Matrix Orbital MX5 514 USB VFD & Fanbus

Introduction

Published: 13th May 2006 | Source: Matrix Orbital | Price: | Author: James Napier

Introduction

A few years back an avid case modder decided it would be a great idea to cut a big hole in his case and pop in an LCD screen. Back then, all the connections to the screen had to be wired up manually, and to actually get anything meaningful displayed on the screen required expert programming.

Nowadays, LCD screens can be seen in all range of PC cases, but none of which have the quality and features of an LCD purchased from a company that specialises in PC LCD's. A company like Matrix Orbital.

Today I'll be looking at Matrix Orbital's MX5 series USB VFD screen, with Temperature Monitoring, Fan Headers and many other features, this is more than just your average LCD/VFD.

Packaging

For this review, Matrix Orbital went out of their way to make sure I got the whole package. Everything I could ever need was included. Cheers guys :)

The box arrived in mint condition and was positively bulging at the seams. On opening it up, I was presented with a whole range of goodies, all carefully packaged up in their own bags - each of which had a label describing what the item was.

Included in my package was the following:

- The display (covered in bubble wrap)
- The mini Matrix Orbital software CD
- Instructions
- Internal USB Cable
- External USB Cable
- 2 temperature probes
- 2 screen filters (for changing screen colour)
- Aluminium face plate (for those who don't like the stock vinyl one).

Here she is! Matrix Orbital have taken the trouble of covering the whole front of the display in a plastic cover to prevent damage and dust. Also above you can see the included external USB cable which plugs into the back of the unit and has been cable tied to the circuit board to prevent any damage occurring to the USB port during installation.

My first impressions on the look of the display were that the buttons looked slightly tacky. The look of white on black looks garish. In my opinion it would look better with Silver buttons. Thankfully for those who share my feelings, the front panel can be replaced with an Aluminium one - however this means you won't be able to use the buttons at all.