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Dell XPS 420 CPU Cooler

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thewingnut13   11-08-2008 at 11:15:27 PM

Hey everyone, i have a Dell XPS 420 with a Intel E6850 3.0Ghz cpu. It has the stock heatsink and fan and i didnt know if i was able to change them out with an aftermarket LGA 775 heatsink and fan? Thanks.

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customisbetter   11-09-2008 at 12:35:30 AM
- 0 +

Maybe. Check inside and see if the cooler you have no has 4 screws going into the motherboard. If so, you should be fine.

------------------------------ e4400 2.75Ghz MSI G33 4x1GB DDR2-667@826 Palit 4870 3DMark 12112
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blackwidow_rsa   11-09-2008 at 12:54:24 AM
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If the heatsink has an intel logo on it and has the above mention plastic clip screw thingies, you can get an aftermarket one. I'd just be worried about the clearance your motherboard and case will give

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ashes_59   11-09-2008 at 04:54:33 AM
- 1 +

The Dell XPS420 has a shroud that hinges over the cpu to direct the air flow from the front mounted fan.
The cpu cooler is also connected to the shroud and is removed when the shroud is removed. I know of no other cooler that can be mounted in this fashion. This setup is very efficient and the best way to get a higher degree of cooling would be to get a fan controller (either hardware or software) and set the fan rpm manually as opposed to the temp. control that is implemented as a standard by Dell. You can always try to rig a cooler without the shroud but you will be constrained by the fact that you have no mounting holes on the motherboard, and the cpu is positioned so that you will not have the necessary clearance from the front mounted peripherals.

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marx_w   12-09-2008 at 06:34:52 AM
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I have the an xps 420 with Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz and the GPU temp on my nVidia GeForce 8800 GT gets up to 90 when playing GTA4 is that normal?


Message edited by marx_w on 12-09-2008 at 06:37:07 AM
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Bronze CPUs badge cjl   12-09-2008 at 07:41:22 AM
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Sounds like it isn't out of the ordinary for an 8800GT, though you could always upgrade the Dell exhaust fan, as the XPS 420 case doesn't have the greatest exhaust fan IIRC, and the case ventilation is its largest weak point.

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marx_w   12-11-2008 at 05:40:19 PM
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What would you recommend?

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Benm   01-29-2009 at 05:15:41 PM
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the xps 420 actually has excellent heat dissapation. the only reason the gfx card heats up is because the fan speed is set to 20% constantly, you need to download the nvidia ntune and change the default speed to around 40%, works for me. forget about replacing the exhaust and heatsink its a waste of time and could cause damage to your gpu, seeing as dell spends millions on case design for the quietest and most efficient rig, it doesnt make sense to swop anything to do with cooling

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marx_w   02-24-2009 at 05:20:45 PM
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Thanks did get nvidia ntune and it started self cooling... :wahoo:

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marx_w   02-24-2009 at 05:21:17 PM
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Thanks did get nvidia ntune and it started self cooling... :wahoo:

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Anonymous   03-17-2009 at 12:48:27 PM
- -1 +

The 8800GT in my XPS 420 was too noisy. The card was fine at idle, with the fan running at 20% the temp. was about 65C. When being worked hard though (Dawn of War II), the GPU would rise to the mid 80's, triggering the fan to run at 100%. This was unacceptably loud.

I have replaced the GPU cooler with a Thermalright HR-03GT, fitted with a 92mm fan. I was concerned this would not fit, but decided that something had to be done so took a chance! This is fitted in the 'backwards' configuration, so with the BTX format of the XPS 420, the cooler hangs below the card. This means I cannot use any of the PCI slots below the PCI-E, but luckily there is one PCI slot above the PCI-E for my Soundblaster card.

I had to remove the blue bracket which previously supported the graphics card as the heat transfer pipes fouled against it. This bracket always seemed a little unnecessary.

Now, the card idles at 39C, and rises to around 52c under load (2 hours of DOW2). I run the 92mm fan at full speed (12v), but it is still only just audible even with the case open. At lower speeds, I really couldn't hear it at all, and I doubt that the temps. would rise much. As my case sits under my desk, I decided it still wouldn't be audible and left it at max.

I used the standard TIM that shipped with the cooler, and the standard RAM heatsink adhesive pads. I did make sure I'd cleaned the original TIM off very carefully with a dedicated TIM cleaner first though, having heard horror stories of these falling off - not so much of an issue though in a BTX case of course, where gravity is on your side.

(All temp. figures from RivaTuner, btw.)


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callyham   07-10-2009 at 01:08:05 AM
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taking a stab in teh dark here with mr unknown above this post but did everything fit in well after taking out teh blue bracket for the video card heatsink? im looking to put in a 4850 but not sure about it all fitting in...

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