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.