XPS 8940, Better 3rd party cooler

Hi folks, I'm thinking of buying a 9840. Since I currently have a 9810, which gets quite loud at full load, I read this thread with interest. Can anyone here confirm that a 9840 with i9-10900K has a better cooler built in? Somebody said somewhere that the K processors didn't have such a small CPU cooler built in. Can you rely on it?

@Lamf77 
Hi, yes, I used one washer per screw and the black spacers.

No...I ordered the Dell 8940 white special with i9-10900......it did not come with cpu cooler upgrade...

@Own8940 i9-10900 or i9-10900k? That would be too bad.

@Own8940 i9-10900 or i9-10900k? That would be too bad.

I9-10900

Okay, I checked back with Dell. All XPS desktops have the same fan installed - no matter which processor or whether K, F or whatever. The chipset is decisive here and it is the same everywhere.

Hi all, just signed up to make a first post in case there's interest in this.

I have the XPS configuration with a 3070 and last weekend I designed and 3D printed a bracket to mount a full size 120mm fan at the front of the XPS 8940 case after removing the front HDD caddy. Seems to fit great. The pictures show a random 120mm fan I had laying around but I'm waiting on an NF-A12x25 to be delivered today for install. I've already swapped the rear fan for an NF-A9 and the CPU heatsink for the NH-D9L which are definite improvements. I still have a fully stock XPS 8940 for my co-worker that I will check thermals against once all upgrades are done - don't worry hers will get these upgrades too I'm not that selfish

I'm trying to work out if there's a way to fit an 80mm fan under the GPU at the front of the case as I still think the GPU will struggle thermally with the side panel on since it creates a horizontal wall in the case, but that is proving to be a tighter fit. That said, with this 3070 design the 80mm fan itself can act as a GPU support so there is potential - there's just not as many convenient mounting points down there.

Looks great! Did you notice any problems with vibrations or anything because it's screwd to the case? Do you mind sharing the template for the bracket? I already swapped the back fan with a NF-A9 and that poor excuse of a cpu-cooler with a NF-U9S (+ second fan). Planning to add a front fan as well.

So far i'm satisfied with this build, the only thing that's annoying is the loudness of the RTX 3070 under load. Sounds like a jet engine Does anyone got tips for improvements on that matter?

Got it installed with an NF-A12x25 and I have to say it's impressive how much air can get pulled through the front. It's a bit of a tortuous path but it does breathe with enough fans lol. There is no vibration as of yet - the bracket actually slots snugly onto the same rails as the HDD cage does so it's not just the screw holding it. In fact the screw just retains it much like the HDD cage. I feel like there's more than enough airflow for the CPU now with CPU temps under 70°C running the same loads that put it up over 85°C stock. And yes I'd be happy to share the model. I'll try to get it up on thingiverse or something this weekend.

As I feared, at full load the GPU still struggles to stay cool. With the side panel on at full load I'm hitting up to 77-78°C. It drops to 70°C (and boosts about 100 mhz) when it can breathe with the panel removed. I think rather than adding another fan under the 3070 I'm going to try designing a shroud to screw to the back of the NF-A12x25 to scoop a portion of its cool airflow and direct it down between the 3070 and the case panel. I'd like to try to get the GPU under 75°C with the panel on at max load and I think it will either come from another fan or a scoop, whichever proves quieter to my ear.

That looks great! I have a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO that's sitting unused, and I was considering popping it into my new 8940 after being unpleasantly surprised by the tiny little cooler that's installed rather than the one that's in all the images.

Was there anything to the replacement other than removing the old cooler, applying new thermal grease, and screwing the new one in? That is, did you have to install a mounting bracket, remove any mounting hardware associated with the tiny cooler, that sort of thing? I don't want any surprises.

You can relocate the front HDD to the top and remove the front HDD bracket for more air flow.  I do strongly suggest to replace the stock heatsink to prolong the life of the CPU.  

The "K" version comes with the better heatsink, for non "K" user, page 5 has the full instruction on how to install NH-D9L with NO modification on the motherboard.  I strongly recommend it.  My XPS 8940 is 10700 non K with RTX 3060 ti.  With NH-D9L I can play COD Warzone / Cold War all day and CPU sitting at 75 degree C with no throttling.

Cheers.

@KuroAkuma80 As mentioned above, Dell told me that all XPS desktops have installed the same CPU cooler - no matter which processor. So your statement confuses me a little.

@bigfraggle007 

Stock Dell i7 10700 CPU coolerStock Dell cooler vs Stock Intel CPU coolerDell vs Intel

Picture 1 is the Dell stock cooler (unless you order the "K" version of Intel processor since "K" can be overclocked, which require the cooler like they got in their XPS literature.

Picture 2 is the Dell vs Intel, both stock cooler.  And from picture 3 it has a huge difference on the thickness.  With the Intel stock cooler, I can keep the CPU at high 80s to low 90s under load (vs Dell stock over 100), which the CPU can handle but will decrease the longevity.

Hope this is clear as mud.

Regards,

KuroAkuma80