I pity those who work in the marketing department of PC component manufactuers. They have to tough job of trying to make products such as fans and heatsinks sexy. Every year there are new boasts about how new product X is better than generic product Y, when in fact there really isn’t much of a difference at all.
A new Japanese company called Zaward has come out with a new cooling fan for PC systems which claims to reduce noise by 15% when compared to other fans at the same speed. Zaward claims that this is due to the implementation of dimples on the fan blades which are similar to those appearing on golf balls.
Any analytical mind scoff at this idea, as dimples such as these would increase turbulance, which would result in a noisier fan. The principle of dimples on golf balls are actually designed to increase turbulance, but reduces turbulance seperation IN A SPHERE. Reduced seperation aids in higher lift for the golf ball, which makes it drive further. As a matter of fact, golf balls could become more efficient if the dimples were hexagonal. It’s science. Look it up.
The difference in turbulance between a regular sphere and dimpled sphere
Fact: Additional surface roughness increases turbulance. Good for the aerodynamics of a sphere. Bad for practically everything else, as increased turbulance also results in increased noise.
Needless to say I have some reservations about the marketing claims of this fan. Here are the Features and Specifications.
Features
On the next page we look at what you get… |
