Pretty much. In a typical motherboard, the fan controller is linked to temperature monitoring and the duty cycle is changed in correlation with another variable, generally CPU temperature. The PWM control method actually doesn’t require the monitoring of fan speed at all, but it’s included for informational and safety purposes.

I wasn’t being a dick for no reason - I was being a dick because I thought THEY were being a passive aggressive dick, much like how you assumed I was “gatekeeping knowledge to feel superior”. Bad assumptions all around here.

I assumed they were suggesting PWM will cause an inherently slower spinning fan to spin at any RPM regardless of model, which is actually a response some Noctua diehards have used in the past when I point out what Noctua is omitting when they advertise their fans as being so much quieter.

Regardless, I apologized for my bad assumption and subsequent response. It was out of line, especially given the actual meaning and intent of the comment.

So sorry! I mistakenly assumed you were amongst the “downvoting for sharing information they don’t like” crowd that hit my original comment, so I read your comment as being passive aggressive. My response wasn’t any better than what I assumed BUT mine was entirely intentionally, so I was absolutely the one in the wrong. I apologize.

I assumed your response meant “PWM will spin up the fan to equal RPMs regardless of model”, which is actually pretty similar to what some Nortua diehards have claimed on Reddit when I’ve criticized Noctua fans in the past.

The other commenter has the right of how PWM works. Since it only modulates the frequency and therefore duration of on/off cycles, if one fan spins at a max of 6000 RPM while a Noctua equivalent tops out at 4500, PWM will only be able to modulate to speeds below that maximum.

If you’re going to infer someone is stupid because you disagree with them, at least have the decency to explain how they’re wrong.

BTW, the username is 100% bait: a certain fraction of social media users tend to make that “hurr hurr, username sure checks out” comment, letting me know the person making said comment likely isn’t worth taking seriously.

Tell me you don’t understand how PWM works without telling me you don’t understand how PWM works.

I’m an electrical engineer so I’m really looking forward to the responses to this.

You may know this already. The reason Noctua fans are so much quieter is because they spin more slowly and blow less air, so even low priced, entry level fans are more effective. They literally sell a lower performing, if well engineered, fan for a premium price mostly because of hype and brand recognition.