Dimension 8300 Heatsink Question

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@enzomares wrote:

I am thinking of replacing the heatsink of my dell dimension 8300. Does anyone know how to take it off and if a standard heatsink with fan would fit?

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On the link below you can find the instructions how to remove the heatshink

http://docs.euro.dell.com/docs/systems/dim8300/en/sm/mprcsr.htm

              There are also issues involving non-standard mounting points for a heatsink on Dell mobo's where aftermarket heatsink/fan combos will not mount to the board. As far as that heatpipe/ducting method Dell uses on the 8300 and the XPS gaming PC, there was an overheating issue that caused the systems to slow down dramatically when tested under extended loads. I understand the XPS was revamped with faster fans to help ease the suspected heat build up and system slowdown was revealed by MaximumPC magazine in last month's magazine. My personal opinion is that there is no better way to aircool a cpu than to have a fan directly mounted on top of a quality heatsink and a good exhaust fan (or fans) to vent the case.

            Just an opinion,

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          The XPS was compared to a Falcon-Northwest and an Alienware Area51, all with Intel 3GHz 800FSB.

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        Basically the same package on both rigs, I would have to believe that the issue would be prevalent in both machines. That heatpipe technology has been around for awhile and really hasn't been embraced by most of the sites that test these, and other, machines. Dell has put a faster fan system in the XPS to cool down their flagship gamer from heatstroke.

        Max PC's review was on the XPS and they felt that a fan directly on the heatsink would have prevented any heat related slowdowns in the benchmarks. The higher velocity fans will move more air over the passive and should help with heat transfer and keep the innards cooler. I doubt you will see Dell do the same with the 8300, but heat build up could explain the posts about periodic reboots and shutdowns on the 8300 and some of the video issues, though that can be helped by vacating the slot just below the AGP card.

        Just pure curiosity, but why diid you switch out your psu to a pcpowersupply 425 ?

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Speaking about heatsinks, does the Dimension 8300 and XPS use the same heatsink?  Also, who actually makes the heatsink for Dell or is that the same one supplied with Intel CPUs?  Does Dell actually use the retail version or OEM version of the CPU because I noticed the XPS system my friend received, there was a Intel 3 year warranty statement which I believe is only for retail CPUs.  Also, were there more than one generation of XPS models because Crucials website seems to list a lot of XPS submodels and I have no idea what the current one is classified as.  Thanks.

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@jdwssll wrote:

                Just pure curiosity, but why diid you switch out your psu to a pcpowersupply 425 ?

                                                                                                                                             

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I'm using a 1.8ghz 4550 non-copper heatsink on an 8300 mobo and have never experienced any of these slowdowns or random reboots, one of the reasons is that this PSU really increases airflow inside the case, but the main reason is because I'm on the 533 which runs cooler than the 800's (I'd never even think about using this heatsink with an 800mhz P4). I'm eventually going to buy the 8300 heatsink and hopefully won't be regressing (it's supposed to be alot better than what I have now!)
 

Vince, Intel makes the heatsinks that come with their retail CPU's. It's a shame the Intel h/s and fan can't be used on a Dell...

Message Edited by gts007 on 07-09-2003 08:55 PM

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gts007 wrote:

Vince, Intel makes the heatsinks that come with their retail CPU's. It's a shame the Intel h/s and fan can't be used on a Dell...

Message Edited by gts007 on 07-09-2003 08:55 PM

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Actually, what I meant was who makes the Dell heatsink and on the Intel P4 CPUs in Dell machines, are those actually retail models with a Intel warranty because it seems the sheet and the XPS manual has this Intel 3 year warranty thing and I thought all OEMs used the OEM CPUs.  I guess Dell buys the Retail versions without the fans?