When you have complete and utter confidence in your product

[Valantar]

I imagine the conversation among Nidec's product packaging team went something like this:
"Now we need a retail box."
"You sure?"
"Nice place to put our logo, no?"
"Yeah, but this thing is built like a tank, so we definitely don't need any protection. Can't we just wrap it in old news papers?"
"Okay, what's the thinnest cardboard we have lying around?"
"Sure, that works. Now, how about bundled accessories?"
"Hahahahahahahahaha, good one!"

Quite the contrast from the rather huge Noctua boxes I'm used to. Then again, the build quality (and thus wight) of these fans is scary. I definitely wouldn't want to be hit over the head with one.

 

[UsandThem]

Yeah, Nidec fans are for all intents and purposes an OEM product.

Other companies put their products in pretty boxes to help sell it, but people buy Nidec products after reading reviews or by word of mouth.

 

[tamz_msc]

Hmm one of the yet-to-be-released Noctuas look awfully similar to this fan.

 

[Valantar]

Hmm one of the yet-to-be-released Noctuas look awfully similar to this fan.

You're thinking of this?

Seems to be a rather common (oft-copied?) design for high-pressure fans. I was hoping to find the 3000rpm Nidec model (has to be available somewhere given that AMD uses them on their Fury X AIOs), but no dice. Luckily, the 1850rpm model was rather easily found. Expensive, but my radiators are going to thank me. Given the legendary reputation of these, I wonder who among Scythe and Nidec decided to end their partnership ... It's not like they had any problems selling them, after all. Did Scythe get greedy?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I have a single GT-AP30 in each of two machines. Yes -- the 4,200 RPM model. They aren't even tuned to reach that speed under severe stress-testing, and you can "hear something" during those tests. But those machines for just about any purpose are quiet.

I just wish I knew where I could get the AP30 PWM fans anymore. I had assumed they're no longer in production.

 

[Valantar]

I have a single GT-AP30 in each of two machines. Yes -- the 4,200 RPM model. They aren't even tuned to reach that speed under severe stress-testing, and you can "hear something" during those tests. But those machines for just about any purpose are quiet.

I just wish I knew where I could get the AP30 PWM fans anymore. I had assumed they're no longer in production.

Yeah, until I stumbled across these, I thought my only option was Ebay (I found an obscure Amazon.jp store selling the 3000rpm version, but they didn't ship abroad). Too bad, really. But would AMD really accept the cost of having a production run of a discontinued fan made just for them? Really? That sounds very expensive. I even tried looking up replacement Fury X fans (using the part # from mine), but even those aren't available on Ebay or anything like that. I guess what I'm saying is: Nidec, please take my money!

On a side note, I have had my Radeon Software bug out on me and run the Fury X's fan full tilt a couple of times - each time, it's reached 3600+ rpm. Isn't 20% over a bit much? I expect a variance of ~10%, but this surprised me.

 

[tamz_msc]

I'm talking about the successor to the NF-F12; they demoed it at CES:

 

[Valantar]

I'm talking about the successor to the NF-F12; they demoed it at CES:

Ah, I wasn't too thorough in my googling, and pulled up a picture from CES 2015, not 17. Probably different development stages of the same fan

 

[tamz_msc]

Yeah, and that Nidec also has a very small clearance between the frame and the blades.

 

[Valantar]

Yeah, and that Nidec also has a very small clearance between the frame and the blades.

Yeah, the build quality of these things is crazy. The tips of the blades come so close to sticking out of the frame I initially thought they did, but no - they're just within a fraction of a mm from doing so. Same goes for sideways clearance to the frame. And there's absolutely zero wobble in the movement. None. Might as well be one piece. Makes me wondet what Nidec knows that no-one else seems able to figure out.

 

[XavierMace]

Makes me wondet what Nidec knows that no-one else seems able to figure out.

Their decades of experience in high RPM server fans that are expected to run practically forever at high speed.

 

[Valantar]

Their decades of experience in high RPM server fans that are expected to run practically forever at high speed.

They're not the only ones that do this, though. Delta is huge in the industrial fan market, and Noctua has a very serious industrial line. Neither come close to the combo of radiator-mounted performance and low noise that Nidec does, though (at least from the reviews that I've read). I guess they have some extremely clever engineers with some amazing fluid dynamics models, or something along those lines.

 

[XavierMace]

I've NEVER seen a Noctua fan in a prebuilt server. It's either Delta or or Nidec and generally the Delta's are louder but move more air. Sometimes Sanyo's, such as the SAN ACE with it's 224cfm of airflow. That's not a slight against Noctua, I'm running their iPPC3k's in my PC right now. But they are a boutique fan builder. I don't recall seeing Noctua fans in ANY prebuilt application.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

With no more chances to buy the GT AP30 that I can find, I've been using 120mm iPPC 3000's. I don't think they're noisier, but they don't quite make the same maximum CFM spec. Good enough, though.

Now. . . to adjourn to the workbench where I can make some Chromax duct-boxes out of $2-worth of foam board . . .