Typically 140mm have less static pressure but higher cfm, but maybe noctua found way around that with this new blade design. Would be interesting to see.
Hardware busters has a good review on page and UA-cam, tldr top performer and way better than outdated x12 even considering size and other 14cm think lian li for cfm and price and Corsair for static pressure beat it, g2 x12 should be good.
Yeah. This. I made the same suggestion in a comment before seeing your comment. They sell a few different motor speeds as well so it could offer an Arctic replacement at 140mm as well.
@@turtlefrog369 Thermaltake were known to blatantly copy competitors designs, often from smaller brands. That might be why they are still a bit disliked. This was about ten years ago.
You literally had the cross-section printed inside the lid 1:30 that could have told you, without destroying the fan, if the blade is mounted on a metal hub or not.
Huh, I forgot they did that nowadays. Good catch. But yeah you would think a content creator would inspect the item and packaging thoroughly before jumping to conclusions but also he wouldn't have a video if he did see that other than saying "I bought these for x but upon opening it and viewing the diagram it isn't going to happen" barely enough for a short really.
I cried tears of indescribable sadness when you clipped the blades off that A14... After all the research, engineering, time, and effort that went into building that marvel, I could barely stand to watch it suffer such an ignoble end. Rest in peace, fan.
The work of the Fan Showdown can continue just as easily with a different fan as its base test bench - the A14X25 is clearly no go, so a 140mm fan with a metal hub by another maker should be substituted - I definitely want to see everything that viewers can come up with for a 140mm fan!
Most quality fans have just that, not the cheap but overpriced PC modding stuff though. Just get something in industry standard quality, like Ebm-Papst, Ziehl-Abegg or similar.
Motor hub is roughly the same size on the 120mm to 140mm. Could always take off the motor on the 140 and place the 120 motor off of the A12 on to the 140mm frame.
@@alaricpaley6865 Could run in to performance differences as both hubs have different designs. Magnet positions on the hub, Hub distance away from the coils. Depth of the hub. Pin diameter, Depth of pin. Easiest way would just be to do a lift and shift of the full assembly from the 120mm to the 140mm. But considering he's now got a trashed A14 and multiple trashed A12's. Never hurts to try.
@@Daniel_Blake The magnet poles should be the same 4 pole (NSNS) BLDC design, and same strength (ive never come across a different pole configuration in PC fans, and those cheap magnets i dont think spend enough time at any one station in the factories to get special attention optimizing the fields, they just all get plopped in the magnetizer and put back in the assembly line). Supposing they are the same dimension (and ignoring the field shaping effects of the all metal hub vs the ring hub which only has a metal band around the outside) the only difference in drive power would come from the coil windings. So the thing to look at would be the gauge of the wire, and if there is more of it on the 14. If not then its the same motor just in a larger frame (honestly, the most cost effective strategy for any company. Noctua makes their beans in acoustics not in the motor. Dollars to doughnuts its a bog standard motor you can order shipping containers of from made in china dot com).
I want to see large fan showdown. 180mm or 200mm. The extra mass changes the game drastically and it would be really cool to see what scales well at the lower rpms!
@@ravenovatechnologies6554 A temperature test for "static pressure" versus pure volume would settle the argument. I think static pressure is over emphasized
1- Take it to a lathe to remove the blades from the hub and leave it perfect, the same lathe operator can make a metal ring to place around that hub, the metal ring can be a little smaller and you can insert it with a press or you can heat the ring a little to dilate it, then when it reaches its normal temperature and shrink nobody will move it from there. 2.- Ask a lathe operator to make you a new metal hub. 3.- Or you can also talk to Noctua and ask for one with a metal hub, I'm pretty sure that's a viable option.
I think part of the thing with making this amazing is that everyone that can 3d print can participate relatively fast and minimal cost in modifying the fan
I'm like, hard disagree, why is the new Noctua in this kind of bearing, but arrange for a small induction heater workstation and melt the pin insertion to swap blades. Skipping the wing clipper (there is perhaps a Noctua wings hot sauce for a sick Nier Hot Ones.)
if you know someone with a machine shop you could probibly have them turn you a cup on the lathe, press the magnetic housing and pin into it and use that. you could add a few more mounting options like tapped screw holes or friction fit. i like to print fans with screw holes and screw them into my bldc motors.
Personally, I just remove the rear sticker, then pop out the little plastic retainer clip with a dental pick (it's like a split washer, but not helical)._ Just be sure if you do that, to take care whilst prying, as it's a "Jesus Clip" and will gladly go flying, never to be found again. 😅 Then to put it back on, I use the pick to press down on it, along with a tiny flathead screwdriver.
I almost died of excitement thinking that this was going to be finally the time that you did 140mm fan showdowns ... one day, one day, I have faith you'll do 140mm's try using the gen 1 140mm to see if that has a solid hub!! I still want a 140mm season!
Thermaltake does have a 140mm version of the central metal hub ToughFan though and it was clearly inspired by an earlier prototype of the NF-A14x25. You could use that as a "next season 140mm fan".
I ordered a three pack of Super Flower MEGACOOL 140mm fans for my next build. After seeing a few reviews.. I had to grab some to try for myself. 175 CFM of spinny goodness. Case I'll be building in eventually is the Asus ProArt PA602. (Kinda wish there were more high rpm/cfm 200mm fans)
Thought: New fan showdown requiring a bit more engineering on the part of the designers. Instead of just a fan that fits over the hub, they include the design of the hub and magnets to go over the motors. Ok yes, they won’t be able to simply email you the design unless they also ship you a hub and magnets, but it won’t break their bank for people to actually send you the entire assembly. Then designers can start playing with different magnet placement or types.
Fan modding aside, I wound up buying... Five of these new G2's 😅 Four to deck out my new North XL case and just upgraded my D15S with a 14R G2. Everything is running very well. My temps are good, the system is silent at idle and not very loud at full load. The G2 upgrade on the older D15S dropped my CPU temp 3-4c! I didn't change the fan curve, so it's probably running at a lower speed as a result, too.
For fun, you should try to get your hands on some second-hand server fans such as the Nidec UltraFlow V12C12BS1M3, and try testing out some custom designs on its massive metal hub and higher speed. You'd also have to re-wire the ends to your power distribution unit, as the amps would overpower most regular consumer fan headers, and you might have to make or use a custom PWM controller since they operate at different PWM frequencies. But they are extremely fast and move a ton of air.
The nucleus is the same (in mechanical construction) of the industrial versions (3000 rpm). I have modded one of that industrial by cutting the plastic nucleus with a sharp cutter, meanwhile rotation of the fan (like in a lathe). That way you can 3d print a nucleus and assemble the magnetic part inside and fit the assemble in the plastic center of the fan, achieving a same concept of the "Tank" (12x25). The rest is your channel... Obviously the re balance is critical and not an easy task, but with a a dose of luck ... ;-). My modded fan is working on my PC with a ultra hard fan to push (not 3000 rpm but wit a heavy fan is a pleasant gentle typhoon sound when pc need a lot of cooling) in this years without problems, thanks to the power of the industrial versions motors.
Does the fan shaft by chance have a knurled end, like the metal plastic insert "nuts" do? _If so..._ perhaps you could always design the template so that you reuse the magnet and shaft, having it where everyone designs their can to accommodate that that magnet ring and shaft? I suspect that superglue in the little shaft "pocket" should be more than sufficient to last the needed asking if time for testing. Then you wouldn't have to have it be melted into place, since it'd pretty much be impossible to have it perfectly aligned at the needed 90°.
I forget what they're called because I never knew what they're called. I think they might be called retention screws. The screws use a small hex key and go through the wall of an object and prevent the object from sliding off the...shaft... retention screws. Remove the plastic on the ring and use retention screws to hold on the mod.
You know what I always say: where there's a will there's a way. Instead of friction-fitting fan discs onto the hub, maybe there's an entirely different route that doesn't require force against the shaft? Do I know what that is? Not right now, but maybe I'll have an idea - or maybe someone reading this will.
the new fan is LOUDER than the old model? well damn, no wonder it took them so long to release it, Noctua engineers must have been snapping their sliderules trying to get it to be better and quieter for years!
Maybe ask someone at Noctua to make a metal hub for this fan. Or design one and have pcbway manufacture it for you. Would also probably make a good video.
What makes you think it's to do with cost cutting? Two other factors I can think of are lower rotational mass, and more importantly a more compact hub reduces dead space and allows you to maximise effective blade area.
Although the big metal hub is required in order for me to be happy, it's not just the lower quality hub that's a deal breaker. The frame looks much less premium because of the indentations, not sure why they added those.
@@jankington216 Did Noctua's sign value just plummet... 'cos now they look tacky, lumpy and not like Noctua fans any more : ( :sad face: Although, a bonus they look like a milk chocolate Easter egg when smashed up. I saw a Noctua advocate on UA-cam once break up a selection of competitor fans, just like this, in order to make some point about how fragile the competition was... I just want the human race to understand at some point what kind of delusions, particularly as consumers, they indulge in daily while concerned with concepts such as truth. It's not just the things they buy such as a computer fan. It's that word, sign value, we are obsessed with it over functionality and value.
@@jankington216 official reason is, that the preassure from mounting the fan is deforming the frame enough to cause issues over longer time due to smaller tolerances between the fanblades and the fan. The ribs are to reenforce the frame to prevent that. A bigger gab between fanblade and frame would lower the static preassure of the fan. Plastic does creep under preassure so this might be the truth.
I'm not sure what resources you have make or replicate a metal hub for the a14x25, but if you could and the deminsons match, we could still send in prototypes that might compete with it. That said, even if you can't, it would be cool to see what people can come up with to make a modular setup of their own
Maybe it's a sign, that the 140 showdown needs to have one of those 50 watt monster motors from one of the industrial fan companies. 8,000RPM at 140mm diameter might be a bit taxing on the print quality though...
Soem one with a lathe or mill could cut threads into the outside of the ring. The you could add the threads to the 3d print. A more crude method would be so cut splines into the vertical plane of the ring. THen the opposing splines could be added to a 3d print. That could be done with a file and measured. Really it could all be done with a file and then measured. I'm willing to bet hauchk-tuahs.... sorry, sorry..... Noctuas fan is already keyed in some way. LIke a simple flat pane ground into the top of the shaft. Also would be cool to mess with the magnet. Liek replace the magnetic ring with smaller lighter neodymium magnets. Would have cost Noctua a ton of money and added to the cost of the product. However would be fairly affordable to mod. Just saying I think it's doable, and in theory then some.
I really do think Noctua is more a lifestyle brand more than anything. I dont think they're going after performance anymore even. Thermalright is eating their lunch at 1/3rd the cost, and its not even like Noctua is manufactured all in Germany anymore to explain some of the premium. I just dont think pragmatic people are buying Noctua as a primary choice right now. For this reason, when I bought my silly overkill fans, I went with the Phanteks T30s instead.
@@BeefIngotWhy would an austrian company, that started as a joint venture between another austrian company and a taiwanese cooling specialist, even produce anything in Germany?
@@NormanTheDormantDoormat Bah small details, the point is that they aren't having to pay higher wages anymore and regardless of if I'm off by one country that sentiment remains true: they don't have higher production costs labour wise so there isn't much excuse.
@@BeefIngot well, the liquid crystal polymer is a more expensive plastic, so cost going up with these new gen fans make sense, especially for larger sizes as they release.
Does the magnet ring from the 140mm fan fit around the hub of the smaller fan? If they’re the same diameter, you could try flipping the smaller hub upside down, supergluing the ring to it, and then trimming away any excess metal for a cleaner fit.
The motors look strikingly similar - I wonder if you could measure the output of the motor and compare it to the old A12X25. There's probably a way to "upgrade" the old motor to be like the new model.
It would be nice to make your own version of a reinforced hub and replace the one that you already have destroyed. Maybe try the metal filament that requires heating to melt the remaining plastic, machine one, or use a service that can machine it. It would be a shame to not use this fan.
Use a precision tool and measurements to cut a lot of that frame off so peeps can make fans to fit the adapter? It's not impossible, just need a concensus for what would be best moving forward.
Carefully disassemble the second one, measure the central pin and internal dimensions of the hub, create a 3d model of the hub, and have it printed in metal, preferably something ferrous. give it a spin, as it were. It might have to be a little thicker than the original, but if you're creating a new hub, you can also build in a custom mounting solution for 'modded' parts.
I wonder how difficult it would be to machine a metal hub from a lightweight material like aluminum. The machined hub could house the shaft for the bearing and the magnetic ring. It might make it stronger and allow new fans to be added and removed easily.
Could the 3d printed fan files include the locating pin boss and hub holder for the ring? then it be slide in the ring, insert pin, attach assembly into frame.
It looks to me like you could press the magnetic ring inside an appropriately sized fan impeller body and drop it over the brushless drive system. You didn't go into how or if there is any real attachment at the center that would make that a challenge.
Seems like the standard company profit grab once a reputation is established. Most users won't care or even know it's lower quality, as long as the color scheme is right.
Here me out man... get in cad an see if pcbways can do a sponsorship to machine you a center hub for the fan that will adapt it to work in showdown time!
I'm sure a 3d printable (or machinable) one would work great and a company like pcbway would be eager to sponsor it. And of course that'd mean people who want to participate could either 3d print test parts at home (since they wouldn't have such a huge rotation) or even order them. Great idea
Place Noctua's new fan on the fan showdown and see how it performs! I want to see the #'s compared to its older model
Typically 140mm have less static pressure but higher cfm, but maybe noctua found way around that with this new blade design. Would be interesting to see.
@@xcom9648 Let's test it to find out
He did show the 12 mm and 14 mm data sheets from Noctua side by side so I don't the point. All the numbers are already there.
@@merlinmagnus873 the point of testing is to validate the manufacturer's claims.
Hardware busters has a good review on page and UA-cam, tldr top performer and way better than outdated x12 even considering size and other 14cm think lian li for cfm and price and Corsair for static pressure beat it, g2 x12 should be good.
and through the magic of ... buying two of them,
Hey, i understood this reference
@@the_mister_magister ey. it's cool that you made that connection!
@@kinxslayer4142 it was a very... technological connection
Why not swap fan showdown with the thermaltake 140mm metal hub fan? Give people a little more wiggle room for design and see what shows up :)
Yeah or even try the Thermaltake 140mm Swafan as they are made to swap the blades
thermaltake goated. LTT "hates"them for some reason. thats reason enough for me to like them.
Yeah. This. I made the same suggestion in a comment before seeing your comment. They sell a few different motor speeds as well so it could offer an Arctic replacement at 140mm as well.
@@shaneeslick The Swafans use the "bad" design, no metal hub. The TOUGHFAN 14 is the ideal one for this.
@@turtlefrog369 Thermaltake were known to blatantly copy competitors designs, often from smaller brands. That might be why they are still a bit disliked. This was about ten years ago.
Noctua engineers were sitting in an office somewhere thinking…. How can we defeat the Mighty Major Hardware.
Yep, "these guys are making us work harder by making better designs than us, let's stop them."
You literally had the cross-section printed inside the lid 1:30 that could have told you, without destroying the fan, if the blade is mounted on a metal hub or not.
Huh, I forgot they did that nowadays. Good catch. But yeah you would think a content creator would inspect the item and packaging thoroughly before jumping to conclusions but also he wouldn't have a video if he did see that other than saying "I bought these for x but upon opening it and viewing the diagram it isn't going to happen" barely enough for a short really.
I don't think most of us thought to look either lol
You know, he is not the sharpest tool in the shad
Wouldn't be much content if he just showed us the box.
I cried tears of indescribable sadness when you clipped the blades off that A14... After all the research, engineering, time, and effort that went into building that marvel, I could barely stand to watch it suffer such an ignoble end. Rest in peace, fan.
Been running the same 6 scythe gentle typhoon fans in my computers for nearly 20 years now, they are absolute tanks
The work of the Fan Showdown can continue just as easily with a different fan as its base test bench - the A14X25 is clearly no go, so a 140mm fan with a metal hub by another maker should be substituted - I definitely want to see everything that viewers can come up with for a 140mm fan!
Yep, totally agree!
The Thermalright TLB-14 and TLC-14 seem to have the same Noctua style hub as their A12 clones. Might be worth a go!
Yeah, whys it need to be a Noctua fan anyway?
Most quality fans have just that, not the cheap but overpriced PC modding stuff though.
Just get something in industry standard quality, like Ebm-Papst, Ziehl-Abegg or similar.
Motor hub is roughly the same size on the 120mm to 140mm. Could always take off the motor on the 140 and place the 120 motor off of the A12 on to the 140mm frame.
Yeah. Or, like. Can the metal hub just fit over the stock coils?
kind of defeats the purpose though?
@@alaricpaley6865 Could run in to performance differences as both hubs have different designs.
Magnet positions on the hub, Hub distance away from the coils. Depth of the hub. Pin diameter, Depth of pin.
Easiest way would just be to do a lift and shift of the full assembly from the 120mm to the 140mm.
But considering he's now got a trashed A14 and multiple trashed A12's. Never hurts to try.
@@Daniel_Blake The magnet poles should be the same 4 pole (NSNS) BLDC design, and same strength (ive never come across a different pole configuration in PC fans, and those cheap magnets i dont think spend enough time at any one station in the factories to get special attention optimizing the fields, they just all get plopped in the magnetizer and put back in the assembly line). Supposing they are the same dimension (and ignoring the field shaping effects of the all metal hub vs the ring hub which only has a metal band around the outside) the only difference in drive power would come from the coil windings. So the thing to look at would be the gauge of the wire, and if there is more of it on the 14. If not then its the same motor just in a larger frame (honestly, the most cost effective strategy for any company. Noctua makes their beans in acoustics not in the motor. Dollars to doughnuts its a bog standard motor you can order shipping containers of from made in china dot com).
I want to see large fan showdown. 180mm or 200mm. The extra mass changes the game drastically and it would be really cool to see what scales well at the lower rpms!
200mm is the way to go for quiet
@frank5.3 but they also move a massive Amount of air, typically not good for static pressure with few exceptions. But we could change that!
@@ravenovatechnologies6554 A temperature test for "static pressure" versus pure volume would settle the argument. I think static pressure is over emphasized
@frank5.3 very possible! Only one way to find out.
@@frank5.3 Noctua has a graph with a line for air cooler and another for radiator. You don't have to guess.
Another fan you could use is the Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 140mm Pro PWM, its got the metal hub
Remove the split clip under the label on both models and see if the a12 hub will fit the a14 body
1- Take it to a lathe to remove the blades from the hub and leave it perfect, the same lathe operator can make a metal ring to place around that hub, the metal ring can be a little smaller and you can insert it with a press or you can heat the ring a little to dilate it, then when it reaches its normal temperature and shrink nobody will move it from there.
2.- Ask a lathe operator to make you a new metal hub.
3.- Or you can also talk to Noctua and ask for one with a metal hub, I'm pretty sure that's a viable option.
I think part of the thing with making this amazing is that everyone that can 3d print can participate relatively fast and minimal cost in modifying the fan
The fan already spins, no need for a lathe, just snap the blades off, turn it on and sand it
@@cncgeneral It has nowhere near the necessary torque, unless you want to spend a year sanding it.
@@concinnus you'd need to use a rotary tool but it'd be fine
I'm like, hard disagree, why is the new Noctua in this kind of bearing, but arrange for a small induction heater workstation and melt the pin insertion to swap blades. Skipping the wing clipper (there is perhaps a Noctua wings hot sauce for a sick Nier Hot Ones.)
if you know someone with a machine shop you could probibly have them turn you a cup on the lathe, press the magnetic housing and pin into it and use that. you could add a few more mounting options like tapped screw holes or friction fit. i like to print fans with screw holes and screw them into my bldc motors.
Personally, I just remove the rear sticker, then pop out the little plastic retainer clip with a dental pick (it's like a split washer, but not helical)._
Just be sure if you do that, to take care whilst prying, as it's a "Jesus Clip" and will gladly go flying, never to be found again. 😅
Then to put it back on, I use the pick to press down on it, along with a tiny flathead screwdriver.
I guess you could a design a metal hub and have it fabricated through pcbway or jlcpcb.
I love the Noctua color scheme. Am I alone?
I dig it too bro
@rus1844 it's just us I guess.
I almost died of excitement thinking that this was going to be finally the time that you did 140mm fan showdowns ... one day, one day, I have faith you'll do 140mm's try using the gen 1 140mm to see if that has a solid hub!! I still want a 140mm season!
btw on the a12x25 one you can heat it up and placing something in the middle of the hub you can push the blades off without damaging them
need to be careful with that idea, too much heat will demagnetize the hub
Yeah that sucks, most fans I've looked at are built that way. Thanks for showing some of the options with a full metal hub.
Thermaltake does have a 140mm version of the central metal hub ToughFan though and it was clearly inspired by an earlier prototype of the NF-A14x25. You could use that as a "next season 140mm fan".
I ordered a three pack of Super Flower MEGACOOL 140mm fans for my next build. After seeing a few reviews.. I had to grab some to try for myself. 175 CFM of spinny goodness. Case I'll be building in eventually is the Asus ProArt PA602.
(Kinda wish there were more high rpm/cfm 200mm fans)
What was different than you expected?
I guess we now need the specs for the ThermalTake 140mm fan for future showdowns.
While it is unfortunate for modding, I wonder if shrinking the hub actually helps produce more volume of airflow.
Thought:
New fan showdown requiring a bit more engineering on the part of the designers.
Instead of just a fan that fits over the hub, they include the design of the hub and magnets to go over the motors.
Ok yes, they won’t be able to simply email you the design unless they also ship you a hub and magnets, but it won’t break their bank for people to actually send you the entire assembly.
Then designers can start playing with different magnet placement or types.
Fan modding aside, I wound up buying... Five of these new G2's 😅 Four to deck out my new North XL case and just upgraded my D15S with a 14R G2. Everything is running very well. My temps are good, the system is silent at idle and not very loud at full load. The G2 upgrade on the older D15S dropped my CPU temp 3-4c! I didn't change the fan curve, so it's probably running at a lower speed as a result, too.
For fun, you should try to get your hands on some second-hand server fans such as the Nidec UltraFlow V12C12BS1M3, and try testing out some custom designs on its massive metal hub and higher speed. You'd also have to re-wire the ends to your power distribution unit, as the amps would overpower most regular consumer fan headers, and you might have to make or use a custom PWM controller since they operate at different PWM frequencies. But they are extremely fast and move a ton of air.
The nucleus is the same (in mechanical construction) of the industrial versions (3000 rpm). I have modded one of that industrial by cutting the plastic nucleus with a sharp cutter, meanwhile rotation of the fan (like in a lathe). That way you can 3d print a nucleus and assemble the magnetic part inside and fit the assemble in the plastic center of the fan, achieving a same concept of the "Tank" (12x25). The rest is your channel... Obviously the re balance is critical and not an easy task, but with a a dose of luck ... ;-). My modded fan is working on my PC with a ultra hard fan to push (not 3000 rpm but wit a heavy fan is a pleasant gentle typhoon sound when pc need a lot of cooling) in this years without problems, thanks to the power of the industrial versions motors.
A14x25 G2 is built different.
Thanks for the video and I was so hoping that this could be the new fan of power. :(
Does the fan shaft by chance have a knurled end, like the metal plastic insert "nuts" do?
_If so..._ perhaps you could always design the template so that you reuse the magnet and shaft, having it where everyone designs their can to accommodate that that magnet ring and shaft?
I suspect that superglue in the little shaft "pocket" should be more than sufficient to last the needed asking if time for testing. Then you wouldn't have to have it be melted into place, since it'd pretty much be impossible to have it perfectly aligned at the needed 90°.
I forget what they're called because I never knew what they're called. I think they might be called retention screws. The screws use a small hex key and go through the wall of an object and prevent the object from sliding off the...shaft... retention screws. Remove the plastic on the ring and use retention screws to hold on the mod.
Dang. Thought you were gonna run the new fan through the tests and see where it ends up on the leaderboard
Yup... Me too!
I'm perfectly happy with the Noctua industrial 3000 RPM fans as they've been great PC fans.
I'm sure you could get metal shells made that fit onto the central axle and replace the plastic hub shell. If you need them for your fan showdowns.
You know what I always say: where there's a will there's a way. Instead of friction-fitting fan discs onto the hub, maybe there's an entirely different route that doesn't require force against the shaft? Do I know what that is? Not right now, but maybe I'll have an idea - or maybe someone reading this will.
You could use the metal hub from the A12x25 and the magnet from the A14x25
4:44 No shoutout to the legendary DELTA 80cfm 80mm???
2:15 I know why you are cutting it for, but it hurts.
Did the schematics in the lid not tell you before disassembly?
you should get an ultrasonic knife. I also bet glass fiber filament will improve a lot of printed fans' quality due to its increased stiffness
the new fan is LOUDER than the old model? well damn, no wonder it took them so long to release it, Noctua engineers must have been snapping their sliderules trying to get it to be better and quieter for years!
It looks simple enough to machine or even metal print (I'd machine) a metal hub to replace the plastic bits then you have a platform to work with.
Maybe ask someone at Noctua to make a metal hub for this fan. Or design one and have pcbway manufacture it for you. Would also probably make a good video.
You can custom mill a metal hub using aluminum and use that for fan showdown
i am about to take out a bank loan to upgrade my pc such a good time for this to drop
This sort of cost-cutting seems inexcusable for the prices Noctua charges.
What makes you think it's to do with cost cutting? Two other factors I can think of are lower rotational mass, and more importantly a more compact hub reduces dead space and allows you to maximise effective blade area.
Although the big metal hub is required in order for me to be happy, it's not just the lower quality hub that's a deal breaker. The frame looks much less premium because of the indentations, not sure why they added those.
@@jankington216 Did Noctua's sign value just plummet... 'cos now they look tacky, lumpy and not like Noctua fans any more : (
:sad face:
Although, a bonus they look like a milk chocolate Easter egg when smashed up.
I saw a Noctua advocate on UA-cam once break up a selection of competitor fans, just like this, in order to make some point about how fragile the competition was... I just want the human race to understand at some point what kind of delusions, particularly as consumers, they indulge in daily while concerned with concepts such as truth. It's not just the things they buy such as a computer fan.
It's that word, sign value, we are obsessed with it over functionality and value.
@@jankington216 official reason is, that the preassure from mounting the fan is deforming the frame enough to cause issues over longer time due to smaller tolerances between the fanblades and the fan. The ribs are to reenforce the frame to prevent that. A bigger gab between fanblade and frame would lower the static preassure of the fan.
Plastic does creep under preassure so this might be the truth.
I'm not sure what resources you have make or replicate a metal hub for the a14x25, but if you could and the deminsons match, we could still send in prototypes that might compete with it. That said, even if you can't, it would be cool to see what people can come up with to make a modular setup of their own
You can design a metal hub and have someone like JLC3DP manufacture it out of metal for you. They're quite cheap!
Make your own metal hub!
Maybe it's a sign, that the 140 showdown needs to have one of those 50 watt monster motors from one of the industrial fan companies.
8,000RPM at 140mm diameter might be a bit taxing on the print quality though...
I wonder if you could use the metal hub from the Thermaltake Toughfan EX14 Pro fan & put it on the A14x25 fan you took apart? 😊
Soem one with a lathe or mill could cut threads into the outside of the ring. The you could add the threads to the 3d print. A more crude method would be so cut splines into the vertical plane of the ring. THen the opposing splines could be added to a 3d print. That could be done with a file and measured. Really it could all be done with a file and then measured. I'm willing to bet hauchk-tuahs.... sorry, sorry..... Noctuas fan is already keyed in some way. LIke a simple flat pane ground into the top of the shaft.
Also would be cool to mess with the magnet. Liek replace the magnetic ring with smaller lighter neodymium magnets. Would have cost Noctua a ton of money and added to the cost of the product. However would be fairly affordable to mod.
Just saying I think it's doable, and in theory then some.
Try printing the whole hub/fan in plastic with the ring insert, insert the axil and off you go.
Its obvious Noctua is trying to lower their BOM costs but not pass those savings onto the consumer.
I really do think Noctua is more a lifestyle brand more than anything. I dont think they're going after performance anymore even. Thermalright is eating their lunch at 1/3rd the cost, and its not even like Noctua is manufactured all in Germany anymore to explain some of the premium.
I just dont think pragmatic people are buying Noctua as a primary choice right now. For this reason, when I bought my silly overkill fans, I went with the Phanteks T30s instead.
@@BeefIngotWhy would an austrian company, that started as a joint venture between another austrian company and a taiwanese cooling specialist, even produce anything in Germany?
@@NormanTheDormantDoormat Bah small details, the point is that they aren't having to pay higher wages anymore and regardless of if I'm off by one country that sentiment remains true: they don't have higher production costs labour wise so there isn't much excuse.
@@BeefIngot well, the liquid crystal polymer is a more expensive plastic, so cost going up with these new gen fans make sense, especially for larger sizes as they release.
@@BeefIngot Yeah, they charge 15€ for two pieces of plastic, the new 5mm spacer frames. It should be 3€ at best.
If you want to use the a14, just have someone to make you a metal cover with that pin în the middle. There are metal printer too
You probably have a few machinists that follow you that would make you a metal hub for the A14 if you asked them to reach out to you.
Does the magnet ring from the 140mm fan fit around the hub of the smaller fan? If they’re the same diameter, you could try flipping the smaller hub upside down, supergluing the ring to it, and then trimming away any excess metal for a cleaner fit.
What about inserting the magnet ring and the pin into the 3D printed designs, effectively making them part of the fan instead of them being add-ons?
I like the noctua color
I used to think they looked so ugly in that color but I like it nowadays it's iconic
I think a computer full of beige and brown fans looks great.
The motors look strikingly similar - I wonder if you could measure the output of the motor and compare it to the old A12X25. There's probably a way to "upgrade" the old motor to be like the new model.
Opportunity for Noctua to supply a custom metal hub A25 option for fan showdown given this probably one of their biggest unpaid advertisers.
It would be nice to make your own version of a reinforced hub and replace the one that you already have destroyed. Maybe try the metal filament that requires heating to melt the remaining plastic, machine one, or use a service that can machine it. It would be a shame to not use this fan.
I'm still supruised Noctua hasn't cut you a deal to give the winner a few fans or supply you with a few extras.
Use a precision tool and measurements to cut a lot of that frame off so peeps can make fans to fit the adapter?
It's not impossible, just need a concensus for what would be best moving forward.
At this high price level would be nice to have that metal casing.
Curious as to the mass difference between the "cap" and "ring" styles.
Tinfoil hat theory: Noctua saw the fan showdown, and changed the hub design to make modding more difficult on the A14 model
Carefully disassemble the second one, measure the central pin and internal dimensions of the hub, create a 3d model of the hub, and have it printed in metal, preferably something ferrous. give it a spin, as it were. It might have to be a little thicker than the original, but if you're creating a new hub, you can also build in a custom mounting solution for 'modded' parts.
my thoughts exactly
I wonder how difficult it would be to machine a metal hub from a lightweight material like aluminum. The machined hub could house the shaft for the bearing and the magnetic ring. It might make it stronger and allow new fans to be added and removed easily.
How about getting a server fan for the fan showdown? (Like, maximum performance is what matters)
I bought a toughfan 12 pro. And let me say. It moves air. A LOT of air. But it's not the quietest.
It's a good day when you drop us a new vid
i cant wait for the toctua fans to come out
Could the 3d printed fan files include the locating pin boss and hub holder for the ring? then it be slide in the ring, insert pin, attach assembly into frame.
I bet that if you reached out to noctua, they would send you something that makes it modable for the show.
I wonder if the superflower megacool 120mm fan has a metal hub
It looks to me like you could press the magnetic ring inside an appropriately sized fan impeller body and drop it over the brushless drive system. You didn't go into how or if there is any real attachment at the center that would make that a challenge.
Can you try to 3d print the G2 blade design and use it on the old a12x25 to see its performance
What about the number 1 price to performance, the Arctic P series? I think the P14 would give a great platform to build on, and so would the P12 Max
Can't you place metal bell with its magnet from a smaller version over bigger one? Maybe same (size) motor?
I swear, you don't have to cut the blades off to get it off, just split the plastic around the hub.
3d print a hub you can use and adapt some famous fans for it! - please.
how do you have the ifixit soldering kit already? its in preorder still.
Stirling pulse cooler hubs or edge-driven, yo!
So, if you can pull the metal hub from a 120mm fan, and pull the center pin from that 140mm fan, does the metal hub from 120mm fit into the 140mm?
Assuming the fan hub is the same diameter. why not put the A12x25 motor hub on the new fan? could be interesting to see if it even works
Could you just take the hub from the 120mm fan and move it to the 140mm fan chassis?
Can you switch the whole motor assembly over?
Seems like the standard company profit grab once a reputation is established. Most users won't care or even know it's lower quality, as long as the color scheme is right.
Here me out man... get in cad an see if pcbways can do a sponsorship to machine you a center hub for the fan that will adapt it to work in showdown time!
Maybe design a new 3D printable hub where you could insert the shaft and the magnet? 🧠
once you pull the shaft out, the bearing is ruined
I'm sure a 3d printable (or machinable) one would work great and a company like pcbway would be eager to sponsor it.
And of course that'd mean people who want to participate could either 3d print test parts at home (since they wouldn't have such a huge rotation) or even order them.
Great idea
Can't you transpl the metal disc, or the whole magnet housing, onto the new fan?
Maybe design a new hub and have a 3rd party 3d print or CNC it out of metal?
Can you put an a12x25's hub onto a a14? Maybe it would require some small washers or shims to get to fit right.
Does the A12x25 hub fit over the motor stator of the A14x25?
could you possibly take the metal hub ans pin off an A12 X 25 and put in onto the A14 X 25? as the internals look like them might be identical
Sand the second, I have broken a few fan blades in my time so could be useful to breath new life into old 140s