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23332
Dell XPS 420....the next step!
Hey guys,
My specs first
Dell XPS 420
8gb Crucial Ballistix 800mhz
Vista 64
3 hard drives (1 x 1tb, 2x 320 gb)
Nvidia 8800 gt
I've been searching around the internet for as much information as possible on trying to improve my xps 420. Yes I know...I should try and get a new rig but I've added to my current one over the years and I think its actually still pretty good. I've put 8 gigs of crucial ballistix memory in there, and I've added a third hard drive of 1 tb to accompany the original two hard drives (2x 320gb).
I don't have any trouble playing games on there...recently played skyrim and it runs well on low graphics settings (personally I think the game still looks great so not worried too much).
The thing is I hardly ever play graphics intensive games...more of a football manager person...but I've really got into skyrim recently. One thing that confused me when I first heard it was the sound of a fan noise coming from my case....as I said, because I don't usually play these types of graphics games I had no idea what is was until I realised it was the gfx card.
My only concern at the moment, like most xps 420 owners it seems is heat. I downloaded game booster and the new version has temperatures for cpu, gfx card and hard drive....
My graphics card was up in the 70c range when not playing any games and when I'm playing skyrim it sometimes gets up to mid 90s. Now I believe the max temperature is around 105c for the nvidea 8800 GT that's in there.
So, for the time being I've actually taken the side of my pc off to try and keep it cool (not ideal, I understand the way cases are meant to work...opening them disrupts the airflow) but seriously it was like a heat sink in there. Opening the case up has reduced the temperature a bit but its still too hot for my liking.
Now I've seen on you tube some upgrade videos (nonthing specific) and one caught my eye where the guy had put one large one at the front...seemingly in place of the stock fan there and also a large one at the back. Judging by the numerous XPS 420 questions on here I'm sure you guys could help me to cool this case down!
Another thing of concern is my PSU....its the 375W one which to be honest probably needs sorting out.....I'd love to be able to take all the parts out and shove them in a bigger, more spacious case with more options for cooling but as I understand it proprietary dell mobos are a pain in the [Amin Note: Post Edited per TOU policy] to find cases for?
Can you help me!?
The cheaper the options the better.
Marc
Tankus
27 Posts
1
July 31st, 2012 08:00
I found that cooling was quite a cheap fix
I screwed in 2 X 8cm fans on the back plate £4 each ..they fitted exactly over the holes
2 duct extractors which fit in the expansion slots
and a front intake which sits in the 5.25" bay ...I just open the flap when in use
StarTech.com 5.25 inch Front Bay Mount Dual Fan Hard Drive Cooler
Evercool SB-F1 PCI slot system exhaust fan 42 CFM
Xilence Red Wing 80mm Quiet Fan
to improve the airflow front to back ...I duct taped all the gaps and spare slots at the rear ....so all the intake comes from the front ...the exhaust fans are very good ... Its probably a bit over kill .....but the air coming out at the rear practically has no heat at all ...you could fry an egg on my old 8800 ...dunno what the rest of the temps were when ths was running ....but it could not have been good .....
mcbgun
15 Posts
0
May 26th, 2012 05:00
Any ideas guys and gals?
mcbgun
15 Posts
0
May 28th, 2012 05:00
No one? Please help!
osprey4
4 Operator
4 Operator
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34.2K Posts
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May 28th, 2012 07:00
Hi Marc,
There are lots of threads on this topic. Have you done some searching?
mcbgun
15 Posts
0
May 30th, 2012 10:00
I have searched through but I need an answer more specific to my requirements. My only concern is heat and I have to have my 8800gt running with 100% fan speed to keep the temperature within its limits. Even then it strays into the 90s which from what I can gather is a little too hot. Like I said my case is open at the moment to try and keep things cooler and I have my desk fan pointing at it, albeit from a distance to further waft some cool air near it.
Basically I want to know if my XPS 420 is on its limit and if there is any way to take the load off it. The 375W power supply is currently powering 3 hard drives and I'd imagine upgrading it, even if only to a cheap ebuyer 15 quid one may help things, as will investing in a case where I can put multiple fans in. Yes the dell motherboard is proprietary but I'm sure suggestions can be made for a budget 775 board that will house my q6600.
I don't feel the need to invest in a new system, merely tweak my current set up to take the strain off it a little.
Unless people can make recommendations on what I can put in my current case to cool things down considerably.
Marc
mcbgun
15 Posts
0
May 30th, 2012 10:00
Incidentally its only whilst playing Skyrim that temperatures go up. Understandable but not ideal. Then again the game runs perfectly on low settings bearing in mind I have two 22" Acer monitors running at 1920 x 1080
Kelbear1
1.5K Posts
0
May 30th, 2012 11:00
The 8800 GT was a good card in its day, but compared to what is now available it falls short. The 8800 GT was always known as a hot running video card so you can expect high temperatures when playing Skyrim. The cards today are much more power efficient and run much cooler.
If I were you, I would replace it with something better and you will be much happier. The 8800 GT has a very small fan which does not help to keep it cool. Those temperatures are higher than what you should get though so make sure the fan is clear of any dust. You can look at the Nvidia GTX 550 Ti as an inexpensive upgrade or the better ATI HD 6850. Both should work fine on your current power supply.
mcbgun
15 Posts
0
May 31st, 2012 04:00
On second thoughts, there is no dual link dvi on the 6850 so I was thinking the GeForce GTX 460:
www.scan.co.uk/.../1gb-evga-gtx-460-superclocked-ftw-4050mhz-gddr5-gpu-867mhz-shader-clock-1734mhz-336-cores-2x-dl-dvi-
mcbgun
15 Posts
0
May 31st, 2012 04:00
Thanks again for the reply....so something like this would be ok?
www.amazon.co.uk/.../ref=asc_df_B005N5KKFC8099078
Around the 90 quid mark?
Kelbear1
1.5K Posts
0
May 31st, 2012 08:00
The GTX 460 will not work because it requires two PCIe X16 power cables which you do not have. You should easily be able to find a dual link DVI HD 6850 somewhere. There are some HERE.
Or, HERE is another.
mcbgun
15 Posts
0
May 31st, 2012 09:00
Didn't realise that! Thanks! Radeon seems to be the way forward....good price to!
Tankus
27 Posts
0
July 31st, 2012 07:00
Yore lucky your 8800GT has run for so long ...more than a few had defective chips ...including mine
The sapphire 6850 will run on the 375w power supply ....mine did for a few months ....but I wanted to add a few extra hard drives and fans ...as my XPS 420 did seemed to run hot ...and I was a bit weary about increasing the load on the PS
I now have a corsair 650w power supply
sapphire 6850 with eye infinity (up to 3 monitors)
the original 750gb HD ...another 360gb and a 128gb SSD
and 5 extra fans
If you are going to change the PSU... pay a bit extra and get a modular one ... I didn't ...and I've found that space is tight (airflow) with all the extra cables
these are now my temps
HD2 :30C
HD1 :27C
HD0 :34C
GPU :46C And 35% Fan speed
Core 0 : 23C
Core 1 : 21C
Core 2 : 16C
Core 3 : 18C
this is after several hours use
everything runs at a widows experience of 5.9 , apart from my original (3gb) memory which runs at 5.4 ....which gives me a score of 5.4 as it goes off the slowest part of the comp ...., vista 32bit wont see much over 3.5gb memory ..so going up to 4gb might not make much more of an improvement .....
I should see a few more years use out of the machine , without doing any more to it ......
mcbgun
15 Posts
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October 10th, 2012 00:00
Hey guys, sorry for not responding to your suggestions. Still yet to make a decision on what I'm going to do. Quick question to tankus.....
Where did you get and what make were your duct (dust?) extractors?
Also, I have a the mini reader installed in the machine by default....is replacing that with the front intake what you did? I have my hard drive slotted in between the dvd drive and mini card reader.
If at all possible, and if you have time/can be bothered....could you send me some pictures via email so I can see your build? Just want to get a better idea.
Many thanks!
mcbgun
15 Posts
0
October 10th, 2012 11:00
Sorry didn't read the post....all in 26 quid from ebay using various shops...can't be bad!