Introduction

Anyone who has a performance system will no doubt also have a case fans or two to help cool off the interior and depending on how much heat they need to deal with could have quite a few. All of these fans whilst doing the job of cooling also introduce an unwanted element in the form of noise. This can obviously be reduced by purchasing low speed fans, but another option that would give you a best of both worlds approach is a Rheobus fan controller that will allow you to dictate the voltage supplied to a fan, and therefore control its speed. Lowering the speed will lower the noise factor as well, so that you can choose to have low noise and lower cooling ability whilst perhaps surfing the internet or watching a DVD, and conversely increase the speed and noise to maximum whilst gaming or performing some other system intensive task. Rheobus Controllers are nothing new but the majority of them will take up a 5 ¼ inch bay and this isn't always desirable or possible. This is why have added to their line-up 2 new Rheobus Controllers that will fit into a 3 ½ floppy bay, which with the decline of floppy usage is something that probably everyone has spare. Today in the labs we have the controller, courtesy of , so thanks to them for supplying the review sample.

Specifications

4 Channel Fan Controller
Adjustable Fan Speed Knob
Aluminium "U" Type Housing
Ultra Bright Blue LED Lights
Each Channel Supports Up to 18 Watts
Fits In a Standard 3.5" Drive Bay
No Need to Cut Wires Like Other Fan Controller. Just Plug the Cable In
Great for Vantec Tornado or Other High CFM Fans

Nexus Fan Controller connects up to 4 fans and allows you manually adjust the fan speed and noise level. The fan speed is determined by the variable speed potentiometer settings which vary the voltage of the fan from 7V-12V. Each channel will support up to 18 watts. Ultra bright blue LED lights combine perfectly with the Black or Silver housing. Nexus Fan Controller is great for Large CFM fans and fits perfectly in your 3.5" drive bay.

A Closer Look

The box for the NXP205-BK is designed to hang on a shop hook and displays the specifications and a front on shot of the controller itself. The sample we have here is the black version, although there is also a silver version, allowing for a little choice in the market. Opening the box we are presented with the contents in a clear plastic tray; the controller is foremost with a niche for the cables and screws needed for installation to the rear.

The cables supplied are 1 x power cable which connects to a 4 pin Molex connector and 4 x 3 pin fan header (for the controller) to a 3 pin fan or 4 pin Molex (for the fan/s). The fan cables are quite long, although I would have liked a few extra inches, since tidying wires can take up the slack easily and leave you with too short a cable to reach to the rear of a case, or perhaps the top of a full tower.

The controller itself is very well made and oozes quality of design and construction, with its sleek aluminium exterior and solid feeling dials. The dials are nice to use; they move the described distance in that going from lo to hi really does go from lo to hi and not being stopped somewhere in between or travelling further. Surrounding the 4 Dials we have a clear acrylic ring which as indicated by the specifications will supply a nice blue glow.

The sides are pretty much uneventful as is the bottom but inside the NXP205-BK we find a lot more to talk about. Vantec have chosen to go with a blue PCB and whilst it is a nice colour it isn't something we will see for long.

At the back of the dials we can see the LED's that supply the blue glow and a lot of resistors and capacitors to regulate the 18w per channel of power dotted across the board. To the rear of the NXP205-BK we see a 4 pin Molex connector for power and four 3 pin fan headers which with the supplied cables you connect the fans in your system to.

Overall despite its small size there is a lot of reassuring circuitry and electronics onboard, and the layout is great. It's nice to see only one power input for all 4 channels. I've taken the above picture of the controller just to show you the size of this controller, and as you can see it isn't much bigger than the floppy disk next to it (no disk is needed or included).

Installation and In Use

Installation is simple enough. You simply install the unit into a spare floppy drive bay, plug in the power and connect up the fans. With 18w per channel it's no problem to install more than one fan per channel, although make sure you check the wattage of your fans first. The other thing to make sure of is that your fans are rated to run at 7v-12v as the NXP205-BK reduces the speed of a fan by reducing the amount of voltage supplied. Most fans will run without any problems but it's always better to make sure. After everything is up and running it's an easy matter to just turn a dial and set your desired speed. One thing I should point out is that there is a delay of almost a second before the dial will react to the new setting. Not a problem, simply a case of the resistors and capacitors doing there job of regulating the power. I've personally got a 120mm fan on channel one, a Coolermaster NEON 80mm fan on channel 2 and two 80mm black case fans on channel 4, all of which are running without issues of voltage spikes or drops.

The front facia and dials have a good feel to them, providing a very non-sloppy feel in use, although people with larger hands might find the small dials to be a problem. That's a very big might though, as you would have to have large fingers indeed to have any real issues with the dials; they are nicely spaced apart without looking odd. Once powered up you can also see the neat blue surround for each of the dials. The glow from this is even and bright, but not "burn your eyes out with a laser" bright, just bright enough to provide a decent glow at night and enough to be easily visible during daylight. Overall it looks good and does its job very well.

Final Words

Couple the functionality with the very cool blue and black appearance from the front, and its tiny size, you have a very useful sleek looking fan controller. With its cool blue surround of the dials, users who have blue themed cases will love the NXP205, but if you don't want blue &. Well I guess you could still buy this unit and solder in some replacement LED's easily enough. Constructed from aluminium, the unit gives off a good sense of design quality, which extends to the electronics as well. Power is regulated very well, and with 18w per channel make for a versatile controller indeed. Installation isn't brain science, but during installation I discovered my one and only grievance with the product; the cables for the fans should have been longer. I didn't have a problem personally, but it is easy to see that the fan cables won't be long enough for some users, especially those with full towers, and is going to make cable routing/tidying an issue. Overall I think the product is great though, it's small, aesthetically pleasing, easy to use, and does the job it was designed for very well indeed. Highly recommended. Thanks to for supplying the review product.

Pros
18w of power per channel
4 channels
Fits in an empty floppy drive bay
Doesn't take up a 5 ¼ inch bay
Cool blue LED surround for the front dials
One power input, 4 power outputs
Aluminium construction
Good power regulation electronics

Cons
Fan cables should have been longer

Bottom Line
If this controller fits in with your colour scheme (don't forget it's also available in silver with blue LED's) and your in the market for such a device, then this one would be a great buy. With 18w per channel, even the most heavily fan laden system should be catered for power-wise, and all in a 3 ½ inch bay.

If you got any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.

HOME