Last month, a redditor alleged that Noctua fans varied in build quality depending on their country of manufacture. According to Kendalf, Noctua NF-A14 PWM fans built in China are noticeably inferior to those made in Taiwan. However, in-depth tests of these fans by Gamer Nexus suggests the criticism is unwarranted.
In their initial reddit post, Kendalf reported the following “noted differences” between Noctua fans made in China and Taiwan:
Noctua responded to the above claims. According to Kendalf, Noctua said “the differences are within their manufacturing tolerances and do not affect performance.”
Kendalf’s report caused quite a stir. However, their allegations remained purely anecdotal. Thankfully, Steven Burke of Gamer Nexus decided to put Kendalf’s claims to the test. Specifically, Burke aimed to determine whether these cosmetic differences affected performance:
As you can see from the slides above, there is little discernable difference between fans made in China and those made in Taiwan. Any cosmetic distinctions between the two are just that: cosmetic.
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