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Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

noctua.at

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Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

#111

Post by wolvoleo »

VorpalWay wrote: post #63
wolvoleo wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This colour combo is more 1970s than 80s. 80s was more gaudy neon and transparent stuff. The 70s loved their murky browns. OK PC boxes of the 80s and 90s were all beige too but they didn't have any brown. It also fit in with manufacturing in those days: In the 70s a lot of wood was still used, whereas in the 80s everything shifted to plastics. But whether you love or hate (as I do) the brown Noctua colours, the one t…

I love Noctua fans and I don't care about their colour. For all I cared they could be pink as long as they are best in class on noise and reliability. They are going inside the computer where they aren't visible. The point of a computer to me is to be powerful while being as discrete about it as it can be (i.e. quiet and no blinking rgb lights). I don't have a glass side panel, I run an older Fractal case with alumin…

> They are going inside the computer where they aren't visible.

Speak for yourself :) My computer is pretty open, the fans are visible through the front and through the side panel.

I don't run RGB either though but I do like to style it.

And of course the "form over function" is part of that market niche that really pays a lot for something like a fan. Noctua aren't that special, as others have mentioned there are much cheaper brands with the same performance including sound level. You do pay a lot for just the branding.

Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

#112

Post by Rnonymous »

beAbU wrote: post #93
SwellJoe wrote: post #3

I like the brown ones. Everything is black, it's dumb, and I'm happy to have any contrast.

I'm at an age where I feel the same about many things in life. Black, sleek and minimalist is so boring and blends into the background. Just this morning I purchased these car mats for my black, korean-spec-tinted people carrier electric van: https://carmats.ie/products/kia-pv5-passenger-2026-van-mats?...

On sidenote: I'm quite interested in the PV5 and have only seen one in the wild so far. How is it for you? And how is the range in practice.

Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

#113

Post by wolvoleo »

Hamuko wrote: post #73
VorpalWay wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just make a brown case (maybe with some walnut accents?) and the brown Noctua fans will be a perfect fit.

Buy a Fractal North. https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/north/north/ch... https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/north/north/ch...

Huh interesting. I think the black one is super ugly with the dark wood but the white one isn't bad.

Still not something I'd buy though.

Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

#114

Post by navane »

thot_experiment wrote: post #68

Noctua is one of few companies that has not broken my trust (yet). They promise me a really good fan, they're ten toes in on the promise and they have yet to fail to deliver.

My fan broke after five? years of near 24/7 use. Customer support was very easy to reach. They sent me a new one after I sent some serial numbers as proof. They asked me then to break off a blade, and a picture of it so I didn't have to sent it back.

Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

#115

Post by Gravityloss »

ssl-3 wrote: post #56
RachelF wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, everything being black on modern motherboards might look cool with RGB lighting, but makes it harder to work on. I like the older green PCBs with white PCI slots. I also lament the demise of color coded connectors at the back. I knew to plug my speakers into the green 3.5mm jack. Now everything is black, so I need to look at the manual again to see which of the 5 connectors is the right one.

I remember being a kid when standardized port colors came 'round (what was that, part of the AC'97 spec or something?). I thought that was dumb: I knew that the speakers plugged into the third hole from the top, and that was good enough for me. ;) Back then: I would have loved black-on-black, labelled-in-black, with black cables and and black highlights on a black background. The accessories would be black, too: Blac…

Actual CPU progress stopped so it's become a color and light show.

Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

#116

Post by andyjohnson0 »

I enjoyed reading this. As others have said, it's both interesting and good marketing communication.

I'm a dev and for the last year I've been working for a company that manufactures pretty complex and advanced machines. I work with proper engineers - electronic, electrical, control, mechanical - and actual scientists. One of the things I've come to appreciate from this is the hidden depts of detail and complexity in so many aspects of the objects that surround us. People work hard on small details that hide in the background but are vital to making things work. And there's often code in everything, all the way down.

And now I can add plastic injection moulding to that. The rabbit hole goes very deep.

Edit to add:

My dad worked forty-plus years as an engineering pattern maker. He made, by hand, the high-tolerance wooden "negatives" that were used to form moulds made from sand and resin. The moulds were used to cast parts for industrial valves: molten brass and gunmetal was poured into them, in a foundry, and left to cool. I think he would have deeply appreciated what this article was saying about craft and engineering and patience.

Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

#117

Post by retired »

beAbU wrote: post #93
SwellJoe wrote: post #3

I like the brown ones. Everything is black, it's dumb, and I'm happy to have any contrast.

I'm at an age where I feel the same about many things in life. Black, sleek and minimalist is so boring and blends into the background. Just this morning I purchased these car mats for my black, korean-spec-tinted people carrier electric van: https://carmats.ie/products/kia-pv5-passenger-2026-van-mats?...

Funny how the world works. People once bought cheap children’s play carpets and cut them up as car mats out of poverty. Now people pay €75 to get that same look.

Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

#118

Post by Zak »

nerdsniper wrote: post #105
fxtentacle wrote: post #38

This is content marketing executed perfectly :) Reading it, I learned something new and interesting and they had an opportunity to show off one of their differentiators against the competition (low leakage flow due to tighter tolerances) and then at the end they casually mention the new product that has just opened for pre-orders.

I'd love more white, personally. I also don't understand the obsession with black. For me, black objects are very difficult to observe in detail, and that irks me.

I imagine a white PC fan would look terrible if not cleaned daily or used in a room with very filtered air.

Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

#119

Post by Hendrikto »

muppetman wrote: post #81
Guvante wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Noctua fans have a distinct look, you could say the same about black, if you want to black them out just get a case that hides them since that would look the same.

Who's looking at a damn fan? My lord. This is like caring what colour the filters in my air conditioner are. Idiots will have anything marketed to them.

Calling people idiots for having different taste? You truly are a muppetman.

Re: Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?

#120

Post by retired »

kenhwang wrote: post #13
j16sdiz wrote: post #2

If 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…

I got a cheap CPU cooler and swapped the fan out for a Noctua. For half the cost of a complete Noctua CPU cooler I got good temperatures and no noise.
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