XPS 8940, Better 3rd party cooler

@purpledrillmonkey same on my G5: it takes 3-5 seconds after I press the power button for the Noctua case fans to begin spinning. Luckily, the BIOS doesn't complain about it

Hi, sorry if I'm disturbing your fine day, but can I ask if the Vetroo V5 gives any F1 BIOS errors?

I would like to confirm this. Thanks.

@bertro514 yeah its interesting the difference - the 8940 I have (and I assume the G5) seem to not care nearly as much on fan selection and/or have different PWM fan curves to avoid any issues, but the Alienware R11 hates any PWN fans that need a stronger PWM signal to spin.

On the R11 for instance, the PWM signal on bootup and idle is presumably weak enough that a Noctua NH-A12 PWM (and similar other fans) will not even rotate until the fan load hits ~20% in windows so basically the BIOS freaks out and thinks there's no fan connected. There's a few known exceptions (Corsair ML120 Pro the most well known - note that the non-pro suffers the same errors lol) but as far as i can tell, any PWM fan that spins immediately on boot will work in the R11, any that do not will error out even though they will ramp once the PC is loaded. Hence my curiosity on bypassing the check entirely in BIOS.

Anyway, that's a digression from the topic at hand so enough said I suppose. Thanks again for the links!!

That's pretty good stats. Would you able to share a pic of how you fit all your fans in the chassis? Just got my I7-11700 and would like to follow your configuration. Thank you!

This is a really great thread.

I have 25 years experience in IT and left that role 3 years ago (now I am in the R&D 3D printing world).

Dumb question follows...removing the old paste..paper towel?  Isoprofyl alcohol wipe?

I'm used to building my own systems/gaming rigs.  I needed a system for my YouTube Live Stream and RTX cards are hard to source.  I spent $1900 on this 3070 equipped machine (should arrive in 3 weeks) and it would cost me close to twice that to do my ideal rig (RTX 3090, AMD 5950, etc).  The value is certainly a big plus on this machine.

@LikeHerdingCats 

I use paper towels and regular rubbing alcohol, and a bunch of Q-tips.  Regarding the paper towels, don't use cheap thin ones as they tear easy and leave behind pieces.  Personally I feel that the wipes are too thin and don't pick-up enough of the old paste, especially if it's gunked-up.

I Updated my guide on G5 I7 10700 rtx3070 thermal upgrade with a lot of tips on this topic, let me know if there are any questions about my build!

@LikeHerdingCats - I only have limited experience that I can count on both hands. But I use the individually wrapped alcohol prep pads. Mainly because I had some here.... They work great for me.

@PauRoNL - great job as always !  As I mentioned, I'm looking for someone in the US to make the mounting bracket for me. If anyone has any leads, please let me know !

Sure thing. 

The front cooler is only attached on two of the four sides (at least I could not find any other suitable holes in the front)..Shouldn't be an issue though unless you're the kind of person that regularly throws their computer out the window  Front fan

I've not yet been able to source the Voltage Regulator (VR) heatsink, Dell P/N 612F7, here in UK.  Even Deal4Go are out of stock on Amazon UK.  So I'm wondering about an alternative.

For the XPS 8940 PCs with a non-k processor, the main problem is that changing from a downdraft cooler to a tower cooler may result in less air flow over the VRs.  Therefore it may not be necessary to fit a heatsink, just to ensure there's enough air flow.  The area of the VRs looks to be about 60mm x 30mm and there are small 5V 30mm square by 7mm or 8mm thick fans called Pi-fans, made for the Raspberry Pi.  Mounting a couple of these over the VR area should provide the necessary cooling.  Does this sound reasonable?

So my question is - how thick is the VR heatsink in the thinner area closest to the CPU socket and how much room is there under the fan when using a Noctua NH-U9S cooler in twin fan configuration?  Basically, is there sufficient room to fit a couple of slim 30mm square fans that are ~8mm thick?

I'm looking to design a 3D frame that will bolt to the two VR heatsink mounting pillars and support two Pi-fans.  I've not designed for 3D printing before (the last time I designed anything major was when I was working as a Design Engineer on an A0 drawing board in the early '90's using pencils on polyester film, although more recently I've designed and had manufactured a few custom camera macro lens adaptors) but OpenSCAD doesn't look too hard, so I'm going to give it a go.  My biggest concern is that the fans will be too thick!

I used paper towel and the Arctic Silver Arcticlean Thermal Material Remover & Surface Purifier Kit, ACN-60ML, that I bought off Amazon.

I’m still struggling to purchase the Voltage Regulator (VR) heatsink, Dell P/N 612F7, for my XPS 8940 here in UK, even the overpriced Deal4GO heatsink is currently unavailable on Amazon UK.

So, I’ve been looking at other solutions.  As I understand it, the reason to fit the heatsink is because there’s a possibility for reduced air flow over the VRs when using a tower cooler when compared to the original downdraft cooler, which could lead to them overheating.  Ensuring the area has sufficient air flow should also provide an acceptable solution.

The area of the VR heatsink is around 60mm x 30mm.  I’m looking at the design of a mounting frame to be 3D printed that will support two 30mm square Pi-fans.  These small 5V 2-wire fans are only 7mm or 8mm thick.  I’ve not designed for 3D printing before but OpenSCAD doesn’t look too hard to learn, so I’m going to give it a go.

What do people think?  One question I have, directed to those who are using the Noctua NH-U9S cooler in a twin fan arrangement, is whether there is sufficient room under the exhaust side fan to install a couple of small 8mm thick fans over the VRs, especially the taller ones closer to the CPU socket.

I have plenty of 3D printing capacity and located in the northeastern USA. I plan to print a 120 mm fan mount (same that was linked earlier to Thingiverse)

Looking forward to receiving my machine soon!