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1 Rookie

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3 Posts

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January 24th, 2025 15:51

XPS 8920, possible to replace motherboard with later gen XPS 89XX?

XPS 8920

XPS 8920

Hi,

So with win 11 and me having a 7th gen CPU, I don't want to have to buy a whole new computer.

Is it possible to just switch out the motherboard and CPU?

What models can I put in the 8920 case?

Is it even worth it?

Thank you for all insight in advance,

8 Wizard

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7.3K Posts

January 24th, 2025 16:55

You might be able to upgrade your XPS 8920 chassis with XPS 8930 motherboard.  Other boards will require significant case modification or just don't work at all.

XPS 8930 supports up to 9th gen processors and should meet your Windows 11 upgrade plan easily.

Note that you can actually install Win 11 22H4 to your XPS 8920 without any additional upgrade cost.  Use a spare drive and attempt a clean installation and see for yourself (follow some instructions I provided at this thread)

XPS 8920 motherboard:

XPS 8930 motherboard:

8 Wizard

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17K Posts

January 24th, 2025 16:02

I don't know the answer to your question, as Dell cases and some parts are proprietary. 

 

For example, you might think its gonna-work and then you find-out (at the very end) that you can't plug-in the Front-Panel cables. About then, you will wondering why you even gambled on it to save a few dollars.

 

If you really what to build a computer from scratch ... buy whatever you think you need. And then add a $50 case and nice $75 power-supply to the shopping cart.

(edited)

1 Rookie

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3 Posts

January 24th, 2025 16:07

Yeah, I'm looking for other options before going that route. That wood fractal case appears in my dreams lol but I'll wait till win10 doomsday before I commit.

I really like my Dell XPS and wanted to keep it for a few more years but its out of our hands.

9 Legend

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13.9K Posts

January 24th, 2025 17:59

it can be done as Chino said.

Is it worth it?  depends on how much a 8930 board and cpu cost.  given the 8/9th gen cpu is already 7-8 years old, may not be worth 100 for i7-8700 cpu and another 100 or less for 8930 motherboard.  get a preowned 10/11th gen Optiplex 5000/7000 may be better if you can find a deal.  nothing magic about XPS model.  you can sell it if possible to defray the cost 

(edited)

1 Rookie

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3 Posts

January 24th, 2025 18:31

Thank you for links I will go check it out. The main issue I saw with upgrading with a clean install is that while security updates will work fine, I might have to repeat the process for any major updates.

And yeah for sure it will depend on the cost of used parts. I have a local used electronics store, so I might check if they have some deals there.

8 Wizard

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7.3K Posts

January 24th, 2025 18:54

Glad to help out.  For a smooth installation, remember to restore your system BIOS to default prior to running Windows 11 installation.  It will not give you any trouble as long as the process can verify UEFI boot mode on, Secure Boot on, and TPM on.

The only negative impact is reinstalling your programs, apps.  Important data should have been backup.  You can restore your backup data from one drive or google drive to your newly installed Win 11 machine.

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