NZXT SENTRY 2 Accessories 5.25-Inch Touch Screen Fan Controller (Black)

by Nzxt

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 3.2 x 2.5 inches ; 8.5 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002L16OMO
• Item model number: SENTRY 2 Touch Screen Fan Controller
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #14 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Components > Computer Cases
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 1, 2009

Product Description

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good product for the money, December 21, 2009

By 

Nick K "Nick K" (Kentfield, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NZXT SENTRY 2 Accessories 5.25-Inch Touch Screen Fan Controller (Black) (Personal Computers)

This is probably one of the better fan controllers on the market, considering 90% of the fan controllers on the market are terrible. For 28 bucks, this is a pretty good deal. Ill break down the good and bad below:

Pro's:

-good price

-works fine

-lcd is cool to look at

-controls all my fans perfectly

-temp is more or less accurate

-Easy to install/use

Con's:

-Creates a huge mess of wires

-Wires are superglued to controller, so when taking it out, u have to take out all the temp sensors as well.

-Bad instruction manual, luckily it was fairly straightfoward anyways.

-BEWARE! THE COOLERMASTER FAN AMAZON SAYS IS FREQUENTLY BOUGHT WITH THIS PRODUCT IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THIS FAN CONTROLLER!

It didn't work for me, or anyone else I have talked to. im pretty disappointed that amazon did not recognize that.

-Hasn't happened to me, but ive read lots of reports of screen breaking, and cust. serv. is a huge run around.

Like I said, for 28 bucks, this is a great deal. If it were $40, I would get something else, probably not w/ lcd. This controller is pretty much hit or miss, so good luck if you choose to buy it. If you get one that functions, then it ends up being a very useful and quality product. If not, then you're screwed.

-Nick

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Repeat LCD Failures, Low Quality, October 20, 2009

By 

Jason T. Kindlimann "JTK" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: NZXT SENTRY 2 Accessories 5.25-Inch Touch Screen Fan Controller (Black) (Personal Computers)

Pros: The display truly is aesthetically pleasing and easy to use, despite the complete lack of operating instructions. Installation is relatively straight forward, but can be a difficult depending on the case it is going in to. Manual control and temperature read is nice. Auto control seems fairly useless as it does not seem to be on/off programable - just factory settings. The display lighting and audio feedback can be turned on or off.

Cons: Unfortunately, aesthetics and user friendliness mean squat when the over-all reliability is below poor. I am about to RMA the second unit in a month, and this time they can keep it. The first unit worked well for a week, then two of the five channels stopped working. The display was non-responsive for fans 4 and 5. The second unit worked well for just over a week, then one day I power on the PC and the display is dead and fans not running. I checked connections, etc. etc., but it is just dead. For ~$30, I suppose I should not have expected much.

Another point to be aware of; despite other user comments and manufacturer claims of temperature accuracy, I would not rely on these probes for true temperatures, but rather for referrence. I compared the probes from both units against readings from K-type thermocouples attached to a calibrated Fluke 52 and they were all consistantly 5-7degF higher than the temps reported by the Fluke.

Other Thoughts: The differences in the temperature readings vs. the Fluke 52 are not really a big deal. If the unit worked for longer than a week, I would not be upset about the temps displayed being inaccurate. As I mentioned earlier, they are best used as a referrence. In the end, it's all a moot point since the darn thing just doesn't have any reliability. It is a big deal to pull my case apart, string all these temp probes throughout, rout all the fan cables, and the whole time try to keep it neat looking only to have to undo it all for an RMA - TWICE! There won't be a third time. It's just not worth the effort.

Folks at NZXT: The product looks nice and is easy to use. If you were to put some extra money in to upgraded internals and make it more robust, I am sure customers would pay up for this thing. I know I would. But cheap price for cheap quality just leaves me avoiding NZXT products in the future, not to mention the negative comments I have for you everywhere I go.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Does Not Work with Cool Master., September 8, 2009

By 

T. Johnston (Lafayette, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: NZXT SENTRY 2 Accessories 5.25-Inch Touch Screen Fan Controller (Black) (Personal Computers)

I installed this in my antec 300 to slow down 2 case fans that I added to the front of the case. It turns on the leds in the fans, but they do not move. The fans are 120mm cool master blue led fans. It does control the 2 antec tri cool case fans.

Also, the display does not turn off when you turn off the computer. You have to manually turn off the display.

Installation was easy, display looks great, the touch screen responds good. If it worked with all my fans, I would be happy with it. Since it doesn't, I have returned it.