Some people like to pimp out their cases: Plexiglas windows, bright lights, and flashy colors. They like to light up their rooms at night with too many cathodes, and they like to get a lot of attention at a LAN party. NZXT Corp was one of the first companies to cater specifically to this audience, with their heavily pre-modified Nemesis and Guardian cases a few years ago, and since then this crowd has grown larger and larger. Meanwhile, other people like to have a stylish, but subdued case. One that performs well, but isn't quite as presumptuous as others. These people need their performance, but also want to be able to have a quiet case when they can. Lately, NZXT has started to serve these consumers as well, as they have expanded greatly upon their Classic series of cases, with a variety of silent and stylish aluminum chassis.

Until now, these two worlds have gone surprisingly separate ways with their cases and peripherals; the flashy-type modders had their bright, intense LCD screen fan controllers, while the classier of builders had the plain vanilla, brushed aluminum rheobus. Today, however, we have for review NZXT's Sentry LX fan controller, which hopes to break that divide. Inset in a classy, brushed aluminum faceplate is a bright, detailed screen. This has potential to be the best of both worlds.


The Sentry LX arrives in a simple and sleek box. Not one that demands a lot of attention on the shelves, but one that gets the job done. There's a picture of the Sentry LX on the front, and on the back some features are outlined. Not only does the Sentry LX have room to control five fans, which is far more than the three I expect to see on most controllers, but it also has room for five temperature sensors. It also has time/date functionality, auto settings, and a temperature alarm. So does this controller get the job done? Continue on as we find out.