The Sentry 2’s bezel is made of black matte plastic. This might disappoint some consumers because the original Sentry 1 came with a metal bezel. Nevertheless, seeing as most computer case come with a plastic bezel, the Sentry 2’s plastic bezel should fit the design of such systems. The Sentry 2’s screen is slightly inset with the bezel having a bevelled edge. This creates a nice and very simple look.
An overwiew of the Sentry 2
The Sentry 2, like most fan controllers, is deep enough so that only the screw holes near the front of a computer case’s drive bays will be used to secure the device. The threads of the screw holes of the Sentry are golden, making it look of much higher quality.
The side of the Sentry 2
At the back of the Sentry 2, we see that the device has a fairly large blue PCB. On the left, we see the power cable connectors for both the device and fans, and, on the right, we see the black cables for the temperature diodes. We also see on the right a small circular black speaker that will be handy for the alarm feature of the Sentry 2. No heatsinks are used to cool the Sentry 2, and I hope the device can keep itself cool enough to power five fans at 10W each.
The PCB of the Sentry 2
The temperature diode cables of the Sentry 2 have independent connectors, but they are actually hot-glued to the fan controller’s PCB. Therefore, removing these cables or replacing them might be a challenge for some. I am not sure why NZXT has decided to hot-glue these connectors.
The temperature diodes of the Sentry 2, hot-glued
The power connectors for the five fans and the device are actually a single large cable. Therefore, even though you would only need one power cable for your single case fan system, you will have the four other fan power cables lying in your computer case. This is a downside if you have a relatively small computer case where extra cables might interfere with the airflow or, simply, the aesthetics. Also, the fan power plugs on the Sentry do not seem to be your typical 3-pin fan headers. As such, replacing the power cable someday will be definitely difficult. The Sentry 2 is not flexible in this perspective.
The single large power connector of the Sentry 2 for five fans and device power
An overwiew of the Sentry 2
The Sentry 2, like most fan controllers, is deep enough so that only the screw holes near the front of a computer case’s drive bays will be used to secure the device. The threads of the screw holes of the Sentry are golden, making it look of much higher quality.
The side of the Sentry 2
At the back of the Sentry 2, we see that the device has a fairly large blue PCB. On the left, we see the power cable connectors for both the device and fans, and, on the right, we see the black cables for the temperature diodes. We also see on the right a small circular black speaker that will be handy for the alarm feature of the Sentry 2. No heatsinks are used to cool the Sentry 2, and I hope the device can keep itself cool enough to power five fans at 10W each.
The PCB of the Sentry 2
The temperature diode cables of the Sentry 2 have independent connectors, but they are actually hot-glued to the fan controller’s PCB. Therefore, removing these cables or replacing them might be a challenge for some. I am not sure why NZXT has decided to hot-glue these connectors.
The temperature diodes of the Sentry 2, hot-glued
The power connectors for the five fans and the device are actually a single large cable. Therefore, even though you would only need one power cable for your single case fan system, you will have the four other fan power cables lying in your computer case. This is a downside if you have a relatively small computer case where extra cables might interfere with the airflow or, simply, the aesthetics. Also, the fan power plugs on the Sentry do not seem to be your typical 3-pin fan headers. As such, replacing the power cable someday will be definitely difficult. The Sentry 2 is not flexible in this perspective.
The single large power connector of the Sentry 2 for five fans and device power
