*EDIT Feb. 28. 2021*
After 1.5 years I have to send the Cintiq to Wacom for the second time because of pixel-failure-patches!
Yes you read that right! I was a Wacom enthusiast for more than 8 years and I would not have said anything if the replacement from the first RMA would work fine - but after 4 months the same thing happened.
I'm at a point that I can no longer recommend Wacom Cintiq Products to anyone. You can read a more in-depth rant here: https://www.shorturl.at/ilst3 (about 5min. read).
*Edit End*
After around 4 years of working nicely, my 27" QHD showed some signs of aging.
Mostly starting up showed green bands or a red edge which went away after 10 -15 minutes but that happens generally when the LCD Panel gets old.
With some savings for a new tablet I decided for the Cintiq Pro 32" Model.
There are many reasons on the pro side to do so, my reasons are listed below:
Screen Real Estate
Another source of noise are the top venting holes / slits. I found that covering the middle part with isolation tape cuts around 40% of the remaining noise.
Mostly starting up showed green bands or a red edge which went away after 10 -15 minutes but that happens generally when the LCD Panel gets old.
With some savings for a new tablet I decided for the Cintiq Pro 32" Model.
There are many reasons on the pro side to do so, my reasons are listed below:
- More screen real-estate for references
- More references because of 4k-resolution
- Easier on the eyes because of 4k resolution
These were my main intentions and on that front it did deliver, really.
There are many more such as no parallax and less lag as also better dpi and pressure sensitivity with the Pro-Pen 2.
I did not expect the latter to do much, but I was wrong on that end; the Pro Pen 2 is THAT much better and it is nice when the cursor does not move off when moving towards the edge of the display.
Screen Real Estate
Below is a Screen-shot of my current layout for working with references, there is even space for a Netflix window and the Pure-ref window can be open all the time besides a small finder window!
Where light is there is shadow
The downside and Cons I knew about upfront were:
- It is pricey
- There is no model without touch
- The Pro series have noisy fans
Actually the price was not an issue for me, the lack of a no-touch option was a bummer because I don't use touch. I have my keyboard placed on top of the tablet and putting my arms on the tablet for writing just irritates the input device so it becomes useless.
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| Still using the Cintweak Keyboard tray - more about that here |
The fan noise was something I had to see how bad it actually is.
In the worst case i would be doomed to wear headphones with music all day ;)
There is some wrong info out there that states it is a firmware update available, which is fake news and only available for the 24" models. The 32" Model does not has an option to lower fan speeds.
The automatic fan speed works pretty good so I don't bother about that one.
In my case the tablet runs at 75% brightness and without anything the fan starts at around 30-40 minutes of work.
What I have observed is that the screen also adapts to brightness, so opening a white sheet of paper in Photoshop brightens the screen up to 100% and it does take 5 minutes for the fans to start moving louder. Having just a grey UI and otherwise dark background on the tablet keeps the fans off for up to 45 minutes depending on the temperatures in your room.
My personal solution
I went with a solution that is nearly silent and keeps the fans very low for about as many hours as I was able to count yet.
As a general info here; it is not possible to keep the fans completely off, but with the following tips, and understanding, it is possible to keep the tablet as silent as a very silent external hdd-drive which is very OK for me and I'm a zen-silence-enthusiast at work.
As a general info here; it is not possible to keep the fans completely off, but with the following tips, and understanding, it is possible to keep the tablet as silent as a very silent external hdd-drive which is very OK for me and I'm a zen-silence-enthusiast at work.
So what I did to keep the internal fans off very low is to put 2 x Noctua NF-A12x15's with a fan control under the tablet that keeps two external fans running silently at around 400 rpm.
I also tried a usb fan with 3 step control such as this combo, but of course it was not as silent and the fans don't quit if the computer goes into Standby mode, which makes this solution just not better than the Noctua-fan-control thing...
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| The Noctua Fan-Control in action |
I also tried a usb fan with 3 step control such as this combo, but of course it was not as silent and the fans don't quit if the computer goes into Standby mode, which makes this solution just not better than the Noctua-fan-control thing...
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| Dual USB combo |
When setting up the Cintiq Pro 32" model, you will notice that the bottom caps can be removed easily. Beneath them are the intake fans, you can keep these covers off for better ventilation or just the middle cover, whatever you prefer.
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| I taped the above venting slit in the middle which caused the main noise |
I added cardboard with foam underneath to cut the other noise from venting out. Heck, it is even possible to hear the fans from the USB ports on the right side, but I suspect these to be responsible for only 5% of fan noise.
Basically the internal cooling system of the Cintiq Pro model works like this: Cold air will be pulled in from the bottom and the warm air is going to move out at the top.
In order to keep the tablet cooler you have to move it away from the edge of the table. If you use an Ergostand this is the regular mode. It is designed with the Ergostand in mind which will always keep the tablet around 10cm from the edge of the table.
If you are like many and don't want to shell out another 350 bucks it is recommended that you still don't put the tablet at the edge like the image at the beginng of the article, that was done before I learned this ;)
The unit generates a lot of heat down there and it can't vent away. Adding some additional silent fans down there keeps the internal fans slow at any given time.
You know that the ventilation works right when the surface stays cold. If the surface becomes warm it is still not circulating right.
Of course it would be nice to have the external fans be connected with the Cintiq via USB so they shut down when the tablet goes into sleep-mode, but moving the knob to shut off the fans when done working is not the hardest thing to do.
I'm on the hunt for a better solution that shuts the fans down when the Computer goes into Standby mode. If I have some news on that front, you will find it up here.
Now when the Cintiq fan kicks in, the meter clocks in at about 58 db WHICH IS noticeable:
As with the old one, I prefer having the glass plate on top as mounting a protection-foil on such a big screen is doomed to fail.
Touch won't work with the glass plate, but since I don't utilize touch it is not a problem for me. The glass plate saves pen nibs galore.
In 4 years with the Cintiq 27 QHD, I never changed a nib!
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| The top is revetted with cardboard so that the air stream is turned downward, this also turns down the noise ratio |
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| Wacom Ergostand |
If you are like many and don't want to shell out another 350 bucks it is recommended that you still don't put the tablet at the edge like the image at the beginng of the article, that was done before I learned this ;)
The unit generates a lot of heat down there and it can't vent away. Adding some additional silent fans down there keeps the internal fans slow at any given time.
You know that the ventilation works right when the surface stays cold. If the surface becomes warm it is still not circulating right.
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| The schematic view shows better what to do and why to do it. |
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| The actual view of the enhancement |
Of course it would be nice to have the external fans be connected with the Cintiq via USB so they shut down when the tablet goes into sleep-mode, but moving the knob to shut off the fans when done working is not the hardest thing to do.
I'm on the hunt for a better solution that shuts the fans down when the Computer goes into Standby mode. If I have some news on that front, you will find it up here.
With a price tag of another 100 bucks just for the external fans that is an expensive solution I know, but when talking about a 3.5k tablet a bit more or less does not make a big difference in my book.
Enjoy the Silence
Here is a recording with the Noctua fans running:
The Room silence is about 30 db in any casual room, so 35 db is not even noticeable.
Now when the Cintiq fan kicks in, the meter clocks in at about 58 db WHICH IS noticeable:
The Surface
Of course the surface is nice, feels natural and is quite good out of the box, but even Wacom suggests to clean the nibs to prevent scratches, which means the glass surface is not so much made of glass after all. I tried a foil and a glass-plate (as with the 27QHD and found none of these suitable so I worked directly on the surface for the last 10 months. To my surprise there are no scratches so far!
Even with the slightly rougher surface of the bigger Cintiq, I still work with the first nib!
Another advantage of the glass-plate is that it distributes the temperature away from the center of the tablet, just to a certain degree, but even without the Noctua-Fans, the internal fans set in later than without the glass-plate.
A nice thing is that there is still some space left and right to put stuff on there such as the EK-Remote that I wanted to start using more frequently.
The Qi- charger on top is a nice add-on to charge the phone while lying around ;)
But there is also a downside for having so much room on the tablet:
Since I use another keyboard for working in Photoshop I had to put some foam-pads on the edges because having the arm rest there, led to marks on the skin when using for quite some time.
One nice side-effect of having the Noctua-Fans running under the tablet; The resulting ventilation leads to some lower iMac temps too!
Usually in summer the meter runs between 65° up to 69° where the internal iMac fan starts to set in, that nearly does not happen anymore now and it runs smoothly between 53° - 62°.
Don't move!
Now you could argue that you need the Ergotron arm or the Ergo-Stand and this solution does not work for it...
Let me tell you: I have worked 4 years with the 27QHD and believe me, I was happy not having to move this thing once.
I use the self printed stairs (picture above) which I made available here if you have a 3d-printer for different heights and once the perfect height is reached it becomes a painting/drawing table that I do not need to move anymore.
That said, I have to admit that I use an electric standing-desk, that is a must have when considering such a big Cintiq anyways.
Conclusion
Actually a pricey gimmick and for someone who does not need it and has already a 27 QHD, I'd say stick with it. If you are like me and need the Screen-Real-Estate and work with large paintings, and work with apps that support the Pro-Pen 2's level of pressure sensitivity, it is a worthwhile investment.
I suspect that Wacom does not have anything new to offer until at least 2021 for the pricier units, and the smaller 24" unit has the same issue with the fans as the big one - that are some facts to consider and so far there is no one else who delivers such a big tablet for artists yet as an alternative.
To Wacom: When making a new tablet, consider the Form-Factor to be not much larger than the 27 QHD was, because that was perfect. I would also be happy with just 30" screen and a smaller frame around the edges and more than 4k is not even necessary so that would be a win on all ends. And perhaps if a fan is necessary, please make circulation or venting holes in the back to make use of external cooler boards or DIY-solutions.
An aluminium back could also help to distribute heat away from the center.
If you have ideas or created some solutions, let me know in a comment.
Does the back fully open giving you access to the fans? If so, I bet you can replace them with magnetic, baring-less versions that significantly reduce the noise output. I am a big fan of quiet PC fans myself (heh).
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the great new setup!
@Anthony Pacheco, thanks for your comment!
ReplyDeleteOf course there might be an option to exchange the standard internal fans with some better Noctua fans for example, but for the next 12 months, I want to stay within the warranty. After that time has passed I might open the case and see what is possible. On the other hand, this external fixing has done so much it has become very acceptable ;)
What about 24" Pro 4k Cintiq non touch with 32" 4k monitor?
ReplyDeleteIs that not a better bang for $ combination?
Thanks
@Anonymous, thanks for the comment; it depends on what you are going for. In my case I wanted more screen real-estate. I wanted to be able to access everything painting related on one screen - like one big drawing table to be more efficient. So the secondary screen is just for different tasks in my case. If your workflow looks different, that might be a valid question, it all boils down to what your routine looks like. I have changed my routine over the past decade, but if I would not have invested in different tablets, my routine would most likely have evolved around roadblocks, not about workplace ergonomy and efficiency.
ReplyDeleteHi , Thanks for your review. I’ve used a XP-Pen Artist 15.6 Pro https://www.xp-pen.com/product/65.html 16" for some years now, and have often fancied a bigger screen Wacom Cintiq . the cintiq 32 seems to be the answer to my fancy. can you offer any comment as to how much of an upgrade the cintiq 32 is over the Artist 15.6 Pro .
ReplyDelete@Steven
ReplyDeletewelcome! It would need another review about the tablet, which this article isn't - it is just about a known issue with the tablet. But to put it into a sentence that fits into this comment, the upgrade is similar to changing from a small drawing space in your bedroom closet to a full fledged drawing table. I guess that comparison is valid from price-tag as well as the feeling;)
I hope this helps.
Hello! Thank you for the wonderful review! I was wondering if you plan (or if you could) review the new XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro https://www.xp-pen.com/product/602.html tablet? I was leaning towards the XP-Pen 24" , and it looks very promising . So if you could, I would really apperciate if you compared the two .
ReplyDeleteHi @Zhaohua thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteThat looks really promising indeed, however, I don't do reviews for a living and I don't get them to test as other bloggers do.
If XP-Pen would sends me one, I'd definitely would do the comparison.
I commend you for working on a solution to this problem. If I understand correctly, you have two fans blowing up under the bottom of the cintiq and the purpose of this is to remove warm air trapped between the cintiq and the desk? (and perhaps help add a bit more air to the lower intakes?) Does the cintiq get hot underneath or is the heat mostly radiated through the screen?
ReplyDelete@Jim thanks for the comment. Yes it is actually to help the internal fans to get more air-intake in general. The internal ones have not that much power and become louder over time, using silent fans, helps that the internal ones kick in later. On hot summerdays it will help the most but then you can't prevent the internal ones to jump in anyways. On regular days it is possible to keep them off for as much as 4-6 hours with the use of the external ones or even completely at a low volume.
ReplyDeleteAh thanks. I'm interested because I just built a quiet pc and had to rig up something similar inside the case to prevent the motherboard chipset fan from activating. Those kind of small, sideways fans are very inefficient and spin at high rpm making a lot of noise, so I suspended a 150mm "be quiet" fan to blow on that area so the chipset fan never comes on. It works great but in a pc you can set nice custom fan curves to control temp vs noise everywhere. I tried both of the Cintiq pros (32 and 24) they are both great but the fan noise is too much for me to listen to all day long but maybe with your solution I might consider one again.
ReplyDeleteDid you take it apart now? Did someone come up with a custom PWM Protocol? There got to be a way to Manually adjust these fans. Since they are Controlled via the Wacom Drivers.
ReplyDeleteBTW I used sound Proof Foam and covered the TOP it helps, but yeah I'd wish for a better solution. I am out of Warranty, but there is no Video showing how to take it apart :( I think even Putting better quality fans inside would solved the problem. Wacom put crappy fans inside the cintiq IMO..
Ty.
To Anonymous from 1/32/2021:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, I have not taken it apart yet because I have still warranty and am in the process of returning the Tablet to Wacom for repair the second time around because of Pixel-failure patches.
I also don't want to deal with Wacom products if I don't have to, you can read my reasons over here: shorturl.at/ilst3