XPS 8930, thermal compound on Dell's upgraded cooler

[ivanmoe]

Bought one of these from Dell and am ready to install it.

However, it came with a "square" of the house-blend already applied.

Should I scrape Dell's solution off and apply my own thermal paste, or just go with with the flow?

[RoHe]

Is that "square" actually a thermal pad?

IMHO, leave it alone. Don't risk scratching the surface by scraping it off.  Just follow the instructions to install the heat sink...

FYI: No none, except you, can see any images you post until a moderator reviews them...

[ivanmoe]

Thank you RoHE.

The stuff is soft, so I'm certain that it's thermal goo.

About 25 years ago, I fried an AMD processor.

Didn't know that the paste on the heatsink base was covered with a sheet of plastic (to protect the goo).

Live and learn.

[jlg11d]

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@ivanmoe wrote:

Bought one of these from Dell and am ready to install it.

However, it came with a "square" of the house-blend already applied.

Should I scrape Dell's solution off and apply my own thermal paste, or just go with with the flow?

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@ivanmoe wrote:

Bought one of these from Dell and am ready to install it.

However, it came with a "square" of the house-blend already applied.

Should I scrape Dell's solution off and apply my own thermal paste, or just go with with the flow?

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You could always use liquid metal. Since the base on that cooler is copper, it should only stain a little. 

[savvy2]

uses SHin Etsu,

thermal compound If you damaged the plastic sheet covered grease, this Is what intel uses, SHIN.

no hype grease with words gold,silver ,arctic , nor liquid metal (and oxymoron if not mercury)

SHin is the best,  and tested in US GOV labs proving this.  not hype master labs are most are.

95watt CPU or GPU need this.

if you run 20watt CPUs any grease works heck even toothpaste works (won't last but works for 1 test 20watts.)

a top lab used toothpaste just to prove a point, (and a baseline on worst)

the problem with many CPU is the small landing pad, and those need a top preforming grease (TIM)

shin works best, and lasts and does not dry out or age and run out hot, nor eats the top of the CPU lid)

and the thermal ratings wow.

also , many top brands , are sold by gallons only. so we can't buy it , so the Shin is sold it tubes. cheap.

keeping the layer of grease thin as possible IS the BIG WIN. Shin x23 tied with Dow 5022 bottom line.

http://www.pcdied.com/intel-magic/Grease-is-the-word/realtest1.JPG

[savvy2]

if you buy a new fan from intel, the SHIN  is there, on the sink and with shipping'/packing protection.

pads are useless on 100watt CPu or GPU, but they do work great on the "chipset say z270" or pads on m.2. ssd  memories, or other low power chips in the upto 20watts max range. Some Laptops use pads on GPU ram.

the super thin grease work best  on high powered chips that emit 100watts, (par) 80-140watt range.

some laptops only burn 24watts there so anything works, if not dry out or leak out (pump outs)

But learn to avoid hype, today it's endless this.

[Dell630i]

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@savvy2 wrote:

uses SHin Etsu

http://www.pcdied.com/intel-magic/Grease-is-the-word/realtest1.JPG

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is that your blog?

[Dell630i]

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@ivanmoe wrote:

Bought one of these from Dell and am ready to install it.

However, it came with a "square" of the house-blend already applied.

Should I scrape Dell's solution off and apply my own thermal paste, or just go with with the flow?

---

My XPS 8930 came with that "upgraded" heatsink/blower fan, but also a 92 mm top exhaust fan. If you also have the 92 mm mini top exhaust fan, consider changing that out to a 120 mm fan while you are there.

[ivanmoe]

For future reference, here's what Dell sends you in terms of thermal compound on the heatsink upgrade, part# T57JF:

I realize that the pics won't be visible until they're approved by the moderators. 🙂

BTW, there was no sheet of plastic, or such, in direct contact with the layer of compound.

[ivanmoe]

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@Dell630i wrote:

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@ivanmoe wrote:

Bought one of these from Dell and am ready to install it.

However, it came with a "square" of the house-blend already applied.

Should I scrape Dell's solution off and apply my own thermal paste, or just go with with the flow?

---

My XPS 8930 came with that "upgraded" heatsink/blower fan, but also a 92 mm top exhaust fan. If you also have the 92 mm mini top exhaust fan, consider changing that out to a 120 mm fan while you are there.

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On the 120mm exhaust fan, I found one on Ebay, although I was really just after the bracket. Replaced the Dell fan with a Noctua NF-F12. Also bought a bracket for the lower front intake, and put a Noctua fan down there. BTW, the Dell fan was REALLY loud if not plugged into one of the motherboard headers!

IMO, the 8930 that I purchased is a nice enough computer for $700. However, it's CPU performance is pretty much castrated by the cooling solution. Mine would have a core hit 212F in about 5 seconds under load, at which point it would down-throttle in self defense. I think that I understand why Dell would do this, in that they don't want to have a sub-zero system competing with their more expensive offerings.

My investment so far:

XPS 8930, Integrated Graphics & Sound, 1TB HDD, DVD/RW, 16GB RAM - $700 + Tx Tax

T57JF HS + KTDJC Fan - $36.98 + Tx Tax

Aurora Fan Brackets, Front Intake and Top Exhaust - $35

2 x Noctua NF-12 Fans - $26

WD Black 2 TB HDD - $76 + Tx Tax

EVGA GTX 1660 XC Ultra - $229 + Tx Tax

Intel 760P M.2 NVME PCI-E 256 GB - $45

Was thinking that I could keep this under a thousand bucks, but the drives and graphics card blew the price up.

One way or the other, it performs well for the investment:

Just gotta get the temps down a little!