XPS 8930 SE vs XPS 8930, fan noise

Kelley2,

Apologies for all the issues you have had with the system. Before deciding on the newer  XPS 8930 SE you could look at some reviews on the internet from what other owners of this system have said. From a technical side, I have not seen many post with issues on the Dell forum with the newer XPS 8930 SE.  Hopefully, after reading some reviews you will decide on getting the newer XPS 8930 SE. Thanks!!

Have you read this thread and the solution posted by @Soil85?

And it's also possible the thermal paste between the CPU and heat sink has separated and needs to be re-applied. Check the Service Manual for instructions to remove the heat sink. And there are lots of youtubes how to clean the surfaces and apply a thin, fresh coat of thermal paste, eg Arctic Silver.

I doubt if the SE model has anything more than a better gpu and never heard of the bigger fan, better build, etc. I updated the bios in my 8920 which helped a lot, then installed a 2.5" ssd, and removed the 2 extra HDDs which made it dead quiet even under stress. 

I have a Dell 8930 SE and fan noise is insanely noisy.

---

@546insp wrote:

I doubt if the SE model has anything more than a better gpu and never heard of the bigger fan, better build, etc. I updated the bios in my 8920 which helped a lot, then installed a 2.5" ssd, and removed the 2 extra HDDs which made it dead quiet even under stress. 

---

Actually, it is the i7-8700 vs. i7-8700K

This is from the link in the post right above yours;

I have also looked at replacing the CPU cooler. The 8930 when shipped with an i7-8700 (which has a TDP of 65W) has the CPU cooler shown on p17 (and lots of other pages) of the service manual:

It looks like this:

however, XPS 8930s shipped with an i7-8700k CPU (which has a TDP of 95W) are shipped with a cooler like the one shown on p85 of the manual and looks like this:

---

@Kelley2 wrote:

O.K., here is my situation. I purchased a Dell XPS 8930 (refurbished), i5-8400, 1TB HDD, 256MB SSD, 16GB  memory.  This thing has an annoying fan noise. NOT JUST UNDER LOAD, BUT AS SOON AS I TURN IT ON UNTIL I TURN IT OFF! I contacted Dell and they tried to resolve it over the phone and could not, so they sent a technician. He replaced two fans and I still had the problem, so he ordered the POWER SUPPLY FAN, still no luck. He said it needed to go in for service, maybe needing a motherboard. I have read and read, but I just get more confused. I see that the SE EDITION with an i7-8700k has better build inside including a larger cooling fan, so I was thinking of getting that one (new this time) since Dell has agreed to give me a refund on the one I have now. I am really hesitant though to try it, maybe thinking of switching brands. Does anyone have any advise for me?

---

If you decide on the XPS 8930 SE, whether i7-8700K or i9-9900K, you will have to change out the top exhaust fan from the 92mm OEM to 120mm (it is easy to do) in order to avoid CPU heat issues, and the resulting fan noise. Since you are purchasing new, you may be able to convince Dell to make that swap prior to shipping your new PC. Others have been successful in that negotiation, some have not.

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@546insp wrote:

I doubt if the SE model has anything more than a better gpu and never heard of the bigger fan, better build, etc. I updated the bios in my 8920 which helped a lot, then installed a 2.5" ssd, and removed the 2 extra HDDs which made it dead quiet even under stress. 

---

Actually, it is the i7-8700 vs. i7-8700K

This is from the link in the post right above yours;

 

I have also looked at replacing the CPU cooler. The 8930 when shipped with an i7-8700 (which has a TDP of 65W) has the CPU cooler shown on p17 (and lots of other pages) of the service manual:

It looks like this:

however, XPS 8930s shipped with an i7-8700k CPU (which has a TDP of 95W) are shipped with a cooler like the one shown on p85 of the manual and looks like this:

---

You will need the 120mm top fan if you don't have it to start with and I made a change in the bios (but don't remember what it was) and updated to the newest bios version which cured some of the noise before I put my front fan in. Also, I don't think the SE models automatically came with the K model cpu but they did have a better gpu at least in the xps 8920 models.

I just installed an XPS 8930 with i9 9900 and SSD to run video surveillance software. I was very happy with the upgraded system until I felt the heat and heard the constant fan noise.

After searching on these forums I changed Additional power settings from Balanced to Power Saver. The fan is now off most of the time and the tower feels much cooler.

The fan may come on from time to time but before it would run constantly from power on until powered off.

less fan and cooler case temperatures would be a peculiar result

less fan and less noise I can understand

is you CPU i9 9900 or 9900K?

if you are "saving power", you are sacrificing somewhere

do you have the heatsink/blower style CPU fan?

is your top exhaust fan 92mm or 120mm?

video surveillance software??? . . . if you are with the CIA, please ignore this post 

You should be able to run on balanced power so something is still not right. At least put a front fan in it like I did.