My rig currently consists of a delidded and copper IHS’ed 8700k mounted in a Fractal Design Node 304 underneath a Noctua NH-U12S cooler paired with a 970 STRIX… My question is… what case fans would cool this best?
corsair ml120 they should be fine for your needs for your pc.
One small question… The Node 304 has room for 1x 140mm and 2x 92mm fans… So surely getting a 140mm fan for the rear would be more optimal right?
its should be
The included fans should be enough.
they are… kind of… i would really like to see temps drop by a few degrees if possible though… hence why i am asking which fans would provide me with the biggest upgrade in terms of cooling capability…
The most cost effective move would be to replace the Fractal Design 140 mm fan with something that has a maximum speed significantly above its 1000 RPM. Something like the Noctua NF-A14 PWM would be a nice choice. Regulate it through the motherboard so that it doesn’t go all the way to its maximum 1500 RPM too often, as that will be quite noisy.
Personally though, I would begin with using tin snips to cut away the rear fan grill. (the metal is not too tough to cut) With the exception of nosy pets I think these restrict the air flow far more than necessary. See picture below.
