The only real installation involved with the Sentry LXE is the expansion card and associated cable routing. On opening the package, you’re greeted by this:
The expansion card and all associated cables in a neat bundle
This looks manageable, at first. There are 3 different types of connection: firstly, the molex power, then the five 3-pin fan cables, then five temperature probes. Once you’ve unwrapped the cables it should look something like this:
Avid cable-managers look away now
Now there’s a whole bundle of cables to route around your case, depending on fan location. It is also likely to be the case that your fans already have a fairly sizeable length of wire, so there is going to be a lot to route and hide, if you’re that way inclined. If you’re spending £50+ on a fan controller, you really ought to be.
NZXT’s bundled manual suggests you install the card and all cables in the case first, then pop in the battery. In my case, this just wasn’t possible as the card mounts upside down and my free slots are near the bottom of the case. Luckily, putting in the battery first doesn’t cause any real issues, but if you’re the type who follows instructions meticulously, this just adds to the frustration of getting this product installed.
After much blood, sweat and cursing, the controller was installed:
The card doesn’t use a slot to connect or for power, but it does use the space
Once you’re installed and cables are routed and happy, hopefully it’s not something you’ll have to repeat often. I have connected 4 fans, despite having 5 fans in my case as one of them is a fan that utilises Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) as the form of speed control. The Sentry doesn’t support this format, unlike a lot of new controllers – The Zalman ZM-MFC1 Combo to name just one. PWM fans were typically reserved for CPU cooler duties and had lost favour for a long time, but have seen a recent resurgence thanks to new great performing PWM fans becoming available once more, such as the popular Akasa Apache and Viper series.
I would have also liked to see options for plugging 3-pin fans directly into the card and also a mounting option for a 5.25” or 3.5” drive bay, as this is much more convenient for cable routing and doesn’t hog what may be essential space for some.
Connecting the main cable from the control unit to the expansion card is the final step, which also reminds us of how this controller is not designed with mobility in mind. If you’re looking for something to move about with a LAN PC, look to a drive bay mounted controller as this one comes in too many bits and just isn’t convenient for transport.
Next we’ll move onto how the controller actually performs.
