Noctua Passive Heatsink Launch Postponed According to 2021 Roadmap

[Uskompuf]

Noctua has recently updated their 2021 product roadmap pushing a number of products back one quarter including their passive CPU cooler. The passive CPU cooler, black NF-A12x25 fans, black NH-U12A, and NH-U12A heatsinks have all been delayed from Q1 2021 to Q2 2021 the only product which remains on track for a Q1 2021 release is the redux line CPU cooler. The release of white Noctua fans has also been pushed from Q2 2021 until Q3 2021, products expected to release in Q3 and Q4 2021 remain on track. These new delays are likely due to the return of COVID-19 lockdowns and are only estimates which are subject to change.



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[Oberon]

Just here for an "I told you so."

 

[Camm]

One really does wonder how hard it is to use a already used process to make a heatsink black, but whatever. lol.

 

[junglist724]

One really does wonder how hard it is to use a already used process to make a heatsink black, but whatever. lol.

They're not struggling to make the heatsink black, they're struggling to make the black NF-A12x25 fans that come with the heatsink.

 

[Gungar]

I am waiting here for a year for the nfa 12x25 black to come out...

 

[pat-roner]

They're not struggling to make the heatsink black, they're struggling to make the black NF-A12x25 fans that come with the heatsink.

But how hard is it to change the color of the fan?

 

[3lfk1ng]

But how hard is it to change the color of the fan?

Very difficult surprisingly.

The material that the fan is made of is designed to cut through the air without any turbulence or distortion.
The blades are incredibly rigid, which allows for greater airflow at a lower noise signature.

When changing the color of the blades, the chemical composition of the blade changes and so do the other properties that make their Sterrox fan specifications so special.

 

[Valantar]

But how hard is it to change the color of the fan?

You'd be surprised just how much the addition or replacement of a pigment can change the properties of a material.

Still, Noctua R&D is notoriously slow.

 

[Testsubject01]

But how hard is it to change the color of the fan?

Supposedly the type of fibre-glass reinforced thermotropic liquid crystal polymer they are using for the impeller on the NF-A12x25 is hard to color to a certain degree and consistency in color seems to be an issue too.
If one looks at the impeller of a Thermaltake TOUGHFAN, which most likely uses a similar polymer, there is some visible texture in the coloring and they are not really black as well, rather a dark grey.

Still, I also wonder at times if they really have such high aspirations to "perfection" or just puffing up their image.

 

[Vya Domus]

Or, more likely, they're struggling to make a passive cooler that works because most don't.

 

[Valantar]

Or, more likely, they're struggling to make a passive cooler that works because most don't.

I mean, they work, it's just that how well they work is extremely dependent upon environmental factors, including the case, case fans, airflow patterns, etc. It's probably quite the challenge to deliver something that isn't immediately disappointing to a host of people expecting something impossible, like a cooler able to passively cool a 150+W CPU in a case with a closed-off top and few if any case fans. But it's clear they have to deliver something that performs noticeably better than, say, a Thermalright Macho Zero, otherwise it would be rather pointless. Of course the genius of the Macho Zero is that it includes a flexible duct to couple the cooler with the rear exhaust fan, something I sincerely doubt Noctua would include. (Though I would love to see a brown-and-beige rubber fan duct!)

 

[_JP_]

"We need more time to think of a design that Thermaltake won't easily copy from us and make sure to make all-black colour variants of it, people!!"

 

[TheDeeGee]

Noctua Roadmap is basically add 2 years.

 

[Dristun]

I get an impression that some people expect to slap the passive one on a 10900K running at 5.2. Ladies, guys, it's not for you! You want actual silence you don't get to use 250W CPUs.
Meanwhile I'm starting to dream about the possibility of making a completely fanless open-air build. Like, something in the vein of Thermaltake P3 case and Seasonic's titanium-rated fanless PSU with Noctua's monster on top of, say, 5700X (if it ever comes with slightly lower TDP than 5800X). And then deshroud a decent GPU and slap 2*120 Noctuas instead of garbage little coolers they're usually shipped with so that even in gaming you don't hear a thing from your PC.

 

[Valantar]

I get an impression that some people expect to slap the passive one on a 10900K running at 5.2. Ladies, guys, it's not for you! You want actual silence you don't get to use 250W CPUs.
Meanwhile I'm starting to dream about the possibility of making a completely fanless open-air build. Like, something in the vein of Thermaltake P3 case and Seasonic's titanium-rated fanless PSU with Noctua's monster on top of, say, 5700X (if it ever comes with slightly lower TDP than 5800X). And then deshroud a decent GPU and slap 2*120 Noctuas instead of garbage little coolers they're usually shipped with so that even in gaming you don't hear a thing from your PC.

An interesting addition to that would be to strap a giant fanless CPU cooler onto the GPU as well. Should be pretty effective.

 

[Dristun]

An interesting addition to that would be to strap a giant fanless CPU cooler onto the GPU as well. Should be pretty effective.

Haha, and then also dig up copper rads some people used on ram sticks back in 00's and adapt them to gddr6x and gpu's vrm. The madness never ends!

 

[nuggdoctor]

you guys killed me with these posts. Im still laughing 3 minutes after reading them. lmmfao

An interesting addition to that would be to strap a giant fanless CPU cooler onto the GPU as well. Should be pretty effective.

Haha, and then also dig up copper rads some people used on ram sticks back in 00's and adapt them to gddr6x and gpu's vrm. The madness never ends!

 

[Testsubject01]

Something like this?

 

[Valantar]

Something like this?

Yep, exactly like that

 

[Mysteoa]

At this point I doubt I will see a black NF-A12x25.

 

[Turmania]

Yeah but dont they have already all black fans out in the market? I just dont buy the painting it black argument.

 

[Valantar]

Yeah but dont they have already all black fans out in the market? I just dont buy the painting it black argument.

They do, but none using the fancy Sterrox liquid crystal polymer material of the NF-A12x25. As mentioned above, different materials react differently to different additives, and the issues causing delays might be anything from compromised material strength to insufficient color saturation. The latter is quite likely, as liquid crystal polymers generally don't look very uniform - compare the fan hub/blades of the NF-A12x25 to the NF-A12x15, for example.

One is a deep, saturated, even brown, the other has a strange dull shine (as if it had some sort of coating), very uneven color, far less saturated color, and a kind of "fibrous" structure/texture to the color. Given that people demanding black fans are obviously doing so for the sake of aesthetics, it might just be that Noctua wants to perfect the blackest possible Sterrox they can make without sacrificing any of the qualities that makes it great in the A12x25.

 

[Turmania]

Valantar, thanks for clearing and showing things. Very appreciated and looking at those pictures i can see the issue.

 

[pat-roner]

Still, I also wonder at times if they really have such high aspirations to "perfection" or just puffing up their image.

Thinking about this as well some times. They clearly know what they are doing, but they released black fans with LinusTechTips long before they released the chromax to all. (i know it's not the same fan)

 

[Valantar]

Thinking about this as well some times. They clearly know what they are doing, but they released black fans with LinusTechTips long before they released the chromax to all. (i know it's not the same fan)

They've had black Industrial PPC fans for ages (look at the Industrial PPC tab), nothing LTT exclusive about that. The only LTT exclusive was the orange bumpers (and logo hub stickers?), the fans were bog-standard IPPC fans.