Will I have a good case and fan set-up?

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25 Sep 2018
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Hello all,

I am thinking of having this build as my first proper gaming rig:

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-D15S 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z370-F GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
GPU: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Superclocked Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive & Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
PSU: Corsair - RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case
Fans: Noctua - NF-A14 industrialPPC-3000 PWM 158.5 CFM 140mm Fan (x4) & Noctua - NF-S12A PWM chromax.black.swap 63.3 CFM 120mm Fan (x2).
Wireless Network Adaptor: Asus - PCE-AC68 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter

What do you all think of my case and fan set-up? Should it keep everything at a reasonable temperature? I've seen good reviews for the NH-D15S and the NF-A14 fans, as well as for the Fractal Meshify case. I have also heard that you can have too many fans, because if there are too many dust can also enter when it shouldn't. Could this be an issue with my set-up? Thanks!

Here is my case:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/frac...se-black-tempered-glass-window-ca-07f-fd.html
And here are my fans:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/noct...-high-performance-fan-fg-027-nc.html#comments
 
I was thinking of having two 140mm at the front, two 140mm at the top, one 120mm at the bottom and one 120mm at the back. Sorry, I should have included that in my original post. Sound shouldn't be an issue as I use a headset now and cost isn't a massive issue either, as I'm trying to future-proof my PC so I can just upgrade my GPU or CPU in the future without having to buy a load of other things as well.

Air flow is something I don't understand properly. I thought the front and bottom fans would draw air in, and the top and rear fans would expel it. Have I misunderstood air flow?
 
Ah okay, I understand now. It makes sense now why I would only want three fans instead of six. I guess because I'm a noob at building I presumed more fans is better, but I can see otherwise now. So I will have two 140mm fans at the front, and one 120mm fan at the rear. These three fans, plus my CPU fan, should give me great air flow I take it? And what about the case itself? I've heard good things about the case.
 
Great news! I will probably be getting someone else to actually build my P.C. as I have no building experience at all and I really don't want to risk me doing anything stupid to damage anything. I too am not really fussed about looks because I can't see my P.C. from where I sit as it's under a desk. Could you recommend any fans? Since I'm only getting three I don't mind spending a little bit more on them. You've said the industrial Noctua's are good; what 120mm fan would you recommend?
 
Here's a picture of where my current P.C. is and where my new one will also go:
mmDpCU
 
Yeah. I've only just finished studying so I'm living with my parents until I have enough money to move out, in case my current set-up looks a bit amateurish. Thanks for your help, by the way. It's made things make much more sense to me, and saved me around £50 to boot!
 
Hah, actually it's in my bedroom. I think my current fans are quite noisy anyway, so I don't think it'll be an issue. At the moment I have two 80mm fans and three 120mm fans which came with my Zalman Z11 Plus case. From what I've heard the 80mm fans are some of the noisiest around, so I imagine even the 3000RPM 140mm fans can't be that much louder.
 
Okay then. If I were to go with quieter 140mm fans, what would you recommend? I quite like the Noctua's, but the more I think about it, the more I realise just how loud they will be. You mentioned the Phanteks.
 
Yeah, I might go for them instead. Again, I think because of my inexperience I went completely overboard with the fans I had originally selected. Do you know if I might run into any temperature issues if I overclocked my i7?
 
The TY fans look good, but their higher dB(A) rating is around 45, so I could go for the industrial Noctua’s at that dB level. If I get good temperatures with the two 140mm Phanteks I’ll probably just go with those. Does anyone have any recommendations for the rear 120mm fan?
 
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I’m pretty much set on the PH 140mm fans. They seem a pretty good bargain, as I would have expected them to cost a bit more than they do. Would you also suggest the PHF120MP fan for my rear fan?
 
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Ah okay. Upgrading the motherboard in future doesn’t seem too bad. I should have said that I already have the Corsair PSU and the GTX 1080. I upgraded those and my case to a Zalman Z11 Plus a few months ago. I’m thinking of upgrading everything else, as well as getting a better case with the Fractal Meshify.
 
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My Zalman Z11 has three 120mm fans and two 80mm fans. There is one 80mm fan on each side, one 120mm fan at the front, one 120mm on top, and one 120mm fan at the rear. They are the fans which came with the case.
 
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