XPS 8950, Cooling - Wow, and Thanks!

very nice work!

Did you take any photos during your project?

@ProfessorW00d 

Thanks!  No, I didn't take any pix - didn't expect anything exotic/exciting.  Just a plain ole cooler swap!

I am glad everything worked out and that you are able to recommend this cooler after verifying that it works very well with the non "K" CPU. In my opinion the premium air cooler should be the standard cooler for all the XPS desktops......"K" series cpu's or not.

I agree.   The difference is stunning between these two coolers.  The i712700, though not the heat generator the i9 is, is still quite a formidable heat source.  It really requires something better than that cheap pancake cooler.

One other plus for this cooler that factored into my selection, is the factory fit.  There are endless YouTube videos showing the hardware and process to get many 3rd party coolers to fit this motherboard.  None of it looks particularly hard, but the plug/play aspect of the OEM cooler is certainly a plus.

As I mentioned above, not sure if my choice of paste contributes to these new thermal numbers, but according to reasonably good online sources - paste can matter - and I didn't know what paste was on there.  I am sure the factory paste works, but again, my OCD wins the day.

Just a note: when you change a cold plate of any kind, you should always clean the old thermal paste thoroughly and apply fresh thermal paste . . . always.

Hi,

I am glad you had a positive experience with the OEM premium air cooler for your XPS 8950. I have a similar system ( i7 12700, 32 GB, 1660 ti). I also found the stock cpu cooler to be inadequate also. For the same reasons as you, I replaced the stock cpu cooler with the OEM premium cooler. I have been delighted with the results. It is nice to see praise for an often overlooked cpu cooler.

@smokeygraypoupon 

Good to hear from another owner of the same cooling solution on a non-K proc.

The premium air cooler works great at keeping the CPU at low temps.  It has a 120mm fan - much bigger than the 92mm stock fan.  As I mentioned prior, the fan noise seems to be slightly higher, but I am not 100% convinced it's the new cooler.  It could be the price of admission for a larger fan, but maybe I am now just paying more attention to it.  Maybe it's the case fans and it's been there all along?  It's still fairly quiet at idle, so it's not a high priority for me atm.  What is your experience with fan noise before/after the new cooler?

I was fortunate to have a virtually silent system at idle and general usage before and after cpu cooler swap. The only time I hear any fan noise is during a hardware scan/test. The fans go full rpm as expected. I am not a gamer. The really annoying thing to me, as you may have noticed, about the stock cooler was it left approximately 20% of the cpu uncovered. The rectangular cpu with a circular cooler contact plate. Certainly, a head scratcher. Anyway, I am glad you are as pleased as I am.

Any chance it could be the fans on the video card? Some people have complained that those make more noise than they would like.

@kras1 

Good question!  In my brief listening "test", I did put my ear next to my 3060ti with each disconnect of a fan.  I could hear a consistent sound from the GPU, but it was not egregious to my ear, as it just sounded like moving air - and very slight at that.

I know the OEM cooler, while being quite a good performer, no doubt has some kind of funky Dell-compatible fan between those heatsinks, so it may be somewhat questionable and inconsistent.  But, if smokeygraypoup (great name!) says that his cooler is totally quiet, I might try a swap with another one.  I fully realize this is all a crapshoot, 'cause you never know what you are gonna get, and besides, all of this is totally subjective and dependent on one's hearing skills/capabilities.

My 3060Ti can be heard when the fans come on and the noise fluctuates with the fan speed. It is only audible when the room is silent though. It isn't nearly as loud as the stock AIO pump.

Interesting.  I avoided the AIO cooler based on reports like yours, and my thinking at the time was that I would be getting a top-shelf 3rd-party cooler like a Noctua or BeQuiet.  I came to value the compatibility, both software and hardware of the OEM cooler, so I went with that instead.  If I am gaming (a new interest!) I can hear the GPU fans kick-in, but again, it's more like a whoosh vs a mechanical sound.  I just don't mind that.

I hear my cooler now as I type this.  It's mechanical and it's like a sine wave with a 10 second peak-to-peak.  It's there 100% of the time.  May just get another one and swap it.

I removed the side panel and I did hear a constant soft "whirring" sound. I blocked the rear fan with a sheet of paper. and continued to hear the "whirring" sound. It is just a fan spinning. If you are hearing anything else, it may be a fan issue. I am by no means an expert. If possible, return the cpu cooler for an exchange and see what happens. As mentioned previously, always thoroughly clean and repaste the cpu with fresh paste.

@smokeygraypoupon 

Thanks a million for checking this out! Very possibly these are the same in respect to the sound. I'll keep an ear on it to see if it gets worse. 

Thanks again!