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XPS 8910 CPU Upgrade - Is it practical?
I have a XPS 8910 with the i5-6400 with 16GB ram and a GTX 1060 6GB FE. I'm using this as my HTPC and looking to close the gap between my PC and HTPC so figured I'd try to squeeze out a little more gaming power from it and was wondering if there are any drawbacks to putting in a new CPU like the i5-6600 or maybe even the i5-7600. In theory it shouldn't be an issue but idk about any possible BIOS issues or perhaps whether or not the stock cooler can handle the higher clock speeds. Has anybody done this, or have any info on why I should (or should not) do this?
ejn63
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May 21st, 2017 14:00
All those i5s are 65W CPUs -- and this system did ship with i7-91W CPUs as well, so the stock heatsink assembly should be just fine.
DELL-Chris M
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May 24th, 2017 08:00
FYI...not sure about cost or practicality, but here are the validated CPUs and DDR4 memory (64GB max) with Dell part number =
0D4GV i7-6700K, 4.0-4.2GHz, 95w, 8MB, Skylake-S
K80PX i7-6700, 3.4-4.0GHz, 65w, 8MB, Skylake-S
MTJHG i5-6600K, 3.5GHz, 95w, 6MB, Skylake-S
1GXR3 i5-6400, 2.7-3.3GHz, 65w, 6MB, Skylake-S
846P5 i3-6100, 3.3-3.7GHz, 65w, 3MB, Skylake-S
V51K2 16GB, 2133MHz, DDR4, 1Gx72, 8K, 288 Pin, 1GBX8, Dual Rank, Unbuffered, 1.2V, Non-ECC
ejn63
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May 21st, 2017 04:00
Any of the Skylake (6000 series) desktop CPUs will work without issue. The Kaby Lake (7000 series) likely will not - - a new model with a different mainboard (the 8920) was released for those.
vtoy116
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May 21st, 2017 05:00
Seems like a waste of money for very little performance gain.
ejn63
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May 21st, 2017 08:00
I agree, stepping up the i5 speed makes little sense - an i7 would make more sense for gaming, but that's not exactly an inexpensive upgrade for the performance boost it'll provide.
max faded
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May 21st, 2017 11:00
I figured Kaby lake would indeed be compatible since it's the same socket, but I was basing my assumptions on the fact that the 1151's were basically compatible as far as the non pre-builts go. I was more worried about the bios and the stock cooler not being able to handle the increased clock speeds, but I'm guessing the same cooler is used on the 6700 then?
As far as the stepping up from the 6400 to the 6600 or 7600... I looked at benchmarks and determined that the jump in performance from the 6400 to the 6600 was far greater then the jump in performance I would get from the 6600 to the 6700 - both would cost about $100 per jump, after I sell the 6400 I currently have, unless these benchmarks are misleading?
cpu.userbenchmark.com/.../3512vs3514
cpu.userbenchmark.com/.../3512vs3515
I originally had the 6700 in mind to get, but since I'll only be using it for games and movies I just figured it would be a waste - though I suppose its better to have it than not. All i know is the 6400 is just almost good enough, but not quite.
max faded
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May 24th, 2017 10:00
Well.... I had all but made up my mind to get the i5-6600 but I didn't even consider the 6600k as an option. Even though the mobo is a z170 I probably wouldn't consider overclocking at all, but the higher base clock would make a difference. Question is would the stock cooler do a decent job of keeping it cool or would it be possible to add a LP aftermarket cooler? Guess I'll search online to see if anyone has done it, but since the 8910 is still sorta new there isn't much to go by.
tryptamini0n
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May 25th, 2017 05:00
If I bought the 0D4GV i7-6700K, 4.0-4.2GHz, 95w, 8MB, Skylake-S to upgrade the i7-6700 on my xps 8910 would I be able to get the better heatsink/fan aswell? the I7-6700 on my XPS 8910 is running way slower than my other PC with an i7-6700K by a huge margin, I really think the CPU is being throttled hard, and the PSU makes extremely loud noise a lot while gaming corresponding with a 1-3 second pause/lag while gaming. I really want to like this XPS 8910 but it feels very limiting :( I'm not even sure how I would fit any better air or liquid coolers in this chassis either, is it possible to get a XPS 8900 case and transfer the parts over? suggestions would be great, thanks.
DELL-Chris M
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May 25th, 2017 08:00
Not sure about 3rd party heatsink/fan. The T57JF Dell 95w heatsink assembly should be fine. Call Dell Spare Parts 1-800-357-3355 and ask for price and availability.
max faded
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May 27th, 2017 14:00
Thanks for the number, I've already purchased and installed the 6600k and so far all is good, but I'm going to try to get me one of those cpu coolers anyway just because.
max faded
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May 28th, 2017 06:00
In case anybody is interested in this, I ran some before and after benchmarks, nothing too detailed.
both using the stock cooler, but i used Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Paste on the re-apply, which is the only other variable besides the cpu itself.
i5 6400:
20 mins idle - 39c
load (handbrake) min 39c max 63c
i5 6600k:
20 mins idle - 31c
load (handbrake) min 36c max 69c
I also ordered a fan splitter and a 120mm SP fan which I'll get today and see if it makes any difference.
Edit:
i5-6600k with 120mm SP front fan installed w/ low power adapter:
20 mins idle - 31c
load (handbrake) min 33c max 63c
unlike the first 2 tests, the 63c was a temp spike instead of being closer to average, which was in the mid 50's.