NZXT Sentry Mix 2 Review

NZXT Sentry Mix 2

Front view of the NZXT Sentry Mix 2.

The NZXT Sentry Mix 2 is a 6 channel, 30 watt per channel single bay manual fan controller. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of NZXT’s much fancier touchscreen controllers. On the other hand, 180 watts of total power is nothing to sneeze at, and at a relatively moderate price ($29.95 on Amazon as of this writing, and eligible for Prime), it’s definitely worth consideration.

The NZXT Sentry Mix 2 comes in a small and simple box, the top of which shows the controller. The box contains the fan controller as well as cables, the manual, and four screws. On opening the box, you will see that NZXT has pre-fitted all the cables, which are also tied and tucked into two clips in the base of the enclosure. You can, however, remove the cables you will not be using. This makes for a neat installation, and in addition, all the cables are labeled. Installation is as simple as finding an empty drive bay, sliding the controller into place, securing the unit with the four screws, connecting the fans to the controller, and connecting the controller to the power supply.

The unit is powered by two 4-pin Molex connectors at the end of a proprietary cable. You will not need to connect both of the connectors unless the total power of the fans you are controlling is too much for a single power output. All the connectors support 4-pin or 3-pin fans, so you can install pulse width modulation (PWM) fans and non-PWM fans. The Sentry Mix 2 is not compatible with fans that use a standard Molex connector unless you use an adapter. All the fan cables have only two wires, so the controller does not receive the RPM signal.

NZXT Sentry Mix 2

Rear view of the NZXT Sentry Mix 2.

Once installed, the NZXT Sentry Mix 2 looks good, albeit almost entirely plastic. The body has a matte finish, while the sliders are glossy. The sliders control the voltage of the fans from 5V up to 12V (40% to 100%). This isn’t enough to turn most fans off, which may be a shortcoming, depending on how much control you want to have, although it is at least enough to make sure they won’t fail to start by accident. The front panel does not indicate whether a fan is spinning, or even whether a fan is plugged in to a particular channel.

The channel number below each potentiometer is illuminated (although the light intensity does not change along with the speed of the fan), and by pressing a button on the left side of the controller, you can change the color. You can set it to red, blue, green, orange, or white. Pressing the button for five seconds will turn off the light (not the controller, just the light).

Overall, the NZXT Sentry Mix 2 is a reliable and easy to use fan controller. If you have fans that use Molex controllers, need to turn off the fans completely, or need some indicator of the fan’s state, then this may not be the controller for you. On the other hand, if all you need a simple and powerful fan controller (at 30 watts per channel, you should have no problem, even if you decide to put several fans on a single channel), this is definitely a controller to consider.

NZXT Sentry Mix 2 Specifications:

  • Model Number: AC-SEN-MIX2-M1
  • Material: Acrylic, Plastic
  • Fan Connector: 4-Pin
  • Finish: Matte black bezel with glossy black sliders
  • Included Accessories: 4x M3 Screws
  • Form Factor: Single 5.25″
  • Connections: 2x Molex
  • Cable Finish: Black Rubber
  • Cable Finish: RGB Color Changing
  • Maximum Combined Wattage: 180 Watts
  • Control Method: Sliders
  • Fan Channel Quantity: 6
  • Fan Channel Wattage: 30 Watts
  • Minimum Power To Fans: Minimum Power To Fans
  • Minimum Power To Fans: 40%
  • Minimum Power To Fans: Voltage
  • Warranty: 2 Years

External Links:

Sentry Mix 2 product page on nzxt.com

NZXT Technologies Sentry Mix 2 Fan Controller AC SEN-MIX2-M1 – Matte Black on Amazon

Aerocool Touch 1000 Review

Aerocool Touch 1000

Front view of the Aerocool Touch 1000.

The Aerocool Touch 1000 is a 4 channel, 6 watt per channel automatic fan controller which fits in a single (5.25-inch) drive bay. It has a touchscreen display, an overheating alarm temperature warming, and a lock function to prevent inadvertent changes. The Touch 1000 is essentially a single-bay version of the Aerocool Touch 2000 (which was previously reviewed on this website), so it will be interesting to see how it compares with the Touch 2000. With the touchscreen display, it definitely has aesthetic appeal, but at this price ($47.00 on Amazon as of this writing), you’ll want to make sure it meets your needs before buying it.

The Aerocool Touch 1000 comes in a small box. The front of the box shows a large image of the LCD touchscreen display. The back goes into the features, specifications, and labels the buttons on the panel. These features are listed in many different languages.

When you open the box, you’ll find that the panel comes neatly packed in the box with some cardboard padding. A sticker protects the touchscreen from any scratches or thumbprints. Also included with the controller are the user manual and some extra parts. The controller includes screws for the fan, tape to hold the sensors in place, two extra sensors and two extension cables.

The Touch 1000 has an LCD touchscreen with black anodized aluminum. The panel can display data for up to four temperature sensors and four fans; only one of each is viewable at a time, but by tapping a button, you can rotate through the four readings.

Aerocool Touch 1000: Installation

Aerocool Touch 1000

Side view of the Aerocool Touch 1000.

Installation is fairly easy: just slide the controller into an empty 5.25-inch drive bay and secure it to the case with the included screws. Then you can place the temperature sensors where you want them to be and connect up the fans.

The fan connector cables are labeled FAN1 through FAN4 and the temperature sensors are labeled: CPU, VGA, HDD, and SYS. Each set of cables can be kept together, or each wire can be pulled apart.

In the center of the panel is the Aerocool logo, which can be pressed to lock and unlock the panel. To the left and right of this logo are arrows which will scroll through the fan and temperature readings (even when the panel is locked). Towards the left of the arrows is the RPM readout, and towards the right of the arrows is the temperature readout (in Celsius or Fahrenheit). A plus in the top right corner and a minus in the lower left corner allow you to make any needed adjustments to your temperature alarm or fan speed. The upper left of the panel shows which fan the curent RPMs are, while the bottom right shows which temperature sensor is being displayed.

One of the drawbacks of this controller is that, at only 6 watts per channel, it pales in comparison to some equivalently-priced and lesser-priced controllers (for example, the Aerocool Touch-E, also reviewed on this site, is cheaper and boasts 20 watts per channel). You may have problems running more than one fan on a single channel, and you’ll definitely want to make sure this controller is powerful enough to accommodate your fans. But if you want a controller with an attractive touchscreen display, and especially if you like the Touch 2000 but can’t spare two drive bays, the Touch 1000 is definitely a controller to consider.

Aerocool Touch 1000 Specifications:

  • Dimension: 149.5(W) x 42.5(H) x 70(D) mm
  • Box Dimension: 186(W) x 60(H) x 110(D) mm
  • Net Weight: 220g
  • Gross Weight: 390g (Retail box included)
  • LCD viewable area: 118 (W) x 25 (H) mm
  • Connectors: 4 x 3-pin connectors / 4 x heat sensors
  • Material: Brushed aluminum front bezel w/ steel bracket
  • Max wattage per fan channel: 6W
  • Inside this packaging: screw 4 (M3x5) / sensor sticker x 6 / spare sensor cables x 2 / spare fan cables x 2

Product Links:

Aerocool Touch 1000 product page on aerocool.us

Aerocool Fan and Temperature Controller (Touch1000) on Amazon

Aerocool CoolTouch-E Review

Aerocool CoolTouch-E

Front view of the Aerocool CoolTouch-E.

The Aerocool CoolTouch-E is a 4-channel, 20 watt per channel touchscreen fan controller which fits into a single 5.25-inch drive bay. The touchscreen is aesthetically pleasing, although not as much as some of Aerocool’s other touchscreen controllers. This controller, however, does offer good performance at a reasonable price ($36.99 on Amazon as of this writing).

The CoolTouch-E is made of black plastic; the front is dominated, as you might expect, by the touchscreen. If you look at the rear of the controller, you can see the PC board and the fan connector header. The power supply connector is a 4-pin Molex connector, while the fan connectors support bouth 3-pin PWM fans and 4-pin fans.

Installation of the Aerocool CoolTouch-E is easy: just slide the unit into an open bay and secure it with the included mounting screws (there are 4 of them). Then connect your fans to the included mounting screws. Then, connect the CoolTouch-E to your power supply and connect your fans to the controller. As mentioned earlier, this controller comes with both 3-pin and 4-pin connectors, so you should be able to connect any fan in your case to it. Since each of the CoolTouch-E’s four channels can supply up to 20 watts, if you have more than four fans, you may be able to split one or more of the connectors to accommodate them.

One installed, you can select one of 7 available colors for the display from the front panel. A button in the bottom right of the screen lets you change the color of the fan controller’s backlight. The colors available are: red, green, yellow, blue, purple, light blue, and white. You can also turn off the display. This is helpful if your system has a particular color scheme and you want to match it.

Aerocool CoolTouch-E

Rear view of the CoolTouch-E.

On the left of the touchscreen display, there is a fan animation which indicates that the fan is going. The currently selected channel is displayed in the middle of the screen; the arrows on either side let you switch channels. To the left of this is a control that lets you disable the selected fan. On the other side of the channel display are two speed control buttons (plus and minus buttons) that allow you to adjust the speed. The Aerocool CoolTouch-E can run fans at three speeds: 50%, 75%, and 100%. The top half of the screen is a speed indicator. Some users may take issue with the fact that the controller only allows you to adjust the fan to three different fan speeds (many other controllers allow you to adjust the speed along a sliding scale), but having a choice of three different speeds (as well as being able to turn the fan off) will likely be enough for most users.

In addition, some users may take issue with the construction of the CoolTouch-E. It deserves mention that the controller is made of plastic, not anodized aluminum like some other controllers, and thus will probably not be as sturdy as the latter, not to mention the fact that touchscreens are inherently fragile.

However, if you want a powerful, aesthetically-pleasing fan controller at a reasonable price, the Aerocool CoolTouch-E just might be for you. It does not have all the features of some of Aerocool’s more expensive controllers, or of some competing products, but it will get the job done.

Aerocool CoolTouch-E Specifications:

  • Product Dimension: 148.6(W) x 42.5(H) x 65(D) mm
  • Box Dimension: 187(W) x 60(H) x 148(D) mm
  • Net Weight: 125g
  • Gross Weight: 250g (Retail box included)
    LCD viewable area: 100 (W) x 25 (H) mm
  • Connectors:
    • For Power Supply – 4-pin Molex connector x 1
    • For 3-pin fans/PWM fans – mini 4-pin connector x 4
    • For 4-pin fans – 4-pin Molex connecrtor x 4
  • Material: ABS Plastic
  • Speed Range: 0>50%>75%>100%
    Max. wattage per fan channel: 20W
    Inside this packaging: screw 4 (M3x5)

Product Links:

AeroCool Touch-E Fan and Temperature Controller (CoolTouch-E) on Amazon

CoolTouch-E product page at aerocool.us