XPS 8940, Heatsink replacement

@ftdatl: My G5 has two 2.5" drive caddies in the top rear of the case (you can see the blue handles of the trays sticking out in my pic. The G5 doesn't have 3.5" caddies--the only 3.5" drive is in the front center of the case in a non-standard carrier secured directly to the case itself.

Yeah, it sounds like yours had to go back.

@deskjockey98, Thanks. I'm sorry I said 3.5". I meant 2.5". Mine came with only one 2.5" caddy, and Dell had no resolution! It's the Special Edition with the 10900k i9. Between that and the other issues I mentioned previously couple other (probably fixable with bios and/or drivers in the future) I sent mine back. I think I bought it before they had all the kinks worked out. If there's another great sale in a few months, if I haven't built my own by then, I may give it another try. Overall I liked it, but didn't have the time nor patience to deal with Dell over its issues. Thanks again for getting back to me about the caddys. 

"I'm happy to have found a fan that doesn't trigger a BIOS error on cold boot."

What was the model of the 92mm Noctua fan (PWM or FLX)?

@timotei1  I got the PWM version. To remove any dout about which one it is, here's the link to the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RUZ059O/

@timotei1  Sorry, I'm not sure how much each component contributes to the overall improvement I saw, since I installed them both at the same time.

@deskjockey98 Just to clarify - you installed the Noctua heatsink without adding the Noctua backplate to the back of your motherboard?  You just removed the original heatsink and attached the Noctua in its place?  I tried installing this heatsink in my son's G5 5000 today and after removing the motherboard realized I would need to cut off the original supports in order for the mother board to sit flush. I am hoping for a better solution.

@Kegler1959Whoa, no need to remove the motherboard at all, and definitely no need to cut anything off. Just remove the original cooler, put in the black spacers from the Noctua cooler kit on top of the existing screw holes, place the Noctua cooler mounting brackets on top of the spacers, thread your 16 mm M3 screws through the M3 washers, then thread the screws/washers through the cooler mounting brackets and spacers. All done. Don't use the backplate, don't use anything else from the Noctua cooler mounting kit.

Check out this post and the link there for more info:

https://www.dell.com/community/Inspiron-Desktops/Inspiron-G5-5090-CPU-cooler/m-p/7772470/highlight/true#M24842

@deskjockey98 Thanks! My first thought was that it wouldn’t be sturdy enough without the Noctua backplate. Then I realized well, duh, the existing mounting posts are part of the case. You can’t get much sturdier than that. I did find other threads here where people used a Dremel to cut those posts off. I like your method much better.

The NH-D9L from Noctua fits also in the case like the NH-U9S.

The only difference is, that the fan sits in the middle of the heat sink.

The needed space to mount the Cooler on the mainboard is the same. 

I also have the XPS 8940 with RTX 3070.

Solved: XPS 8940, Better cooler - Page 6 - Dell Community

You would be better putting a 120mm fan where the front HDD frame sits.  On the other thread, you can find a link to the design on Thingiverse for a 3D-printed frame to mount a 120mm fan there, courtesy of @purpledrillmonkey.  I got one printed for under £6 here in UK.

Thank you for the link to the other thread

And the Thingiverse mention.  I have 16 3D printers in my print farm, so I can print that up easily.

I see there is also a PSU funnel, anyone use that? (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4814305)

@LikeHerdingCats  That's cool.  I had the fan frame made in black PETG rather than the turquoise PLA used by @purpledrillmonkey .  It's a really good fit.

3D printed fan frame installed

I think the PSU funnel is a work-in-progress.  You need to read the thread "XPS 8940, PSU upgrade to 850W that fits inside the case" here to understand what @Onefunkydude is doing.  I think his conclusion is that it isn't really worth it, but he'll complete the project because he's already started.

I'm waiting to see if @purpledrillmonkey produces the design he's mentioned for a second fan frame to fit towards the bottom of the front panel below the first one.

Hi Jon62  - could you  please say where you got the 3D print of the 120mm fan frame for the front case  made ? I have downloaded the required STL file from thingiverse but I haven't done this before so would appreciate a tip as to which company you used. I am also in UK. Thanks.