Studio XPS 435T/9000, CPU cooler upgrade

Question

I have an aging Dell XPS 9000. The CPU cooler is working but I have an old Astek AIO liquid cooler I pulled out of a similarly aged Alienware Area51 case I got for free. I've read in other posts that only dell CPU coolers will work, so what Im wondering is if anyone knows if that AIO cooler will work on the xps 9000 as it did come from a Dell(Alienware) computer.

speedstep · Accepted Answer

Dell swaps wires around so that only units from them work. They don't do that on every model however. YMMV There is nothing special about dell cooler vs standard other than the wires swapped around. That's why there are Adapters. Dell further hides this on some coolers by making all of the fan wires the same color. P041K is the recommended upgrade/replacement for XPS 9000/435T Cooler. P281K is plastic and breaks regularly.

https://www.amazon.com/P041K-Heat-Sink-Assy-Studio/dp/B00ZSWP7EY/

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Heatsink-Assembly-LGA775-Optiplex/dp/B004YWSBII/

The Red wire is +12v

Black Wire is Ground

White/Yellow Wire is TACH

Blue Wire is PWM.

Same with 3 wire Fans. Dell Swaps the wires around. BUT NOT ON ALL MODELS. So when changing a fan look at the original connector to see what goes where.

https://www.outletpc.com/c8268.html

Dell Blue, Black, Red, Yellow to STD Black, Red, Yellow, Blue

Depends on which side you look at it from.

on some models the connector is different as well 5 PINS vs 4

https://www.amazon.com/Pocaton-Female-Socket-Connector-Cooling/dp/B073XJV5L9

DELL XPS 435 COOLER P041K

DELL to Standard

Standard vs Dell isn't difficult

cooling fan wires

dell conversion

Lordedubs · Answer

Thanks for the info. This is more than enough for me to figure it out. Thanks!

rykoz · Answer

I tried installing the P041K to 435T but the screws don't reach, it sits too high.  Any solutions?

Othe110 · Answer

Did you ever get it figured out?

speedstep · Answer

you are doing something wrong https://www.amazon.com/P041K-Heat-Sink-Assy-Studio/dp/B00ZSWP7EY

DrDoneright · Answer

nope just got the heatsink in the mail the screw threads are not the same as the original heatsink , I removed the screws from old heatsink , drilled out the holes , removed and the installed pin clips , and was able to install , not for a newby thats for sure , but now that I do have it installed , the cpu is running a lot cooler , I was freaked out with the heatsink at first . If your not handy dont try this at home or order original heatsink thats very hard to find  right now . thank you though , this resolved my issue after some tricky modifications

Uzodah · Answer

Hi

Like a couple of folks here, I bought and tried the P041k and it does not fit. Is it possible the XPS tower version (435T) and XPS 435MT (mini-tower) do not share compatible heat sink/CPU fan? Did you mean XPS 435MT when the thread was asking about 435T? Otherwise what is it that someone could do wrong if the screws on the P041K just don't fit?

Thanks

redxps630 · Answer

P041K is for 435MT. Lga1366 socket

P281K is for 435T/9000/9100. same lga1366 socket. In 435T Dell uses a black backplate JU616 which is also seen in XPS 730/730X and 630i. The back plate has tapped screw holes for both LGA775 and 1366 socket.

Difference between 435MT motherboard and 435T board is that the former has tapped holes built in around the socket, so there is no back plate. Heatsink screws are directed mounted onto motherboard. If look at the photo carefully (4th photo in link) it is obvious. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/working-dell-studio-xps-435mt-1792541770

435T, XPS 730/730X motherboard all have clear untapped holes around socket so heatsink must be mounted to JU616 on the backside of board.

Therefore heatsink for 435MT and 435T are completely incompatible.

Alienware Area 51 R1 AIO heatsink (lga1366) is c/w XPS 9000 motherboard. I have verified this to be correct.

XPS Desktops

Studio XPS 435T/9000, CPU cooler upgrade

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