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Every once in awhile, something passes by our labs where we think "Wow, that's pretty cool". Honestly, it's been a long time since I've been impressed by a gadget, but when the Vantec Nexus Multi-Function Panel arrived, I pretty much said "Woah, this is nice." Of course, beauty is only skin deep, and the Nexus better be more than a pretty faceplate.
One mod that is pretty popular these days is the fanbus. The purpose of a fanbus is that it will allow you to speed up or slow down (or shut off) various fans in your case. The reason why people do this is mostly to deal with the noise most of these fans create. If you're just web surfing, there isn't any reason why your fans should be running at 6000rpms. Another popular mod, for cases that lack it, is attaching USB connections to the front of the case. If you tend to swap a lot of devices in and out, this can be a real convenience. Other than that, the front of a PC case has typically been rather bare, save for your optical drive faceplates, and maybe a lazer LED or two.
This is where the Nexus Multi-Function Panel comes into play, as it does all of the above, plus it looks pretty swank. It fits into a standard 5.25" external bay, and it comes with all the accessories to set it up.
Features
3 Stylish Interchangeable Faceplates
Adjustable CPU Fan Speed Controller
System Temperature Monitoring Switch & LCD Display
Audio Alarm Warning
2 USB Ports and 1 IEEE1394 (Firewire) Port
  
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A nice feature about the Nexus is the interchangable faceplates. Some of the fancier aluminum cases these days come with an acrylic bezel, and having the ability to change the look of the Nexus is a nice touch. All you have to do is remove the four screws and the faceplate pops off. If you don't have the proper screwdriver, Vantec includes an Allen key included to remove the screws to the faceplate.
One problem with this though is if you choose to go "naked" and not use a coloured faceplate, there is no lettering on the aluminum faceplate. All the lettering is on the coloured ones. This isn't a terrible problem, as the Nexus is pretty easy to use.
The LCD display displays the system information your interested in with the touch of a button. There are three temperature probes included with the Nexus, and all you have to do is attach them to whatever it is you want to monitor. I would imagine the most likely combination is the CPU, hard drive and system. However, you can choose to watch the video card, your memory or even your Northbridge. It's up to you. Another nice feature is the LCD is backlit, so even in the dark, you can still read the LCD.
The temperature probe is very flexible and thin, making your mounting options unlimited. There are adhesives included for you to stick these probes, and the cabling is long enough to reach most areas in a mid tower case. One thing to note though, they are very fragile. You're going to have to be careful if you want to remove a probe, and not tug on it too hard.
  
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The fan control dial is nice and flashy, a far cry from the black radio "volume control" types I'm used to seeing on fanbuses. The Nexus can control up to two fans. Case fans in general aren't very loud, so I'd imagine that in most installations, the heatsink fan would generally be one of the fans you'll want to connect to the device. Speed up the fan when you're overclocking or gaming, and slow it down when you're doing less intensive like typing an email. I did notice a slight delay when turning the dial, as it took about one or two seconds for the LCD to display a speed change.
Should your fan breakdown or become disconnected, a high pitched squeal is emitted by the alarm built into the back of the Nexus. Although this is a great idea in theory, in practice, I'm not sure about its usefulness. In the case of a Pentium 4, where it will throttle back the speed to avoid overheating, this may not be a huge concern, but my guess is for most Athlon setups, your CPU may just die since the Nexus does not shut the PC down. This will depend a lot on your motherboard, but chances are, any pre-KT400 motherboard will not protect your investment. This alarm will also go off if your CPU temperatures hit 65C, so make sure your cooling is good.
Rounding out things are the 2 USB ports and IEEE 1394 (FireWire) connections. The USB ports are USB 2.0, so if you have a high speed USB device, it will be able to perform at its rated speed. The FireWire connection can be very useful if you have a FireWire camera or storage device, but as with the USB 2.0, either your motherboard will have to include the support, or you'll need to spring for a USB 2.0 and/or FireWire card.
Installation
  
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If you can install a CDROM, you shouldn't have any problems installing the Nexus. In any case, instructions are included, but it's really easy to do. To get all those front mounted gadgets to work, it's only a matter of plugging the appropriate connections in the back.
You get some nice silver braided USB cables and a FireWire cable, though they are meant to be installed internally. One end of the cable(s) plugs directly into the rear of the Nexus, whereas the other end goes into an open USB or FireWire port (depending on what you intend to enable). Once you've made the connections, the front ports should be fully active.
  
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The temperature probes are clearly marked where to go on the back. Simply plug them in, and run the probe to whatever it is you want to monitor. Like I said earlier, take some care in removing them because they are fairly flimsy.
  
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Next up is the fan speed control dial. You have to first connect the included cable into the back of the Nexus. You then take whatever fans you want to control, and plug it into the other end.
Finally, there's the power. The Nexus isn't battery operated like the Thermaltake Hardcanos, but I never found temperature monitoring while the computer is off that important anyways.
In Action
   
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Here are a few pics of the Nexus in action. As you can see, the temperature and fan speeds are displayed on the LCD. A press of a button (between the LCD and fan dial) switches the views. The dial has a lot more control over the fan speed than a simple switch, as you can run the fan at full speed, or low speed, and everything in between. As I've already mentioned, there seems to be a short lag of about one second though. You're going to have to excuse the horrible night time shot as I couldn't seem to get a clear picture.
Final Words
The Nexus Multi-Function Panel is a very nice, and useful product. The interchangable faceplates make it very customizable, but for those of you with generic beige cases are out of luck as "dull and boring"... "beige" isn't a colour option. Moving your connections to the front will make it a lot more convenient to swap USB or FireWire devices, and the temperature monitoring and fan control are real bonuses. I've never been terribly thrilled with the look of most fanbuses, but the Nexus looks great.
It's not perfect though. One drawback is you only have control over two fans. If you have another 3 high speed case fans, there isn't much you can do about the noise levels. Those of you with silver Lian-Li and Cooler Master cases will probably prefer the "bare" look, and the lack of markings on the bare aluminum faceplate of the Nexus may pose a slight inconvenience. A few more colour options would have been a bonus, but I guess now is as good a time as any to whip out the dremel and do some modding. I also would have liked to have seen a speaker/headphone connection as well.
Finally, the inability to shut down your PC in the case of fan failure, or overheating, is a bit of a let down. Most fanbuses I'm aware of don't do this either, so it's a shame Vantec missed on the opportunity to capitalize on this shortcoming.
Other than that, this device is far more useful than most devices in the same market. Most fanbus devices control only the fans (and perhaps include a LCD), and most multi-function panels only provide front connections. In those cases, you'll need two devices to do what the Nexus can.
Pros: Looks really nice, front USB and IEEE1394, fan control and temperature monitoring.
Cons: Fan failure alarm doesn't shut PC down, and lack of markings on aluminum face plate.
Bottom Line: I should also add that it's priced pretty competitively. I've seen this selling for 36$, and when you compare it to the DigiDoc (~55$), the Hardcano 5 (~30$), and then adding a multi-function panel (~25$), the Nexus ends up being quite a bargain.
You can find a list of resellers at , but both our friends at and carry the Nexus.
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Vantec Nexus Multi-Function Panel: More than just fan control, the Nexus monitors temperatures, provides alarm warnings, and provides USB and FireWire connectivity.
