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XPS 8930, GPU and CPU Liquid Cooler, PSU, Case Swap, Upgrade
Computer: Dell XPS 8930
CPU: i7 8700
CPU Cooler: UPGRADE: Corsair H60 (2018 Model) Hydro Series AIO Liquid CPU Cooler
Graphic card manufacturer / model number: UPGRADE: Liquid cooled MSI GeForce GTX 1080 SEA HAWK X 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5X PCI Express 3.0 x16 ATX Video Card
Bios: 1.0.12
Operating System: Windows 10 Home v.1803
Power supply: UPGRADE: Seasonic Focus Plus Gold, SSR-850FX, 850W Compact Modular Power Supply
Monitor: Samsung S34E790C - 34-Inch Curved WQHD (3440 x 1440) LED Monitor using Displayport.
Edit: 06/06/19
Case fan upgrades here
PSU upgrades here
Non-Dell GPU upgrades here
Phanteks case swap summary here
Case swap rather than case mod for more cooling options here and here and here
Motherboard connections for case swap here
Full liquid cooling with waterblock here
Tests slim 15mm fans with HWInfo.
Idle CPU Temps 32C.
Idle fan speeds intake 450-500 RPM
CPU FAN and TOP FAN = motherboard headers
***Prime 95 v2.66 CPU Torture Test, Small FFT, 12 cycles. 60 minutes:
CPU temps 66-70C. Max temp 75C (boost)
Clock speeds 3492 mHz (~10% overclock @ 65W TDP), max 4490 mHz
Voltage stable at 1.022, max was 1.3
Upper Intake Fan (CPU FAN) CPU cooler max RPM 1078
Lower Intake fan (TOP FAN) GPU cooler max RPM 1019
Upper exhaust fan fixed 1500 RPM.
Prime 95. initial boost of CPU 100% load at 4490 mHz at 110 W / 1.3v. Then tests at stable ~10% overclock 3492-3589 mHz at ~65W at 1.022 volts, temps 66-70C.
***3d Mark Fire Strike Test for system 1080P, ~ 7min.:
CPU Temps: Max 75C
Clock speeds max 4388 mHz
Voltage max was 1.31
Upper Intake Fan (CPU FAN) CPU cooler max RPM 906
Lower Intake fan (TOP FAN) GPU cooler max RPM 869
Upper exhaust fan fixed 1500 RPM.
GPU Temps: Max 79C
GPU Fan speed, 1100 RPM idle, max RPM 2822
GPU Clock max 1961 mHz
So far, CPU temps okay. But GPU temps high, will check bezel airflow.....
***3d Mark Fire Strike Test 1080P, ~ 7min
(front bezel off to test airflow restriction)
CPU Temps: Max 72C
Clock speeds max 4388 mHz.
Voltage max 1.31
Upper Intake Fan (CPU FAN) CPU cooler max RPM 853
Lower Intake fan (TOP FAN) GPU cooler max RPM 1183
Upper exhaust fan fixed 1500 RPM.
GPU Temps: Max 72C
GPU Fan speed, 1100 RPM idle, max RPM 2611
GPU Clock max at 1965 mHz
Changes with front bezel off:
CPU temps dropped by 3C
GPU temps dropped by 8-10C
CPU temps acceptable through bezel. GPU airflow through bezel needs tweaking!
==========
The install:
Tasks for upgrade in new XPS 8930:
1) Install Corsair H60 (2018 Model) Hydro Series AIO Liquid CPU Cooler
2) Install lower front intake fan/radiator with liquid cooled MSI Sea Hawk GTX 1080 HYBRID GPU
3) Upgrade PSU to Seasonic Focus Plus Gold, 850W Compact Power Supply
I need to accomplish this keeping in mind the following:
-Run the Corsair CPU cooler pump at constant 100% speed
-Requires fans connected to both 4 pin fan headers (CPU FAN) and (TOP FAN) to avoid startup error.
==========
Installing Corsair Liquid CPU Cooler:
New 2018 Corsair Hydro Series H60 has 157 x 120 x 27mm radiator and SP120 PWM fan. Pump has rotating barbs for hose placement to avoid the swinging PSU. Pump connects to a PSU SATA cable for 100% power and the radiator PWM fan to the CPU FAN motherboard 4 pin header. Optional tach cable to monitor pump speed and provide a signal to the fan header to prevent startup errors. Fan specs: SP120 PWM, 1700 RPM, 28.3 dBA, 57.2CFM.
Slim fan for tight location: Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM, 1850 RPM 23.9 dBA 55.44 CFM / 1400 RPM 16.8 dBA 41.67 CFM
The 3 pin version is a good option at fixed speed to noise tolerance for constant airflow.
Review below posted 60C temps with i7 8700K CPU 30 min stress test at stock clocks.
https://proclockers.com/reviews/cooling/corsair-hydro-series-h60-120mm-liquid-cooler-review
Nice installation guide here:
https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/corsair-h60-review.html
The XPS 8930 chassis is similar to the Alienware R5/R6/R7, but the Alienware allows for CPU liquid cooling by having an opening to mount the fan/radiator through the top of the chassis, an installation bracket, and a top cover to house the unit.
With no such space in the XPS 8930, I saw two possible locations a liquid cooler could be installed: Upper exhaust and front intake.
1) Tried the upper exhaust position first without success with the radiator in the top exhaust fan location. The problem is that the rigid hose fittings protrude into the case 20mm. The PSU bracket is not able to close.
I also tried the radiator upside down with the hoses above the motherboard. But with the radiator lined up with the top exhaust opening, a CPU power connector, capacitor and fan header block the area at the hose fittings.
2) Next the front upper intake position at the hard drive location. With intake cooling, cool air enters the radiator but warm air exits into the case. Should not be a problem if CPU temps are ok.
I found that the radiator can install with hoses up or down. With the radiator upside down, the hoses can spread on either side of the motherboard ATX connector.
Picture bottom install location:
Flipping the radiator upright, the swinging PSU bracket negates any liquid cooling in that location with the hoses up as the bracket cross bar crushes the hoses when lowered.
However, I found that by removing the cross bar off the bracket and a small corner off the bracket support leg it would work.
So I chose having the hoses up as the installation path.
1) Flatten the wire holders in that location.
2) Remove the two support legs and the swinging PSU bracket by removing screws at the leg supports and a few at the rear.
3) Used dremel reinforced cutting wheel to do about 5 minutes worth of cutting, then deburring the cut edges.
Picture dremel cuts. (Additional recommended cut to use 25mm fan here)
4) Then placed the radiator up with the hoses at the front of the chassis. The bottom of the radiator fits between the two screws that hold down the supports of the PSU bracket.
5) Attach the 15mm fan with the model label showing for pull orientation and use 4 - 1” or 1 ¼” 6-32 machine screws to attach the radiator. NOTE: The 6-32 screws used for the radiator have a different thread than the 6-32 hex head screws being used in the case. Big box stores have these screws.
Pic of screws
6) Carefully mark the location of the holes in the radiator and drill four holes to mount the radiator to the front of the chassis.
How I did this was place the radiator, then use tape on the front of the chassis to mark the sides of the radiator position.
Then put another piece of blue tape across the front of the radiator at the middle of the top holes.
With the radiator in position inside the chassis and the sides lined up with the tape, look through the rear grill at the blue tape and mark the height of that tape on the front chassis. Marks represent the height of the radiator holes.
Mark the height of the holes with another piece of tape across the front of the chassis.
You now have the height of the top holes.
7) Place a fan on the chassis between the two pieces of tape at the sides and line the two top holes with the radiator mark. Mark all four holes . Again tape off the case well to make sure you don’t get metal filings anywhere.
Mount the radiator with fan to the chassis using ¾” 6-32 machine screws.
9) Installing the pump head:
Clean CPU with alcohol. You see the 4 mounting holes here
Using th 4 double sided pins, put the lower pins into the mounting holes. No modifications needed, the unit is set up for the Dell motherboard LGA1151 CPU socket. Mount the cooler pump by placing the corner attachment brackets on the upper pins and tighten the thumb screws. You can’t overtighten these, they just won’t turn any further when tight.
10) Connect radiator fan to the 4 pin CPU FAN header.
11) Attach pump SATA power to the PSU.
12) With no cross bracket on the PSU swinging bracket, there is room for the pump hoses to flex under the PSU. There is a smooth rounded edge where the bracket contacts the hoses when closed. As an additional precaution install braid wrap on the upper part of the hose for protection at that point.
Done!
Picture again from top, note no bar on the PSU bracket and the edge of the lower part of the PSU bracket that will contact the hoses when down.
==========
Installing MSI GTX 1080 Hybrid GPU: The 151mm high radiator is installed in a sideways position with the hoses in front. The GPU is 10.5” long leaving little room for both fan and radiator at the lower intake position.
With little space to put a fan on the radiator inside the case, the slim 15mm fan was mounted in front of the chassis and under the front bezel. The front bezel is over 20 mm deep so the fan is able to still pull air from the bezel front side vents.
Picture front bezel
1) The only problem encountered was a large raised hole in the middle of the front of the chassis which interfered with fan placement. Keep turning the fan to the position centered to the radiator where the fan frame doesn't hit that large bump.
2) Check that the side of the radiator is clear of the swinging arm of the PSU bracket. Important!.
3) Drill 4 holes, attach the fan to radiator using 4- 1 ¼” 6-32 machine screws.
I also used a10mm foam compressible Phoyba radiator gasket on the radiator due to the 1" wide flange at the rear of the front chassis.
It supports the Alienware R5/6/7 front intake fan bracket that snaps in at this location. That piece of metal prevents the radiator from sitting flush. The gasket took up that space. It has adhesive on one side to attach to the radiator.
Note: In the picture of the front bezel a large plastic hollow pin sticks up that would hit the fan in that location. Trim with the dremel cutting wheel.
Picture front install, note no bar on the PSU swinging bracket.
4) Connect the slim fan on the AIO radiator to the 4 pin header (TOP FAN). (Noctua NF-A12x15 FLX 1850 RPM 23.9 dBA 55.44 CFM / 1400 RPM 16.8 dBA 41.67 CFM)
Notes
Protect the radiator fins with a piece of cardboard taking the GPU in/out. They are bent easily by the corner of the GPU.
Edit 9/18/18 GPU temps resolved here: (must read prior to installing, grillwork is removed)
Edit 02/23/19 Recommended cuts to use 25mm fan on CPU radiator here and here
Edit 03/15/19 Fixed speed radiator fan CPU temps 55°C range here
**This thread edited for accuracy, add'l pics and current information.
AlienBlaster
20 Posts
0
February 14th, 2019 13:00
Hey there. Kudos to both HanoverB and ZeusMastah for providing such valuable information to others! After reading your posts I went ahead and swapped my XPS 8910 to a new case. The XPS served me fine for the last two years as a 4K gaming rig, but had been struggling with space and heat issues recently with newly added parts.
I originally wanted to use a H500 too as Zeus was successful, but due to size consideration decided on the H400 (mATX mini tower). I then did a bit more research and switched to a Meshify C Mini for an even smaller form factor and better air flow since I wanted to do air cooling only. It wasn't a process without surprises and obstacles but nothing unsolvable. I can confirm that 8910 doesn't have any startup errors for a missing card reader or one front USB plug. Hopefully I can also be of help to the community here, and thanks again to both of you and anybody who were trying to help.
Here is my rig:
CPU - i7 6700
Motherboard - XPS 8910 Z170
GPU - EVGA 1080 Ti SC Black
Memory - 32Gb DDR4 2133 (16Gb x 2)
SSD 1 - 480Gb ADATA SX8200 NVME
SSD 2 - 500Gb Crucial MX500
SSD 3 - 500Gb Crucial MX500
HDD - Seagate 2TB 7200rpm
PSU - EVGA SuperNova B2 750W
Case - Fractal Design Meshify C Mini
For temps:
NVME went from 60-70c to 40c on load. CPU went from 90-100c to 60-70c on the Prime95 Maximum Heat test. GPU on load went from 75-80c on 80%+ GPU fan to 65c on 40% GPU fan (around 1500 rpm).
Noise went from double jet engine to natural wind in a cool spring.
Some pics:
HanoverB
798 Posts
0
February 14th, 2019 22:00
Sweeeeet :Yes::Yes::Yes::Yes::Yes::Yes::Yes::Yes::Yes:
Awesome job!
Thanks for the pics and the temps are great post-swap at 4K with the 1080ti. Nice to see that you can get those CPU temps even with the air cooled CPU.
Which cooler is that and any issues with the swap that were not anticipated?
I see you managed to get the wireless antenna into the case as well. Looks like you put a 140mm intake fan below GPU level and the 120mm fan for the upper part of the case. Well thought out build.
You used a great case for the swap. It's like you read my mind. The Meshify C Mini is the case I would have chosen to do the case swap because of the small form factor and flexible cooling options. I was looking at the Newegg store price for that case on the big auction site this AM. I even drew out the fan and cooler layout on paper. Seeing these pics really makes me want to do the swap even more.
I know you can liquid cool both the CPU and GPU in that case from the measurements I have and your pictures appear to confirm this.
You rock!!
HanoverB
798 Posts
0
February 15th, 2019 07:00
AlienBlaster I have questions about the Front Panel Connector.
At least on the XPS 8930, and should be similar on the XPS 8910, the Dell connector used only pins 2 and 4 for the power button LED, 6 and 8 for the power button. There is no reset button on these cases and there is a jumper between 5 (Ground) and 9 (Front Panel Detect).
Does your original XPS 8910 case have a jumper at that 5 to 9 pin location as well on the front panel connector?
The Meshify C Mini case has a reset switch, did you use the pins 5 and 7 header on the motherboard and is the switch functional?
Also did you use the HDD LED (pins 1 and 3) or skip them? If you did use them, are they functional as well?
Meshify C connectors:
AlienBlaster
20 Posts
2
February 15th, 2019 11:00
You are very welcome. I will try to answer your questions and provide some more information that I believe can benefit many here with cooling and noise issues with XPS and other Dell cases. I used Inspirons and Alienwares before and they all follow the same design philosophy.
1. First, about pins on Meshify C Mini. XPS 8910 has an integrated jumper that covers the whole block. Yes, I used Pins 5 and 7 to connect reset switch and it's fully functional. It has become a very useful addition for me when I tested overclocking GPU. No more pushing the power button for 10 seconds. However, I couldn't get the HDD LED to work with Pins 1 and 3 even after trying both directions. I didn't try anything else further as it is not that important to me. This is probably the only problem I didn't solve with the swap. It's likely just different pin layout than what you drew on my 8910. I am sure someone can figure it out later.
2. The CPU cooler I am using is Enermax ETS-N31-02 which is a low-end model. I was aware of the backplate issue but still wanted to try my luck without paying much. This thing was on sale for $10 so I just grabbed it. No surprise and it did not work out of the box. The mounting bracket requires the included clippers to go through the motherboard holes which are blocked by the AIO backplate. Luckily I could use the screws that came with C Mini to hold the bracket in place and eventually installed it. From my experience, this means many CPU cooler may not be directly installed with the included backplate but if the mounting part can be held on top with screws, then they should work.
3. Now, the most tricky part is about fans. XPS 8910 motherboard has two 4-pin PWM fan headers, one for the case fan and one for the CPU fan. The manual shows a 3-pin header for the case fan which is wrong (or vague at best). The CPU fan uses the CPU temp senor, while the case fan senor I suspect is also very close to CPU (the old north bridge area) or maybe is just the CPU temp senor (this way they can save some production cost).
There is no way to access their fan curves but I have tried to reverse engineer them by testing with my Noctua NF-A14 PWM fan (with all other fans unplugged). Monitoring the fan rpm while running Prime95, I can see that as a case fan it stays at very low rpm (300 is the min rpm for NF-A14 PWM) and shoot up quickly around 80c. When connecting it as the CPU fan it stays low and shoot up quickly around 90c. This means that the Dell Bios fan curves are extremely passive with steep increases at those high temps. The case fan is the first-step fail safe (at 80c) while the CPU fan is the second-step fail safe (at 90c). These kind of fan curves are very bad for gaming and heavy computation but may suit a quiet office environment or most everyday usage, so I understand why they do it this way.
As we have no way to change the fan curves, this means the PWM is not only useless, but is also an obstacle to ideal cooling. You can see in other posts that people change to PWM fans and coolers but still don't get good outcomes because the fans are mostly idle until it's overheated. Certainly an aftermarket radiator is still better than stock but that's about it.
One way to overcome this is to manually fix fan speed without taking the PWM signal. I personally connect three fans (two front for intake and one back for exhaust) at 1200 rpm. To control noise, they are all quiet fans at less than 20 dB running full speed. I still leave the original case fan and the CPU fan plugged in the motherboard headers but they both run at minimum speed and contribute very little to both cooling and noise. You will get startup error if you leave those headers open, and they can also serve as fail safes in very extreme scenarios.
Another advantage of fixing case fan speed is that it always helps GPU to circulate air. I may even look into connecting one of them to the GPU sensor later.
This is my experience with 8910 SE only and other editions may have some subtle differences. Hope this helps.
mr_archer
70 Posts
0
February 15th, 2019 13:00
Awesome stuff guys! We need to get these mods to pin this one!
HanoverB
798 Posts
0
February 15th, 2019 13:00
Case swap looks promising.
I still have lingering questions about the 5 to 9 jumper on the front panel connector and the firmware/BIOS checks causing startup errors with the XPS 8930. A case swap can help answer this, but it can be accomplished by removing the jumper wire in my working machine and testing what happens.
Does the XPS 8930 have unique firmware requirements on posting related to the jumper?
With the XPS 8930 case swap:
-Without the jumper, all the front panel error problems go away, computer works fine. (wishful thinking)
-Without the jumper, still get the front panel errors, but computer works fine. Workaround for the errors solved with the top IO Panel brought into the machine. (likely)
-Without the jumper, it creates another front panel error aside from the USB and card reader error, which then would require a 5 to 9 jumper being present with the new case.
.As long as you have the 5 and 9 pins exposed a jumper is possible and you won’t hit a wall with your case swap with the last scenario.
HanoverB
798 Posts
0
February 15th, 2019 13:00
Good stuff.
Appreciate the reply and the additional insight on the pin configuration and CPU cooler install particulars. Glad you found a workaround in getting that cooler installed onto the backplate. Seems to be doing fine at controlling those CPU temps.
Thanks for confirming the XPS 8910 case swaps has no startup errors and for the pin information, that the reset does work (at least on the XPS 8910). It wouldn’t surprise me that the HDD LED pins are not active.
The fan curve issues you report pretty much are found on every XPS machine I have worked with going back to the XPS 8300. Non-adjustable fan speeds, conservative fan curves, both of which don’t do mix in high load situations as they don’t manage temps well and allow the temps get out of control. Temps rise to the point that the fans become ineffective and just get noisy as they attempt to control the runaway temps.
I also try use 3 pin fixed speed fans in both intake and exhaust positions to keep noise levels down and a steady stream of airflow in the case. Like you, I try to use the 4 pin PWM headers where they would do the least harm as the headers can’t be left open. They seem to do okay in managing temps on an AIO CPU cooler on the radiator fan and fortunately some of the recent AIO liquid coolers have a tach cable that can be put on one of the PWM headers to monitor pump RPM.
HanoverB
798 Posts
0
February 16th, 2019 03:00
Took a look at the Fractal Design Define Mini C TG today, as the brick and mortar store I went to didn't have the Meshify C Mini Dark TG in stock. They did have the regular Meshify C TG in stock, didn't see the Dark TG version with the tinted glass. The NZXT H500 was also in stock. What I saw I liked.
Define Mini C shares the same chassis as the Meshify C Mini, more soundproofing at the cost of giving up some airflow. Other minor design difference, sleek front like the NZXT H500 with no logo vs mesh, also has clear tempered glass only.
Define Mini C is a nice case......put that on my list as well.
546insp
732 Posts
0
February 16th, 2019 08:00
HanoverB
798 Posts
0
February 16th, 2019 10:00
Hi 546insp
That’s a good question and thanks for asking.
The XPS 8930 I am using with the liquid cooled CPU and GPU is working well. Temps and noise levels where I want them. Rock solid so far. So we know that it is possible to achieve this.
You are fine with your machine as you have it setup exactly the way you want for what you do. But there are others who want to go a step further. More often out of necessity if you buy the machine for gaming or video rendering.
But it’s the amount of effort that a user has to go through to realize the potential of this machine which is the issue.
Simple mods, adding a fan here and there, even liquid cooling mods are not that difficult in a typical case. But this Dell case presents a set of challenges that are beyond reasonable. Cutting and drilling into a case just to get the CPU liquid cooled?
I alluded to some problems on the Alienware side with the R7 because that machine is built to be a gaming machine with its liquid cooled chassis and fully adjustable fan curves and RAM speeds. But overclocking the i7 8700K to 5.0 Ghz using Dells own settings causes the CPU to reach temp limits because the 120mm liquid cooler is unable to handle the overclock. There is no option to add a 240mm or 280mm liquid cooler so you have hit the ceiling with that Alienware chassis.
So not only is the effort to liquid cool the CPU on the XPS 8930 difficult, it won’t be sufficient cooling if you buy this machine with a K processor and you decide to overclock. Even the Alienware R7 case can't quite pull that off. Only a case swap can achieve this as it opens the door to countless cooling options.
My buddy DanH started a good thread on the XPS 8700 and GPU upgrades. Lot of fan and modding tips there. 50 pages worth. If you read the last post, he came out and said that re-casing the machine was a better idea than adding fans and coolers . I had already done a post on liquid cooling both the CPU and GPU on an XPS 8500 so I could relate to this. The only barrier to this was figuring out the pinouts on the front panel.
https://www.dell.com/community/Desktops-General-Read-Only/XPS-8700-nVidia-GTX-video-card-upgrades/m-p/4537373/highlight/true#M978176
So that’s kind of where we are at again. Where we weigh the effort needed to add the CPU cooler versus moving to a new case. If the case swap is easy enough and the information is available on how to do it, then it is a viable option.
So to answer your question, about whether I have given up on trying to keep it quiet and move to a new case?
I think we figured how to keep things quiet collectively. That’s the beauty of this community. Now just trying to see if there is a better way to do this than the route we took for others wanting to do the same. If I personally moved to a new case it would be for the ease of getting into my machine, adding more drives, and seeing if it can be done.
I am hoping someone beats me to it. :Wink:
HanoverB
798 Posts
0
February 16th, 2019 12:00
I agree.
AlienBlaster's case swap is a well written post with great pictures. Really deserves a thread of its own. Problem is there are several case swap threads out there, not a single main one. Zeus has a thread covering all three models with the NZXT case and a personal thread with MrLAX.
https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8910-8920-8920-SE-8930-case-upgrade-NZXT-H500/m-p/7239064
Another one here specific to the XPS 8910 where I did link AlienBlaster's post.
https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8910-move-components-to-retail-case/m-p/6110680
Suggestions on title of his own thread or does he just add on to another already present?
546insp
732 Posts
0
February 16th, 2019 14:00
Wow, a lot of work just to keep a PC cool. At least readers know what they are up against if they want to run heavy duty programs. The most I run is YouTube and a virus scan at the same time which made my fans take off but I cured all that with a well thought out bottom front fan installation.
dgonzaleze
2 Posts
0
February 17th, 2019 02:00
Good morning, the problem that I have found is that when I install the liquid cooling connect the pump to CPU_FAN, the pump has a 3-pin connection and the 4-pin FAN CPU, now every time I turn on the computer I get the error 2000- 0511 and I needed to know how to eliminate it since it is annoying and the refrigeration works perfectly. Thanks for the help
HanoverB
798 Posts
0
February 17th, 2019 02:00
Hi,
Which AIO cooling unit are you using?
The Corsair H100i PRO installed on a XPS 8930?
How did you manage to install the H100i Pro, a 240mm radiator, into the XPS 8930 case?
dgonzaleze
2 Posts
0
February 17th, 2019 03:00
Good morning, and how do you solve the problem 2000-0511 ?, since I have done that with my liquid cooling of 3 pins connected to CPU-FAN and error when starting the computer.