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XPS 8930, upgrading fan, which thermal paste to use?
I am experiencing the same high heat issues others are/have seen with the 8930 and based on excellent threads on this forum like Dell630i's post on exhust fan upgrade , I am upgrading the exhaust fan and adding a lower intake fan using the Noctua NF-S12As.
My 8930 has the same upgraded CPU cooler/fan that @Anonymous shows in his post and I need to order some thermal paste but I see that some pastes are not compatible with certain heat sink materials like aluminum or copper.
I can find tons of recommendations on thermal paste but nothing specific to the 8930 with the i9 and the upgraded heat sink (whatever it's made of).
Can someone point me in the right direction on which paste to order?
Thanks in advance!
speedstep
9 Legend
9 Legend
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47K Posts
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January 2nd, 2020 10:00
intel recommends liquid Cooler for 130w.
For the Intel® Core™ i9 Processor you can use the following :
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/boards-kits/desktop-thermal-solutions/bxts13x.html
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00CYX45CK/
Bill Settle
40 Posts
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January 6th, 2020 11:00
Bill Settle
40 Posts
0
January 6th, 2020 11:00
Here is an update on my heat issue.
There are pages and pages of discussion of how to cure the heat issue with the 8930 and I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences but I'll summarize my thoughts:
1. Turn off SpeedStep and Speed Shift and run at the base frequency, and the 8930 can run max CPU for hours on end and not have any heat related issue like thermal throttling or BSODs due to heat.
2. If you want to use OCing, I agree with Telsa1856, Dell630i and others, that the OEM cooling solution is not adequate with the current PWM fan control logic. The PWM speed on the high side is too conservative to keep the i9 cool. The case fan can run at 3,800 RPM but when the CPU is maxed out, the fan only runs at 1,900 RPM or half speed.
If I run the OEM fans (CPU and Case) at 100% which is 4,300 RPM and 3,800 RPM respectively, then I can turn SpeedStep and Speed Shift on and see much lower temperatures. I can artificially load it down and never go above 80C on the CPU and never hit thermal throttling. But of course, the frequency is lowered to less than base frequency (around 3.4Ghz) so what is the point of even OCing this thing except for maybe conserving a few watts at idle.
When OCed, I can batch process 1260 bracketed photos 11% faster with the fans running at 100% than when I process them without OCing... big deal. For now, I have turn off OCing and can go about my business and not worry about it "melting down".
If I want to OC this thing AND run it at 5Ghz, I would agree than water cooling would be required.
My 970 2TB SSD temp was a concern so I added a heat sink and a lower intake fan to blow over it and it now runs 20C cooler under load.
One other thing to note. The OEM case fan produces about 60cf/m, at 3,800 PRM, where as the Noctua NF-S12A running at 1,200 RPM produces about the same CFM. So while it's odd that Dell didn't put in a bigger case fan, the smaller fan is just as capable at removing hot air when running at full speed (ignoring static pressure) but of course, Dell only runs it at 1/2 speed max... sigh
I wish Dell would allow us to modify the PWM fan control profile to be more aggressive at the expense of noise. It can be done with third party software but I would rather do it via the bios.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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17K Posts
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January 10th, 2020 11:00
Intel SpeedStep, Speed-Shift, and Turbo-Boost are NOT Over-Clocking.
A machine requiring these to be disabled is a clear sign that the CPU cooler is malfunctioning, improperly installed (ie, not screwed-down completely flat, poor thermal-paste application), or just not adequate.
I suggest you have the machine serviced by a qualified service technician. Once the machine is built-properly, yes ... you just use the Speed-Fan program.