MODTHEBOX.COM - Canada's Premier Case Modding Source - Reviews - Matrix Orbital MX412 USB LCD Display Review

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The Indicator LED Bus is one of the newer accessories designed for the MX series of LCD modules. Included in the package is the LED Bus unit, a drilling template, instruction manual and the ribbon cable. The overall construction is rather simple; a series of 3 ultra bright blue LEDs with holders that are soldered to a miniature printed circuit board. When paired with the capabilities of LCDC, the MX Indicator LED Bus can be used as a visual notification device for several different tasks such as e-mail, system temperatures and more.

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The installation of the Matrix Orbital MX412 USB LCD Display is a very straightforward process that can be completed in less than 30 minutes. The first step is to connect the MX412 to any free USB port whether routed internally or externally. I did note that if you install the LCD inside your case and use the external method; the package does not include a PCI transfer bracket to neatly route the cable to the rear of a case. Once the hardware setup has been completed the next step is to focus on the application software. The bundled CD provides a helpful HTML page with a list of links to different downloadable application software as well as includes a set of USB drivers for all Window platforms. The USB drivers universally allocate COM3 as their designated port which appears in the Hardware Device Manager window.

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One of the strengths of the Matrix Orbital product line is the inclusion of what I think is one of the best LCD based application programs currently on the market. LCDC developed by Matthew Augier is $20 USD shareware program which quite simply is an amazing piece of software for Matrix Orbital LCD's. My first experience with the program was testing beta 0.98b and since then the latest product version is at 1.06.30. The copy of LCDC included with the bundled CD is 1.05.28 and consumers can obtain a full license and upgrade support for this current version directly from the website. Upon starting up LCDC, the program offers a 3-step LCD auto detect function by polling your COM port and confirming the installed hardware.