I sometimes wonder whether they have an culture that overengineers tbh.

The thoroughness & mindset is certainly appreciated, but you can also overdo it - engineer it beyond what the consumers use case requires.

Where do you draw the line though? They have an amazing reputation for quality fan products, they clearly feel it needs a new injection mould which aren't cheap investments.

I've got a Noctua NHD14 in my current build that I bought in 2011 and it performs perfectly still (including 2 free socket upgrades from Noctua).

> engineer it beyond what the consumers use case requires

This mindset I think is why companies tend to favor releasing slightly broken and shit stuff, instead of waiting until they feel like they made something the best it could.

While I don't think they do, I think this is a valid thing to ponder and I'm sorry it's getting downvoted.

Generally, I think it's not overengineering that's the issue, it's how the consumer need for that particular level of quality/performance is marketed to the wrong audience. Cars are the classic example. Most people who drive a car that was precision engineered for speed or offroading capability rarely if ever need that functionality.

That said, in a world of consumer good racing to the bottom and physical enshittification, I'll generally pick the item that's obviously well designed, even if beyond the capabilities I need. The alternative is often a slew of indistinguishable crap.