Introduction
A few weeks back we take our first look at Vantec's flagship controller, the NXP-301. The NXP-301 was a step forward in the fanbus/rheobus arena in the sense that it combines a Sound Activated CCFL Control Unit with a standard rheobus unit. If you've always wanted to get a rheobus and a CCFL Kit for your mod project, the NXP-301 was a clear choice. Vantec also included two blue CCFL light tubes so it's the perfect kit for you to start with. However, the NXP-301 requires a free 5.25" drive bay for installation. If you have none left or are planning the bay for some other projects, then you're out of luck. Vantec realized the issue and promptly followed up with the NXP-305, a 3.5" version of the NXP-301 that we're gonna take a look today.
Package
The NXP-305 comes with the same sized package as it's bigger brother due to the included CCFL tubes. Apart from the physical size of the controllers itself, the other differences is that the NXP-305 comes in either Silver of Black, unlike the NXP-301 which is only available in the Metallic grey colour. In the NXP-305, the Blue halo rings around the knobs also make a comeback, so good news for you Bloo! lovers out there! :O) Before we go any further, let's see what you'll get with the package;
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Everything is neatly packed inside within a clear plastic tray. The instruction manual explains the installation procedure for the controller and the CCFL tubes. You also get a couple of double sided tape for securing the CCFL tubes to the innards of your case. The Power and fan extension cables helps in making sure you'll have enough cablings for the fans to reach the controller. Vantec bundled two Blue CCFL tubes with the controller, like the NXP-301. If you need other colours, you can purchase them separately from Vantec, but it would be nice for the user to have an option during purchase.
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Specifications
Even though the NXP-305 is basically a shrunk down version of the 301, there's nothing "shrunk" about the specs. In fact, it shares the exact same specs as it's bigger brother. Each fan channel is able to handle 18 watts of power and can control your fans from 0 - 12V, so you can turn the fans off if you dun need the cooling power and blast it all the way up when you need it. The CCFL inverter can either be set to "sound activated" or have it constantly at the "ON" position. Here's the full specs for both the controller and the CCFL tubes.
The Controller
Taking the controller unit out, you see a resemblance to their standard rheobus, the NXP-205 but with the inclusion of the inverter on board the PCB. 3 knobs controls your fans and the last one controls the CCFL operations. The fan controller knobs are marked from "OFF" to "MAX' to indicate the speed and the CCFL knob is marked from "OFF" "Sound Controlled" and "ON". The Vantec and Nexus logos are also marked on the housing. The CCFL knob also has a nice chrome accent on the front to differentiate it from the other knobs.
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Looking at the back at the PCB assembly, you'll see the myriads of eletrical components that makes up the NXP-305. At the back of the PCB, you'll find the inverter as well as the dual connectors for the CCFL tubes. The inverter is protected by a translucent plastic cover and for good measure too. When you accidentally touched a bare inverter, lemme know the feeling! Heheh! 3 x 3 pin fan connectors sits next to the inverter and also the Power connector to supply the overall power to the unit.
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5 x 3mm Blue LEDs provides the illumination for the unit. 4 are bent at a 90 degree angle and placed into the acrylic sheet that makes the ring around the control knobs. The last one, near the mic, was just soldered onto the PCB and not bent into the acrylic sheet. Probably due to the offset of distance/position from the LED to the hole. Not a big problem though as it still pumps out enough light to illuminate the acrylic sheet in that area.
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Installation & Testing
Installing the NXP-305 is just like any other 3.5" drive installation. You just slide the controller into an empty bay and secure it with the provided screws. The only problem here is that if you have a case with a door, like the Chieftec BX Series case, the knobs will prevent the door from closing fully. I had to secure the unit a little deeper into the drive bay for the door to close.
Here you see the various connections to the NXP-305, the Power, Fans and the CCFL tubes. Once connected, the unit is turned on and the good 'ol blue halo comes right up! Below you see a series of pictures of the unit in both light and no-light condition.
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Here's a couple more pictures demonstrating the brightness of the cold cathodes tubes. The CCFL tubes are like most tubes available in the market right now, nothing much to differ them from the rest of the crowd except their triangular mounting ends. Two of these tubes lights up the case quite well as you can see from the pic below.
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More Lights!
As I've mentioned earlier, both the NXP-301 and 305 only comes with Blue CCFL tubes. Not everyone wants blue CCFL tubes for their project so Vantec recently released their own line of CCFL tubes under the Spectrum model. You can buy them separately but not as a colour option when you purchase the NXP-301 and 305s. Would've been sweet though if you could.
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The Spectrum CCFLs are available in Red, Green, Purple and UV.They have the exact specifications as the tubes that came with the NXP-301/305 so you know it'll work out of the box with the units. Vantec did mentioned however that you can use a third party inverter if you already have one, but they recommend the NXP-301 and 305's. Duh! :O) There's nothing much really in the package, just the tube itself and the mounting tape. Also, you'll have to make sure your own inverter will accept the tube connector.
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Here you see the individual tubes being lighted up. Nice and bright with even light distribution along the CCFL tube. The purple and UV are quite close though or maybe it's just my camera playing tricks on me. Heheh! Anyway, you only get one tube with each package. It's recommended to be used with the NXP-301/305 so naturally, I would like to two CCFL of the same colours on the connectors of the NXP301/305. Unless of course you like to have a colour combination for your case lighting.
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Conclusion
Like the NXP-301, the NXP-305 is another great product from Vantec. The NXP305 is perfect for users who do not have a spare 5.25" drive bay or are planning to use that bay for other mod projects. You get the best of both worlds with the NXP305, you can control your fans and at the same time power up and control the cold cathode tubes provided. It comes with two blue cold cathode tubes but it would've been nice to be able to choose what colour of CCFL when you purchase it. All the accessories you need are included in the awesome package (in typical Vantec style!), manual, cables, mounting tapes/screws....etc. And like all Vantec controllers, it's already mounted on a stylish U-shape housing so no cutting/drilling on your part. It's available in Black and Silver so you can choose one to match your case or mod theme.
The new Spectrum CCFL Tubes are meant as an addition to both the Nexus 301 and 305 controllers as they do not come with an inverter. Vantec however mentioned that you can use other CCFL inverters but you'll have to make sure the connectors match. The Spectrum CCFL tubes gives out a nice, even and bright glow, something you would expect from a CCFL tube if you're gonna light up your case with it.
The Nexus retails in at around US$35.00 and the Spectrum CCFL Tubes weighs in at around US$8.00 each. All in all, both the NXP-305 and the Spectrum CCFL Tubes from Vantec are top notch products from a top notch company. Big thanks goes out to Clare Liu for the sample units and to you too for reading. Enjoy the site. Over and out.