Unsolved
8 Posts
0
13167
XPS 8930, how is the cooling in the i9-9900?
I am purchasing an 8930 with the i9 9900. I am just looking for opinions as to overheating. Is there much or any. I don't do gaming except for occasional online games. I do run Photoshop & Premiere a few times a week. I appreciate any input. Thank you.
JOcean
7 Technologist
7 Technologist
•
12K Posts
0
March 4th, 2020 17:00
A lot depends on the cooling solution used as with any CPU. But judging by this review and series of tests, the i9 9900K runs cooler than the i7 8700K. But if you are not overclocking, and why would you, then the 9900 should impress with it's speed and performance and temps should stay well within a comfort range.
A little more information on this page though it is older, but deals with the 9900.
abcoltsfan
8 Posts
0
March 4th, 2020 18:00
Thanks for the response.
abcoltsfan
8 Posts
0
March 4th, 2020 19:00
Good to know. Thank you.
Anonymous
5 Practitioner
5 Practitioner
•
274.2K Posts
0
March 4th, 2020 19:00
@abcoltsfan I am just looking for opinions as to overheating.
Be aware that, since the i9-9900 is a 65 watt processor, your XPS 8930 will most likely NOT have the upgraded blower fan/heatsink CPU cooling solution that comes with the i9-9900K 95 watt processor.
Some people do not have heat issues with the non-K CPU cooler, others have heat problems and crazy screaming fan noise. This is what the upgraded blower fan/heatsink looks like on the 95 watt processors ("K" models) compared to the 65 watt CPU cooling solution (click photos to embiggen)
95 watt CPU
65 watt CPU
GKDesigns
258 Posts
0
March 5th, 2020 07:00
@abcoltsfan
I am purchasing an 8930 with the i9 9900. I am just looking for opinions as to overheating. Is there much or any. I don't do gaming except for occasional online games. I do run Photoshop & Premiere a few times a week. I appreciate any input. Thank you.
I have the XPS 8930 with i9-9900 (non-K version) and RTX2060. I don't do gaming.
I chose the XPS for traditional Dell desktop purchase reasons. I chose the CPU for its Hyperthreading; 65W TDP; and stock, non-K version CPU cooler. The lessor i9-9700 does not support Hyperthreading. The 95W TDP overclocked K version CPUs consume more power and run hotter, making the case cooling issue worse. And the K version cooler with heat pipes looks noisier, blocks MB access and case exhaust airflow, and might have a more difficult fan to replace when it dies or goes noisy . I didn't want these complications at additional cost... it makes no sense to overclock the CPU in a case that has cooling issues.
Prior to purchase, I judged the case cooling to be marginal and made a plan to replace the 92mm PWM top exhaust case fan with a 120mm PWM fan, and to add a 120 mm PWM lower front inlet case fan. I purchased (2) Noctua NF-S12A-PWM case fans, and a pulled 120mm Dell top case fan with mounting plate off the big auction site just to get the 120mm fan mounting plate that fits the XPS chassis. The Noctua fans come with everything else you need.
The top case fan mounting plate notes from my auction site purchase:
Dell XPS 8910 8920 Alienware Aurora R5
Top Cooling Case Fan 7M0F5 X64T5
Item# 264605495141
$23
OEM 120mm top fan, bracket p/ns: 07M0F5, 0X64T5, 13P1-4ZN0201
CN-0X64T5-74431-64Q-C02V-AD0
Same as for Aurora R5/6/7 chassis
OEM 120mm fan is 4-pin PWM, 12V, 1.05A
At idle (more or less), the stock XPS would rev its case fan in response to CPU activity with core temps rising into the 80cs. This fan revving/noise was annoying, as I expected it to be.
I installed the new fans. The top exhaust fan swap was plug and play. I located and drilled/finished (4) 5/32" holes in the chassis front to mount the lower front inlet fan. The exact right position locates these fan mounting holes equally away from existing holes in the metalwork. I temporarily removed the HDD cages for access and used a curved hemostat to reach and pull the Noctua rubber pins used to mount the fan. I also slipped out the ODD and removed the front bezel for access. I captured ALL metal shavings with blue taped paper towel shielding. Both new 120mm fans use the included Y-cable to share the 4-pin PWM case fan header on the MB... I made the top exhaust case fan the master PWM fan.
This pic explains PWM (pins 1,2,3,4), non-PWM (pins 1,2,3), and the Y-cable layout:
I did try removing the 4th pin conductor from the other included Y-cable to trial the fans at their full 1200 RPM, but determined that was unnecessary steady-state fan noise.
When I run the Prime95 torture test with all cores at full load, the new fans rev up a bit and core temps rise to 80-82c. The fans are relatively quiet by design.
Plan B was to upgrade the stock CPU cooler, but that won't be necessary.
I have not challenged the GPU. Its fan(s) pull lower case air and exhaust it out its rear dual slot bracket/grill.
The PSU fan pulls outside air through a side grill and exhausts it out its rear grill.
The stock CPU fan just makes a mess of case airflow at the top case exhaust fan.
I'm satisfied after the fan upgrade. The Noctua fans are very nice and include what you need, so worth the few extra bucks. Know that a fan with lower static pressure is more suitable for a case fan application that has less restriction than a heat exchanger application. And will then also run quieter. And the converse is true... a fan with higher static pressure can better push air through a marginal/restricted case grill, but will be noisier. So, fan application can be a compromise. The fans I used suit the application, imo.
Frankly, I would not buy the XPS Tower without being able to upgrade the cooling with more and better fans. I was going to recommend this system to family members preparing to migrate from Win7 to Win10, but I will not because they cannot fix the cooling issues themselves.
Credit to others here who have shared their similar fan upgrade information:
https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8930-GPU-and-CPU-Liquid-Cooler-PSU-Case-Swap-Upgrade/m-p/7476563/highlight/true#M35515
The only other XPS mod I've done is described here:
https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8930-freezes-for-3-5-seconds/m-p/7502259/highlight/true#M46495
GK
jnno
6 Posts
0
March 5th, 2020 10:00
Well, I have recently bought a xps 8930 S.E. with those option:
i9 9900k
RTX 2070 super
PSU 850w
32 gb RAM
And yes, I had overheating issues. There is no airflow in this case. Depending of what
you choose to put inside get ready to do some customization work. You can find some explicit
threads on these forum about what to do.
I should have done more research before buying and knowing what I know now, I won't have
bought this thing. On Dell's website, when you select a i9 9900k in an Aurora system you have
a warning that you must take the water-cooled version chassis. There is no such option for the
XPS line.
So maybe with the i9 9900 non-K things are better and Dell have pretty good prices for such
configurations.
Those XPS 8930 cases are bad for cooling but I guess if you are not gaming,video editing/rendering,
music/sound rendering, 3d software user, It can be OK.
I took the CPU, the GPU, the ram out of it, and with a new case and new motherboard I've built
a new PC. Now my temp in Celsius are around 28-30 iddle, 40 light workflow (photoshop), rendering
& gaming 60-65. I am happy, but it is not a Dell XPS anymore.
Jno
GKDesigns
258 Posts
1
March 5th, 2020 14:00
@jnno
I can see how your configuration pushed the XPS case to extreme... overclocked CPU, more memory, more GPU, more PSU... these heat sources add up. Anyone buying an XPS would be wise to keep it modest, including how you intend to use it. That was my plan and I barely kept to it since the best price include the RTX2060... otherwise I was going for the GTX1660Ti.
Dell needs a more conventional case if they intend to sell power hungry configurations. They use to put 250W PSUs in cases like the XPS. Now its 850W and one 92mm case fan in a 120mm opening. That's just rude.
GK
Anonymous
5 Practitioner
5 Practitioner
•
274.2K Posts
0
March 5th, 2020 16:00
@GKDesigns Now its 850W and one 92mm case fan in a 120mm opening. That's just rude.
Perhaps they thought a 92mm exhaust fan would be sufficient since the swing-out PSU contraption blocks most of the air flow
GKDesigns
258 Posts
0
March 5th, 2020 17:00
@Anonymous
Perhaps they thought a 92mm exhaust fan would be sufficient since the swing-out PSU contraption blocks most of the air flow
Point taken... complaining about fan size ignores the surrounding airflow issues, or obstruction thereof.
GK
Anonymous
5 Practitioner
5 Practitioner
•
274.2K Posts
0
March 5th, 2020 18:00
@GKDesigns Point taken...
Actually, I was not really trying to make a point . . . I was mocking the extremely poor design and air flow of the nano-case XPS 8930 easy bake oven
Of course, you already know about that.
GKDesigns
258 Posts
0
March 6th, 2020 05:00
Actually, I was not really trying to make a point . . .
No worries, I salvaged one for you.
GK
Dingazoid
3 Posts
0
August 26th, 2020 23:00
Hi, I have an XPS8930 with an i7-8700 if I recall correctly. I have had it for a while and have been disappointed with the heat and noise since.
As I do not have a k processer, Dell included a very inadequate CPU fan/heatsink. I am considering performing the upgrade in this YouTube video as my first move https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMmCb6gBW-8
I'd also possibly like to upgrade to a 120mm exhaust fan while I'm at it, but will stop short of adding additional intake fans. (I'm new to all this and it's already a lot for me to take on). Do you think that's worth doing? Is there any reason I can't just use the fan you purchased off of an auction site, instead of buying the fan just for the mounting plate then installing another one? The cost isn't prohibitive, I'm just wondering if I might achieve what I want (cooler temperature of CPU, less noise ramp ups under low to medium processing loads) just by getting the better Dell heatsink and the Dell/Alienware exhaust fan.
Anonymous
5 Practitioner
5 Practitioner
•
274.2K Posts
0
August 27th, 2020 11:00
@Dingazoid I am considering performing the upgrade in this YouTube video
That would be a smart move and help with CPU cooling and noise.
I'd also possibly like to upgrade to a 120mm exhaust fan while I'm at it
Another good move to get hot air out of the case.
. . . but will stop short of adding additional intake fans.
The lower front intake fan addition is the easiest mod of all. It is simply a plastic bracket that snaps in place. The XPS 8930 has the bracket mounting features already in place.
Is there any reason I can't just use the fan you purchased off of an auction site, instead of buying the fan just for the mounting plate then installing another one?
The fan that comes with the bracket off the auction site is a Dell industrial grade server fan with last century's ball bearing technology. It will be loud, and defeat one of the goals of your project. These are the quiet fans I am using in the photo posted above Noctua NF-S12A FLX
Dingazoid
3 Posts
0
August 27th, 2020 15:00
Thanks for the reply. I was unable to locate that fan with an included bracket in my cursory search, but I did order the heatsink/CPU fan. I'll probably just go with that upgrade if I'm unable to easily find the bracket. I'm guessing to install a new exhaust fan the heatsink needs to be removed, so it'd be ideal to do it all at once but I'll see what results I get. I'd be happy with around 10C less CPU temp on average (not pushing my system to its limits), hopefully that's achievable.
If I understood correctly, you needed to drill new holes and mount the new fan, but the correct position was marked. Is that right? I'll take a look at my case again after work and see if I can tell what's going on. I don't think I'd want a 120mm intake fan while still having the smaller exhaust fan though, I'm guessing I'd want the fans to move roughly the same amount of air concurrently. I'm just guessing since I'm new to optimizing a PC for heat.
Anonymous
5 Practitioner
5 Practitioner
•
274.2K Posts
0
August 27th, 2020 19:00
@Dingazoid I'm guessing to install a new exhaust fan the heatsink needs to be removed, so it'd be ideal to do it all at once but I'll see what results I get.
That is correct. Here is a link to my mod . . . perhaps the photos will help XPS 8930 Fan Mod
If I understood correctly, you needed to drill new holes and mount the new fan, but the correct position was marked. Is that right?
No . . . both top exhaust fan and lower front intake fan brackets will snap into place . . . no drilling, no mods required.
I don't think I'd want a 120mm intake fan while still having the smaller exhaust fan though, I'm guessing I'd want the fans to move roughly the same amount of air concurrently.
Any additional air flow will help with temperatures in this small case. A positive internal pressure is good, as it will exhaust more air and keep dust out.