has to work with when making a 3.5" controller. It's not a big deal by any means that the LEDs don't get dimmer or brighter depending on the setting, but it would be a nice feature to add on a future model.

Conclusion

Overall the NXP-205 is a great fan controller. Something to watch out for is the weak sides on the controller, which may be bent with relative ease. The sides can easily be bent back into their original position, but I would like to have seen stronger materials used. If you are looking for a mini fan controller that supports multiple fans per channel, Vantec's NXP-205 is a good choice.

Pros

Fits in 3.5" bay
Looks nice
Multiple fans per channel
Available in silver or black
Nice grip on knob
Knobs backlit via blue LEDs

Cons

Weak side material
Low setting rated @ 7V (5V would be better)

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Add Comment

5 User Comments

1 - Posted by handrail on August 19, 2003 - 9:03 am

nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! not the sheet!!!

you sir, are a monster. what did that sheet ever do to you? it has performed it's duties to the best of it's ability....and this is how you repay your hard working employee? ripped to tethers by a demonic sheet munching fan of death.

for shame....for shame. the fates will repay you 10 fold for this injustice.

may the gods have mercy on you.

2 - Posted by MaNiAk21 on August 19, 2003 - 11:06 am

Looks good, I get a few more fans and I will need one of those... that is soon. :)

3 - Posted by Brian on August 19, 2003 - 12:51 pm

Nice avatar handrail :-P

4 - Posted by Kurtis on August 19, 2003 - 12:55 pm

you crack me up man. you is s a freak :P

5 - Posted by Hippy on August 19, 2003 - 1:00 pm

Better a sheet than trying to get a badger i say. Badger would eat those fans whole and still have space for you too!

Nice review, you guys are cranking em out now :)

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