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XPS 8930, possible to install a front case fan?
In an effort to cool my hard drive, I was wondering if a front case fan could be fit into an XPS 8930. When I looked inside, there seems to be enough room for one. I've never installed a fan before and I'm reading that it could be powered by plugging the power cable into a spot on the motherboard. On the XPS 8930 motherboard, I do see the words "Front Fan" in a location where such a spot would exist but there's nothing to plug into. Unlike the "Top Fan" and "CPU Fan" which do have something a power cable plugs into, I don't see anywhere in the motherboard where a front fan would plug into. Is it possible to install a front case fan into the XPS 8930?
mr_archer
70 Posts
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November 3rd, 2018 07:00
546insp
732 Posts
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November 3rd, 2018 09:00
That's nice but don't forget to block off all the air around it so it won't make a U turn and blow back in.
mr_archer
70 Posts
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November 11th, 2018 08:00
Thanks for the tip. So, I order the R5-7 front case fan and splitter and I end up getting a R5-7 TOP case fan. So, I'm obviously a little ticked but I take a look at the stock top case fan and notice it's much smaller. I see the tabs on the R5-7 frame plate appear to fit the 8930 case, but upon trial fitting, I see that when mounted, the front screw hole is off, but worse, the fan is at least 1/4" too forward of center for the top grate.
Assuming the SE's use the bigger top case fan, is there a different fan bracket used on the SE? It appears the bigger fan has twice the CFM so this should be a nice upgrade, but would prefer a plug and play bracket to avoid voiding the warranty.
Anyone sort this out?I 've searched and see a few posts about upgrading the top fan, but little detail and it appears they went aftermarket and drilled for screws or taped. Looking for a more stock solution. Thanks for any input. In the meantime, I'm hoping this eBay seller send the correct fan without too much trouble.
546insp
732 Posts
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November 11th, 2018 10:00
I would just put a PWM 120mm Arctic brand in the front with double sided tape and the splitter it comes with and be done with it. (Like I did) Did you see my posts on it? Screws cause noise, arctic is quiet to start with. Is that one you ordered 120mm?
mr_archer
70 Posts
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November 11th, 2018 18:00
I was able to find the correct 8920 SE top fan bracket on Ebay pretty reasonably. Also, the stock case fans are rubber mounted to the brackets.
546insp
732 Posts
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November 11th, 2018 18:00
The silver edition is the same PC except for the silver front and it came with better GPU's
546insp
732 Posts
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November 11th, 2018 19:00
You can easily drop a front 120mm fan in it and then remove it if you have to get a replacement on the warranty which probably won't happen. Did you see the thread I did on it with the pictures?
HanoverB
798 Posts
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November 12th, 2018 07:00
The 120mm top fan that came with the XPS 8930 is attached to a bracket with four black rubber fan pins that are reusable. The bracket locks into the chassis on one side then fastens to the chassis on the other side with a single screw. If you want to upgrade the fan to a quieter fan then just reuse the rubber pins.
Here is a picture of a Corsair LED fan I put up there when I liquid cooled the i7 in this case. It does light up the top of the case through the fan grill. Later changed to a Noctua fan + Phantek Halo RGB fan frame
mr_archer
70 Posts
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November 12th, 2018 08:00
Thanks for the reply Hanover. Actually, my XPS 8930 did not come with a 120mm Top Case Fan. That was what I was trying to reconcile. Curiously, it came with a 92mm 60 CFM fan that seems to be contrary to what I'm seeing in other 8930's. Seeing the 120mm fan has 2-1/2 times the CFM, it will perform far better and it should be quieter as well.
HanoverB
798 Posts
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November 12th, 2018 20:00
You are not alone with that small fan in the bracket that doesn't line up with the opening in the chassis. I was surprised to see one in my XPS 8930 as well. Huh, what were they thinking? Went the same route as you and got the correct fan bracket off the big auction site.
Fan I bought has a bracket a little different than yours but shares the same mounting holes.
546insp
732 Posts
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November 12th, 2018 21:00
What a rip off from Dell, my 8920 has a 120mm top fan in it.
mr_archer
70 Posts
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November 13th, 2018 06:00
Yeah, I did find the correct 120mm bracket with the Top Fan, but it doesn't have the same fan itself pictured above. So, I looked into the Noctura 120mm PWM offerings and when I reviewed the specs, most of them has CFM ratings of 55 to 70 CFM max - pretty much the same as the stock little one. Only the Industrial series went from 71 to 109 CFM. So I'm going to swap out the Fan in the new bracket to the one pictured above that's 149 CFM rated and call it a day. That with the matching front case fan, should be plenty to keep these 3 big spinners cool.
BTW Insp, I believe the 120's came with the SE's, and the 92's on the BLK for the 8930's. I think both in the 8920 series got the 120. Yes, definitely a down grade for the 8930 BLK's. Easy enough to fix though.
546insp
732 Posts
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November 13th, 2018 08:00
The Silver Editions only had a silver front and a better GPU, also the 120 will outperform a 92 any way you look at it and you will need all the fan you can get with all those spinners in there. You will need a 120 properly installed in the front also. Did you see the thread I did on the front one a while back? Now you have two 92mm fans when they should both be 120mm...……..it won't work. Fan air speed varies greatly with rpm so you can't compare fans with those facts and figures.
HanoverB
798 Posts
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November 13th, 2018 10:00
For the intake position a large slow moving fan that moves a lot of air is usually desired. It typically is installed to create airflow into the machine for a better pressure gradient. That is when you have to also balance the noise to performance aspects and the Noctua NF-SA12 FLX at a fixed 1200 RPM at 63 CFM and 17.8 dba does a nice job.
That noise level at 18 dba is about the most I would want when the machine is at idle, but it never changes even under load. By removing any unused hard drive brackets in the lower compartment and also the metal pci tabs at the back of the case, airflow is better in that lower compartment.
See how your noise tolerance is when you install the OEM intake fan that came with the snap in bracket and if you have it installed to the top fan header. If you have the i7 8700 CPU in your machine then the same noise you have to deal with the top fan at load may annoy you at that front intake position. Swap to the same Noctua fan if that happens and connect it to the TOP FAN header at fixed speed.
Glad you have it sorted out for now..
mr_archer
70 Posts
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November 13th, 2018 11:00
Thanks Hanover. Yes, adding the front 120mm case fan @ 149 CFM in the Aurora frame and the same 120mm/149 CFM fan in the correct top case frame, both running off the split PWM, I think I'll be in good shape. In doing some stress tests with the 120mm fan, it sure is quiet. Got the new frames ordered, with some filters so I should be set. Until I get around to the CPU cooler, that is.
Incidentally, regarding these OEM 120mm fans, I have noticed that the Delta 7M0F5 is rated at 123 CFM while the newer AVC 7M0F5 is rated at 149 CFM. I'm seeing both in pictures on Ebay for these replacement parts, so hopefully, this will help the next guy select the items with the better fan.