Appearance
As I mentioned earlier within the review I am reviewing both products in this review, the NXP-301 and the NXP-305. This is due to both products being so similar. Actually they are identical apart from the size and appearance. The circuit boards on the fan controllers are identical apart from the size. The NXP-301 is designed for a 5¼ inch drive bay and the NXP-305 is for a 3½ inch drive bay. The functionality of both devices is the same.NXP-301
The NXP-301 is the fan controller that is designed for the 5¼ inch drive bay. In my views the controller has great functionality but this model lacks quality in the appearance. Each dial has a green backlight that looks superb, but the design of the aluminium housing and colour is something which could have been improved on. It’s a metallic bronze colour that doesn’t match any cases I know of. I’d imagine the most popular colour cases these days are silver or black, but I think this NXP-301 just looks out of place in cases of these colours.
NXP-305
The NXP-305 is designed for a 3½ inch drive bay and is available in 2 colours; silver or black. It’s not very often we see fan controllers such as the Vantec NEXUS fan and light controller available for 3½ inch bays. In my opinion this is an awesome product that not only looks great, but is bundled with some great features. The 4 dial’s are backlight with a blue glow. This is a great contrast with the blue cold cathodes that are included with the package.
Cold Cathode Lighting
For the past 3 year’s I have been using Cold Cathode tubes within my computer and I must admit these Vantec cold cathode’s are superb. They are surrounded by an acrylic tube and have a triangular base at each end. Included within the package are 4 pieces of 3M Double Sided tape to fix the cathodes to your computer case. When the cathodes are switched on they glow a lovely blue colour. Unfortunately the kits don’t come with a colour option. They are only available with blue cold cathodes.
Included within the package are numerous cables. Mainly these are to connect fans to the controller. You can attach either 3pin or 4 pin fan’s to these cables but it is advised not to use both, as each channel should only have one fan connected at any time, giving a maximum of 3 fan’s per controller. (3 channels). Also included is a power extension cable. This is to extend the molex cable away from the circuit board and allow easier access to plug the fan controller into the PSU. It makes it a lot easier to plug the extension lead into the fan controller before installing the controller into your case.
Contents
- 1 x Vantec NEXUS Fan & Light Controller
- 2 x Blue Cold Cathode
- 1 x Power Extension Cable
- 3 x 3 Pin/4 Pin Universal Fan Cable
- 4 x 3M Double-Sided Tape
- 4 x Mounting Screw
| Fan Controller Specifications | |
| Material: | Aluminium |
| Input Voltage: | 12V |
| Output Voltage: | 0 ~ 12V |
| Output Current: | Up to 1.5A |
| Optimal Wattage: | Up to 18 Watts |
| Outline Dimension: | 102 x 25.5 x 120 mm (NXP-305 model) 149 x 90 x 43mm (NXP-301 model) |
| Weight: | 120 gm (NXP-305 model) 200 gm (NXP-301 model) |
| Cold Cathode Light Specifications | |
| Output Voltage: | 0V ~ 580V |
| Output Current: | 5.00 ± 0.03mA |
| Opitmal Wattage: | Up to 2.9 Watts |
| Outline Dimension: | 323 mm |
| Luminance: | 5800 nit |
| Life: | 15,000 hours |
| Colour: | Blue |
