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

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

#131

Post by embedding-shape »

Gravityloss wrote: post #115
ssl-3 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Maybe progress in terms of pure GHz measures or similar, but new and better CPUs are still being released, even outside of Apple. The CPU I'm on right now (AMD) was released in Q3 2025, and almost every CPU released today offers better value for the money than the previous generations.

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

#132

Post by junaru »

mrweasel wrote: post #59
jFriedensreich wrote: post #25

Why would someone want a beige or brown fan? If it is that complicated why not only make black ones?

Branding, you're never in doubt when some YouTuber is building a PC using Noctua fans. There's probably some weird psychology in the colour as well. Why would anyone want a fan in such an ugly colour, unless it's really good. The weird beige and brown is highly recognizable, and even if you already don't know about Noctua you're likely to ask questions about the fan solely based on the colour. The black fans are real…

They are enthusiast targeted brand and majority of enthusiast (heck even entry level cases) have windows in it.

Enthusiasts care about the details - airflow, cable management and of course aesthetics. Noctua doesn't. I respect their engineering/no bullshit approach, the price bump is worth it but they lost my money on multiple builds by sticking to their 'brand color'.

They're the Soylent of the fan world - everything you need but spark zero joy.

I'd be interested in seeing sales figures for same fans in their brand and other colors.

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

#133

Post by embedding-shape »

moffkalast wrote: post #76
gblargg wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quiet PC is one reason I've always removed the GPU cards from used ones I've gotten. The crappy little fans on GPUs that constantly whir up and down drives me nuts.

I think Noctua makes GPU heatsinks now too, so you're in luck. MSI was pretty good at making almost dead silent cards once upon a time too.

> I think Noctua makes GPU heatsinks now too

I got really excited for a while, been struggling to find a 3rd party heatsink for a noisy GPU that won't make it even more noisier.

But, seems what you're talking about is this? https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/air-cooling/noctu..., which seems to have been just for the GH200 and seems to be more like a "super-cooler", as it's cooling both the CPU and the GPU.

Went to Noctua's website and found no GPU coolers at all, so I think it might have been limited to just showing off at Computex 2024 maybe.

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

#134

Post by embedding-shape »

Havoc wrote: post #29

I sometimes wonder whether they have an culture that overengineers tbh. The thoroughness & mindset is certainly appreciated, but you can also overdo it - engineer it beyond what the consumers use case requires.

> engineer it beyond what the consumers use case requires

This mindset I think is why companies tend to favor releasing slightly broken and shit stuff, instead of waiting until they feel like they made something the best it could.

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

#135

Post by nerdsniper »

Zak wrote: post #118
nerdsniper wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I have them. They get dusty at about the same rate as a pure black fan (which also shows gray/brown dust quite easily). I need to clean mine about every 6-9 months to keep them looking good enough to "show off". I generally run a Winix HEPA filter in each room of my apartment.

I don't think matte white is worse than matte black in terms of showing dust. They both do.

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

#136

Post by sheiyei »

ninjagoo wrote: post #129

> we have implemented a tip clearance of only 0.5mm (120mm models) or 0.7mm (140mm models) in order to minimise leak flows through the gap between impeller and frame. > Achieving such small tip clearances is essentially at the absolute limit of what injection moulding can consistently reproduce For folks thinking about Lego tolerances [1] that are an order of magnitude tighter at 10 microns or 0.01 mm, it turns out t…

0.5mm is the clearance, not the tolerance. Tolerance must be significantly smaller than clearance.

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

#137

Post by beAbU »

Rnonymous wrote: post #112
beAbU wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I've had mine for about two weeks and I love it. It's absolutely massive inside, like a tardis. It drives like a magic carpet and it's got more than enough power for it's size. It's replacing a 2019 Hyundai Kona EV, and the ride quality and comfort is night and day. It's got a very tight turning circle so it's surprisingly nimble in tight spaces.

I have not really had the chance to properly test range, but it's not going to be amazing. It's reporting about 6.1km/kWh average at the moment, with about 50% motorway driving not really exceeding 110km/h. I'd expect no more than 350km. I rarely drive it 100%-0%, so real world (80-20) is probably 300km max. I might be underestimating the range if I do some math though! I live in Ireland, so that is an absolute massive amount of range for roadtrips. My Kona did about 6.5-7.5 depending on the season.

If you have a family, even a small one, then I reckon this is a no brainer. The price is ridiculous, and in my books it beats out an SUV in almost every category except maybe offroading.

Go test drive one!

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

#138

Post by sheiyei »

nerdsniper wrote: post #106
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.

> everything being black on modern motherboards might look cool with RGB lighting I always figured white would look better for RGB-lit computers. I don't know why white is so rare.

Commonly, white finishes don't age well. That's at least part of the historical reason.

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

#139

Post by sheiyei »

PunchyHamster wrote: post #127

I wonder why they can't just get the last half a mm of accuracy by just grinding down the tips

I think tips are one of the more crucial parts of a blade, so if you care about how that blade works you probably don't want the shape to deviate there.

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

#140

Post by ninjagoo »

sheiyei wrote: post #136
ninjagoo wrote: post #129

> we have implemented a tip clearance of only 0.5mm (120mm models) or 0.7mm (140mm models) in order to minimise leak flows through the gap between impeller and frame. > Achieving such small tip clearances is essentially at the absolute limit of what injection moulding can consistently reproduce For folks thinking about Lego tolerances [1] that are an order of magnitude tighter at 10 microns or 0.01 mm, it turns out t…

0.5mm is the clearance, not the tolerance. Tolerance must be significantly smaller than clearance.

yes, good point. fixed.
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