Help with finding the right cooler

[Kazera]

Hey everyone, new here, and just wanted to get some help with figuring out what would be the best CPU cooler for my setup.

 

My CPU is AMD FX-8120 @ 3.1Ghz (Zambezi) and I want to start overclocking it for the first time -- but I want to get an aftermarket air cooler before doing so.

 

I'm taking case room into consideration -- it's the main thing that I am concerned about. My current case is the NZXT Guardian 921. It has a side fan on the case window, and some people have stated that some air coolers will require the removal of the side fan entirely. I wanted to poke around and see if there were any coolers I might be able to fit in there without removing the side fan -or- if it would really even hurt to take that side fan out.

 

The main recommendation I've gotten is the Noctua D14, but that thing is huge! I have verified that it would fit in this case but I don't know if it could without the window fan being removed. Does anyone have any other suggestions for coolers that would be compatible with my CPU and fit in this case?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Also, further details if needed:

 

RAM has no heatsinks to get in the way -- 2x 4GB sticks

Motherboard is Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 -- AMD 970
 

 

 

[d6bmg]

~2 years ago when I built one of my friend's rig, I had verified that D14 won't fir inside Guardian 921.
But coolers like hyper 212 evo will just fit in without removing the side panel.

[Locutus]

The 212 evo is also a lot cheaper and has almost the same cooling capacity as most high-end coolers.

[Black64]

The 212 EVO is a great cooler, also you could a closed loop water cooler, almost any of the Corsair ones will do just fine.

[d6bmg]

The 212 EVO is a great cooler, also you could a closed loop water cooler, almost any of the Corsair ones will do just fine.

 

Talking about closed loop cooler, only coolers having 120mm radiator would fit in that chassis.