1 Rookie
•
9 Posts
0
4183
April 3rd, 2022 16:00
XPS 8950, Liquid cooling replacement
Hello,
I have the 8950 with the liquid cooling option and it cools very well but it is more audible than it should be in my humble opinion. It does not bother me too much now but I would like a quieter option in the future when I decide to enroll into an academic program. I searched through XPS and Alienware forums and read that the audible noise is normal so there is no need for a parts replacement.
I decided that I can replace it in the future with a Noctua air cooler (most probably the NH-U12S) but when I watched an installation video, I realized that the technician had to mount a bracket behind the motherboard. I know the 8950 comes with a Z690 chipset and Noctua provides a LGA 1700 tool kit so will it be necessary for me to remove the motherboard or can I use the pre-existing bracket that was already placed with the Dell liquid cooling system?
Also, I might need to ziptie the rear Dell fan to the back of the PC since I don't have a 120mm fan bracket. If the fan cable does not reach the motherboard slot then I can buy a rear fan that does not cause a BIOS error.
0 events found
mr_drey
1 Rookie
•
50 Posts
4
April 4th, 2022 21:00
I can confirm that both Corsair H60 (single fan) or Corsair H80 (dual fan) work quite well with XPS 8950. Temp are approx 5-10 *C less as compared to Dell AIO cooler.
The big factor for me is how quiet Corsair units are.
If you'll be going Corsair route, be sure to order Corsair LGA1700 kit and reuse your existing AIO mounting bracket. No need to remove motherboard, installation is super simple and straight forward.
kras1
2 Intern
•
444 Posts
0
April 3rd, 2022 22:00
There is a forum member called mr_drey that installed a Corsair H80 120mm AIO in his 8950 and he has stated that it cools better than the stock AIO and is extremely quiet. That is the route that I am taking because I am also unhappy with the amount of noise that the stock AIO makes at idle.
RoHe
12 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
•
172.6K Points
0
April 4th, 2022 11:00
IIRC, another user had a noisy cooling pump in the XPS 8950 replaced under warranty and that solved the problem.
No idea how noisy that pump was compared to yours, but you can contact Dell Tech Support for assistance, and possible pump replacement.
kras1
2 Intern
•
444 Posts
0
April 4th, 2022 14:00
I had my pump replaced under warranty. It was extremely loud and after replacement, it is just kinda loud. It seems to be a reoccurring theme with the liquid cooled 8950's...... the AIO is noisy at idle.
NYCJON
1 Rookie
•
9 Posts
0
April 5th, 2022 17:00
If I decide to replace my water cooling system then I might just buy a Corsair since I can use the existing mounting bracket. If I buy a Noctua then there is a chance that I might need to remove the motherboard which looks quite challenging.
stevehart
1 Rookie
•
18 Posts
1
May 10th, 2022 19:00
I just bought the Corsair H60 and LGA 1700 retrofit kit. Dell has installed 3 different AIO coolers in my system and they're all unacccpetably noisy. I ordered another 8950 and same thing. Their wesbite's claim of "whisper quiet" is misleading.