Front Mounted Ports: Take a Joy Ride On The Fan Bus

Nexus Fan & Light Controller - NXP-301 - Vantec

The NXP-301 Fan and Light Controller from Vantec.

Vantec has taken two really good concepts and combined them with their release of the new NXP-301. As Vantec states on the NXP-301 packaging, "Tweak With Style."

The NXP-301 combines a three channel fan bus controller along with a lighting switch/controller to make this an exceptional value offering. Let's take a look inside the box and see what Vantec delivers.

When we removed the NXP-301 from the box there were no installation instructions. Did we need them? Well, not really, as Vantec has labeled the connectors well and the unique design makes installation easy for experienced users. Still, an inexperienced user might find the lack of instructions frustrating. To Vantec's credit, the install guide is posted on their Web site, but we had to search to find where to download it. After we downloaded and looked at the install guide it was pretty Spartan but very picture oriented. It did provide adequate information for questions that a first user might have about the installation process.

The NXP-301 at its heart is a three channel fan controller that can handle up to 18 watts per channel. In addition, its built in inverter can handle up to two cold cathode lights. These lights are controlled by a switch for one of three positions: on, off or sound activated. One of the nice features of the NXP-301 is that the plugs on the inverter (on the back of the NXP-301) use a standard cold cathode connector; this will allow you to either connect the two included lights, or up to two cold cathode lights of your own selection, including Vantec Spectrum cold cathode lights.

The best features of the NXP-301 package are two included cold cathode lights and a built-in switch and inverter.