XPS 8940, Better 3rd party cooler

Correct.   In researching this, since the original CPU heatsink that ships with these models has the fan oriented facing the board, it is providing airflow down onto the board itself and cools the VR section.   My understanding is that the reason they use a VR heatsink in the K models is that the VWD01 fan is oriented perpendicular to the board and doesn't provide the same cooling.   

Nevertheless, many of the posts on this board reflect the use of other after market CPU heatsinks that have a similar fan orientation to the VWD01 and they do not mention the need for a VR heatsink. I've also seen other posts and you tube videos where users have applied aftermarket heatsink materials to the VR section.  In the end it is likely not essential, and a bit of a judgment call.

My decision to add it was purely to fully follow the higher level of heat management provided by the stock Dell configuration in the K model.   

@AbleWalker 

I just spoke with Dell parts...both items are out of stock. 

A couple of possible courses of action:  1)  Dell Parts said the parts were out of stock to me as well, but with some encouragement, they placed the order and promised a May delivery subject to further delays that I had to accept.   I then received the Dell box with both parts seven days later.   I suspect these are not parts that are normally ordered by consumers and when the order drops in can work out to be a substantially shorter lead time.  2) the VWD01 is definitely available through EBAY.  There is a china vendor and shipment took about ten days.   There is also a version of the VWD01 available through Amazon.  I don't believe this is of the same manufacture as the Dell and EBAY version, but would likely work equally as well.  There is no after-market substitute for the 612F7, but other heatsinks available on Amazon can be affixed if you choose to add the VR Heatsink.

Please also remember that the other after-market recommendations, particularly the Noctua are good solutions as well.  I didn't go that route because I simply did not want to mess with being able to find the correct screws, risers and washers.

Personally, I'd bug the Dell parts a bit more and be patient with their shipping commitment.  You'll help others as well because their system will eventually figure out that they need higher par levels.

The downdraft design of the stock cooler would help the VRM but hilariously I would be willing to bet that if you're pushing the CPU hard stock, a 100°C CPU throttle temp being hit immediately means you're probably blowing hotter air over the VRM than the ambient case air would be with almost any front to back cooler design. The fact CPU temps drop by 20-30°C with a better cooler should keep the entire region near the CPU cooler never mind the fact all the air in the case should be cooler as well. Ultimately if VRM cooling is a concern I would bet willing to bet that a front upper fan would be quite useful in keeping air moving across the board.

Unless one is trying to overclock a K series CPU even some of the poorest VRM designs tend not to need much direct cooling. An exception would be if a waterblock and radiator would be installed - this would drastically reduce airflow in and around the CPU and could make a VRM heatsink useful, maybe even mandatory (especially without a front fan).

Keep in mind this is all conjecture and speculation on my part

Oh as a follow up, if VRM cooling is a concern, some options would be to try an NH-L9x65 or NH-L12S downdraft coolers. I can't speak for the installation capability, or effectiveness, but I think someone has installed the NH-L12S successfully?

What I can say is that the NH-C14S idea I presented a couple weeks back is a no-go in my experience. The mounting hardware is compatible (same as the NH-D9L) but it's just too big to squeeze in - not by much mind you. It is surprisingly close and with some creative "adjustments" to the case or cooler it might actually fit lol.

I was hoping a large downdraft (or updraft!) cooler could help get all air moving better throughout the entire case and get GPU temps down even if CPU came up a touch. Maybe the L12S can do it. I dunno.

I might just try running the intake & exhaust fans with the FC1 powered only by SATA. It can get a little noisy when all 5 are going full blast.

I dit put together A quick guide  for replacing the cpu and exaust fan on my G5 (I7 10700 RTX3070)

What made it really easy is the usage of 3x25mm grub screws

Just wanted to let XPS 8940 owners know that the Vetroo V5 cooler is a wonderful option and only costs $25 (amazon).

Amazon.com: Vetroo V5 CPU Air Cooler w/ 5 Heat Pipes 120mm PWM Processor Fan Intel LGA 1200 115X / AMD Ryzen AM4 Universal Socket w/Addressable RGB Lights (V5, Black): Industrial & Scientific

Since I wasn't having luck getting the vrm coolers from dell, I just used these (about six bucks). https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08QM84KPZ

The Vetroo  V5 pretty much fits the XPS perfectly (has a few mm of clearanance height-wise) and allows computer panel to fit back on with no issues.

Tested on Cinebench to good effect (never went over 70c) and Prime95 (never went over 65c).   During normal usage fan is really quiet.  Could only hear it (and not too bad) under max load (cinebench and prime95).

Installation was a snap, tho' mounting the fan took a bit of patience.  Strongly suggest watching the install videos you can find for this on youtube.

It's a great idea to connect the mounts and (leaving the protective sticker on the heat plate) line up the screws to the mounting plate on the MB before applying paste and mounting for real.

I highly recommend this cooler for you XPS 8940 owners.

Great job, @SomeCaliGuy !! Did you need to buy separate screws to mount it into the built-in case mount studs?

Nope, no additional screws needed.

Nothing additional is required to install Vetroo V5 to a dell XPS 8940 except for a screwdriver.  Provided brackets/screws work correctly with Dells built in back-plate (i.e. the one that is part of the case).   Installed cooler was very secure once installed.

Since the mounting screw bracket is adjustable, I strongly recommend doing that adjustment and testing the spacing before actually applying paste and mounting to the motherboard.

I'm impressed with this cooler that works great, is inexpensive, comes complete and is 100% compatible with my XPS 8940 out of the box.  Total install time was about 15 minutes for me and I'm not great with this type of thing at all.

What CPU do you have, with those temps?

Intel Core i7 10700 @ 2.90GHz  (Non k).

Vetroo V5 cooler allowed me to maintain high clock rates even when fully loaded (Cinebench and Prime95 --- Benched both single and multi-core with cinebench).

Really happy with knowing I can now do all kinds of intensive processing without thermal throttling or exceeding 70 c. 

Please note that I did substitute the Vetroo provided thermal paste with Arctic M5.

Great find on that new Vetroo cooler!  Win-win on performance and price. EZ installation and fit a plus.

120mm fan CPU coolers will typically perform better than the 92mm fan versions and should also be quieter.

Nice having some options for cooling.

Yeah, I saw a youtube comparison between the Vetroo v5 and the Noctua and the Noctua was only  a few degrees better for like 3x the price.  There wasn't much differentiating them at all in terms of temperatures/performance.

And, you don't need to fuss around with getting special screws/standoffs/etc. with the Vetroo.  For the XPS 8940, it just works.