I think what you've seen is this[1] article at extremetech.com or may be the HN post[2] inspired by that article. Both are quite interesting to read (article provided some original research in PDF, HN discussion provided some comments from the fan engineers).
Besides your question about failure rate, I'm also wondering if such a massive thing going at 2000 rpm becomes a dangerous neighbor to other stuff on the motherboard (especially in the case of failure) and to the motherboard itself. I figure the vibration this kind of fan generates may be rather noticeable.
Besides your question about failure rate, I'm also wondering if such a massive thing going at 2000 rpm becomes a dangerous neighbor to other stuff on the motherboard (especially in the case of failure) and to the motherboard itself. I figure the vibration this kind of fan generates may be rather noticeable.
[1] http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/89710-the-fanless-spinnin... [2] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2754725