Fractal Design Node 804 vs Lian Li LANCOOL 205computed

Datasheet figures next to each other, and the airflow balance, pressure verdict and case air heating that the fans in each box compute to behind that case's own front. Calculated with the CaseFlow model, not measured.

Side by side

Fractal Design Node 804Lian Li LANCOOL 205
FormMicro ATXATX mid tower
Volume41.1 L41.3 L
Dimensions389 × 344 × 307 mm415 × 205 × 485 mm
Frontsolid solid or glass frontsolid solid or glass front
Fan mountsfront 4 × 120, top 4 × 120/140, rear 2 × 120/140front 3 × 120/140, top 2 × 120/140, rear 1 × 120
Radiator supportfront 240 mm, top 240 mm, rear 140 mmfront 280 mm, top 280 mm
Dust filtersfront, top, bottomfront, top, bottom
GPU length320 mm350 mm
Cooler height160 mm160 mm
Stock fans2 × Fractal Design Silent Series R2 (rear)1 × stock fan (front), 1 × stock fan (rear)
Stock airflow, max rpm––
Stock pressure verdictstock fans named but no datasheet - nothing computedstock fans named but no datasheet - nothing computed
Case air at 290 W––
Stock fan noise––
All mounts, reference fans139 in / 396 out CFM 4 / 6 mounts130 in / 185 out CFM 3 / 3 mounts

With a reference pressure-optimized fan on every mount the Node 804 moves more air. The stock fans of both are named in the datasheets without any figures behind them, so the stock columns stay empty. The pressure verdict describes the stock fan set, not the case: stronger or extra intake fans in the free mounts, or slower exhaust fans, turn a negative balance positive.

Node 804 — mounts and stock fans

TOPBOTTOMREARFRONT · solid

LANCOOL 205 — mounts and stock fans

TOPBOTTOMREARFRONT · solid

Case air heating with the stock fans — computed

Neither ships with fans the model knows, so there is nothing to plot. Open them in CaseFlow and add fans.

Use it

How these numbers are computed

Each stock fan contributes CFMmax · derate · rpm/rpmmax behind its wall's mounting class: filtered mesh front and side mounts as dust filter, bottom as floor + filter, top and rear as open grille, solid and glass fronts as side-slit intake at roughly half of a mesh front. Front, bottom and side blow in; top and rear blow out.

MountingAirflow bladesPressure-optimized
Open grille0.88 (0.80–0.95)0.88 (0.80–0.95)
Dust filter0.70 (0.60–0.80)0.78 (0.70–0.86)
Floor + filter0.64 (0.52–0.74)0.72 (0.62–0.80)
Solid or glass front0.50 (0.40–0.62)0.58 (0.48–0.68)

Worst case sums intake at the low end of each band and exhaust at the high end; positive there means positive regardless of how the estimates fall. Case air: ΔT = 3.1 · W / throughput (m³/h), with an open-cooler GPU putting its full board power into the case air plus board, RAM and drives. Capacity puts a reference pressure-optimized fan on every mount at max rpm — 120 mm 60 CFM, 140 mm 75 CFM — a generic good fan, not a product.

Mount counts, radiator support and clearances are datasheet figures. Nothing here is measured; the same model runs in CaseFlow.