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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?

#161

Post by jordanb »

malfist wrote: post #156
maxerickson wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems a little revealing that they tout the clearance and not the difference in efficiency.

Does it? Not everything is a sign of deception. Even if it is the case, and not simple an omission to focus the narrative, does it matter? Case fans pull what 4 watts? 5 watts? Who cares if it pulls 200 milliwatts more than a competitor when it's cooling a GPU and CPU that consume more than a hundred times what it can consume

Tighter tolerance isn't universally a good thing. It might make the fan more susceptible to damage due to mishandling or dust. They might be selling a fan that has a shorter useful life for no real benefit.

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

#162

Post by vladvasiliu »

maxerickson wrote: post #160
malfist wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it? Not everything is a sign of deception. Even if it is the case, and not simple an omission to focus the narrative, does it matter? Case fans pull what 4 watts? 5 watts? Who cares if it pulls 200 milliwatts more than a competitor when it's cooling a GPU and CPU that consume more than a hundred times what it can consume

Case fans pull what 4 watts? 5 watts? Who cares if it pulls 200 milliwatts more than a competitor when it's cooling a GPU and CPU that consume more than a hundred times what it can consume Yes, exactly. The high precision is marketing, not something needed in the product.

My understanding is that the precision is supposed to help with noise. Less turbulence, etc.

FWIW, in my setup (10th gen i5, RTX 5070 Ti in an old Define R3 case), the 12 cm Noctua G2 fans run quieter and have a much less obnoxious noise than the old P/F series, which wipe the floor with the Arctic fan I bought for a computer that lives in the basement and sounds like it's about to take off.

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

#163

Post by nottorp »

Don't Noctua fans generally go in builds made by people who like silence?

In which case they'd have silent cases with no glass panes, because those are thinner and a possible source of vibration. They may even glue (opaque) sound absorbing material to the inside of their cases.

In which case, who cares what colour the fans are?

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

#164

Post by Havoc »

razakel wrote: post #71
Havoc wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Preference. Some people like their PCs to look like a rainbow alien LED spaceship, others would go for vanta black if they could get it

Stuart Semple changed his name to Anish Kapoor, because only Anish Kapoor has the rights to use Vantablack for artistic purposes. I think there might also be export restrictions, but I'm not sure.

Also

>Semple developed a pigment called the "pinkest pink" and specifically made it available to everyone except Anish Kapoor and anyone affiliated with him

Anish seems like a bit of a dick

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

#165

Post by vladvasiliu »

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.

Well, I have a bunch of lower-end black fans, some of them quite old, from before transparent cases were a thing. They're actually pretty much gray if I don't wipe them off.

Noctua's signature... brown-orange? Whatever that color is, it has the same issue. The blades are basically gray if I don't wipe them.

Haven't seen anybody start a gray craze, though. Though I have a grayish motorbike that also shows dust and dirt like nobody's business (it's a bike I use strictly on paved roads).

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

#166

Post by vladvasiliu »

nottorp wrote: post #163

Don't Noctua fans generally go in builds made by people who like silence? In which case they'd have silent cases with no glass panes, because those are thinner and a possible source of vibration. They may even glue (opaque) sound absorbing material to the inside of their cases. In which case, who cares what colour the fans are?

I'm firmly in the I-want-a-quiet-case-which-sits-under-a-desk-so-I-can't-see-through-the-panes-anyway camp, but I sometimes wondered if glass wouldn't actually be better, since those models appear to be heavier than their opaque brethren. So I'd expect them to vibrate less, etc.

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

#168

Post by nottorp »

vladvasiliu wrote: post #166
nottorp wrote: post #163

Don't Noctua fans generally go in builds made by people who like silence? In which case they'd have silent cases with no glass panes, because those are thinner and a possible source of vibration. They may even glue (opaque) sound absorbing material to the inside of their cases. In which case, who cares what colour the fans are?

I'm firmly in the I-want-a-quiet-case-which-sits-under-a-desk-so-I-can't-see-through-the-panes-anyway camp, but I sometimes wondered if glass wouldn't actually be better, since those models appear to be heavier than their opaque brethren. So I'd expect them to vibrate less, etc.

Maybe, but it seems like a waste to glue the paxmate to the inside of the glass :)

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

#169

Post by ufocia »

vladvasiliu wrote: post #162
maxerickson wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Case fans pull what 4 watts? 5 watts? Who cares if it pulls 200 milliwatts more than a competitor when it's cooling a GPU and CPU that consume more than a hundred times what it can consume Yes, exactly. The high precision is marketing, not something needed in the product.

My understanding is that the precision is supposed to help with noise. Less turbulence, etc. FWIW, in my setup (10th gen i5, RTX 5070 Ti in an old Define R3 case), the 12 cm Noctua G2 fans run quieter and have a much less obnoxious noise than the old P/F series, which wipe the floor with the Arctic fan I bought for a computer that lives in the basement and sounds like it's about to take off.

You lead me to believe that they are targeting a niche "audiophile" market and probably not a commercial market. The concern in the commercial market would be energy savings vs. capital expenditure. Some commercial spaces actually introduce white noise into spaces to increase occupant density.

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

#170

Post by ufocia »

vladvasiliu wrote: post #165
Zak wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Well, I have a bunch of lower-end black fans, some of them quite old, from before transparent cases were a thing. They're actually pretty much gray if I don't wipe them off. Noctua's signature... brown-orange? Whatever that color is, it has the same issue. The blades are basically gray if I don't wipe them. Haven't seen anybody start a gray craze, though. Though I have a grayish motorbike that also shows dust and dir…

If it were about performance and not marketing, they'd try to optimize for resistance to dust adhesion and resource consumption: energy, cost, durability, etc.
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