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Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
11–20 of 311 posts
Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
They want them to be really silent. There's more details here: https://www.noctua.at/en/expertise/tech/nf-a12x25-technical-...
Last I checked they weren't really any quieter than their competitors at the same airflow and pressure (which is a little subjective because your curve will never match perfectly). They do have a really low number on their specs because they have a really low max RPM, but that's not really relevant when you can just lower the speed of other fans. They're still really good fans, but a lot of this is just marketing. At…
Noctua is working at the last five percentages of performance AND lifespan. They want their fans to perform (and sound) identical ten years later with daily use.
Most people change fans far earlier than that.
It’s kind of refreshing to see really.
Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
#13If you need that kind of precision, yes. But I don't think they really need that.
I used to really like Noctua fans, for a while they were obviously the best fans by a significant margin.
But for all their tight tolerances and exotic materials and a high price to match, they generally don't outperform BeQuiet's more regular materials but use-focused fans that are half the price. Nor are they significantly better than Arctic's general purpose fans at a quarter the price.
It'd make more sense to just buy the fan optimized for the specific common purpose (airflow or radiator) than pay double for the Noctua for a more generalized fan, but is not the best at either common use case.
Seems like these days their target audience is those who believe their marketing materials about them being the best, instead of believing the benchmark performance data.
Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
#14If you need that kind of precision, yes. But I don't think they really need that.
It's luxury watch engineering for gamers. You do not need it, but it's kind of charming when anyone competently takes a niche to its extreme, imho. That said, on my last PC build I ended up buying Pure Wings 3, which are quite competitively silent at similar airflow and much cheaper. And white. Because I do like silly pretty PCs, as long as they don't have RGB on. https://eikehein.com/pc/pc2.webp
Functional premium product at premium price. Cheaper mid-class does the job most of the way. But I suppose there is slightly better characteristics and probably higher reliability in design. Not a fake luxury like too many products these days.
I suppose we should be somewhat positive that some company still aims to deliver best possible products. Not just products with cheapest possible cost and some perceived luxury if even that.
Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's luxury watch engineering for gamers. You do not need it, but it's kind of charming when anyone competently takes a niche to its extreme, imho. That said, on my last PC build I ended up buying Pure Wings 3, which are quite competitively silent at similar airflow and much cheaper. And white. Because I do like silly pretty PCs, as long as they don't have RGB on. https://eikehein.com/pc/pc2.webp
Functional premium product at premium price. Cheaper mid-class does the job most of the way. But I suppose there is slightly better characteristics and probably higher reliability in design. Not a fake luxury like too many products these days. I suppose we should be somewhat positive that some company still aims to deliver best possible products. Not just products with cheapest possible cost and some perceived luxury…
Indeed.
Also, if their product ever does enshittify, the shit would truly hit the fan.
Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
#16If you need that kind of precision, yes. But I don't think they really need that.
If they didn't go to these length, they wouldn't be the brand that they are. They would just be one of any other random fan manufacturer.
Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
#17Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
#18I like the brown ones. Everything is black, it's dumb, and I'm happy to have any contrast.
Me too. All my computers have Noctua fans and I don't care in the slightest that they're the same colour as my parents' sofa in the 1980s.
I have a couple of their screwdrivers too. I'm with with brown.
Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
#19If you need that kind of precision, yes. But I don't think they really need that.
I used to really like Noctua fans, for a while they were obviously the best fans by a significant margin. But for all their tight tolerances and exotic materials and a high price to match, they generally don't outperform BeQuiet's more regular materials but use-focused fans that are half the price. Nor are they significantly better than Arctic's general purpose fans at a quarter the price. It'd make more sense to jus…
2×? Try 5× for the Noctua NF-A12x25 compared the the Arctic P12 Pro that matches or beats it in most metrics. Which isn't to say the Noctua fan is bad, it's just a luxury product for reasons other than performance.
Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
#20I like the brown ones. Everything is black, it's dumb, and I'm happy to have any contrast.
Agreed. It's like Tatooine themed from Star Wars