Dimension 8400 Extra Chassis Fan required for PCI Express?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi,

We have just purchased a new Dimension 8400. We opted for the Radeon
x300 graphics card with the intention of replacing it with a Geforce
PCX 5900. (The alternative Radeon x800 was a bit overkill and a touch
too expensive, and at least this way we would have a spare).

However - because the new 5900 requires more than 75 Watts of power,
the bios kindly informs us that we need to add a PCI cage fan. And
indeed, if you look in the manual (page 88) there are full
installation instructions and diagrams on how to do this.

Ok - sounds easy then - contact Dell and ask about purchasing the fan
and then install it. However, Dell Parts(UK) seem to have no
knowledge of the fan. I called Support and they do not know about it
and initially even claimed there was no room for the fan (the mounting
holes and vents are clearly visible in the case). They even asked me
to scan _my_ copy of the manual and send it to _them_ for them to look
at!

OK - I did that (along with some photos), and they have just called me
back. Their response was that they do not support the NVidia card,
and basically cannot help. I explained that it was not really an
issue of supporting a particular card - just that I wanted to purchase
a part mentioned in their manual.

They are getting back to me again.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? I might be the first, but I
don't think I will be the last.

Out of interest, can anyone who opted for the more powerful x800
graphics card tell me if their 8400 _has_ this extra fan.

Dave.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I can't comment on the availability of the part, but I will opine that the
8400 is relatively new, so it's possible that Dell's technical support isn't
up to speed on it yet. In this way, Dell is no different than most large
organizations that introduce new models.

Dell won't support the new 5900 or its installation, of course, but they
should help you out with the cage fan. And they will - once enough people
figure out what the heck you're talking about ;-> So cut them a little
slack.

75 watts for a video card alone? That certainly blows away my wimpy Radeon
9000.

--
Ted Zieglar
formerly "Rocket J. Squirrel"


"Dave Wilkinson" <davegg@yorktechnologies.com> wrote in message
news:c8d48000.0407260848.3673c324@posting.google.com...
> Hi,
>
> We have just purchased a new Dimension 8400. We opted for the Radeon
> x300 graphics card with the intention of replacing it with a Geforce
> PCX 5900. (The alternative Radeon x800 was a bit overkill and a touch
> too expensive, and at least this way we would have a spare).
>
> However - because the new 5900 requires more than 75 Watts of power,
> the bios kindly informs us that we need to add a PCI cage fan. And
> indeed, if you look in the manual (page 88) there are full
> installation instructions and diagrams on how to do this.
>
> Ok - sounds easy then - contact Dell and ask about purchasing the fan
> and then install it. However, Dell Parts(UK) seem to have no
> knowledge of the fan. I called Support and they do not know about it
> and initially even claimed there was no room for the fan (the mounting
> holes and vents are clearly visible in the case). They even asked me
> to scan _my_ copy of the manual and send it to _them_ for them to look
> at!
>
> OK - I did that (along with some photos), and they have just called me
> back. Their response was that they do not support the NVidia card,
> and basically cannot help. I explained that it was not really an
> issue of supporting a particular card - just that I wanted to purchase
> a part mentioned in their manual.
>
> They are getting back to me again.
>
> Has anyone else experienced this issue? I might be the first, but I
> don't think I will be the last.
>
> Out of interest, can anyone who opted for the more powerful x800
> graphics card tell me if their 8400 _has_ this extra fan.
>
> Dave.

 

[ted]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Dave Wilkinson" <davegg@yorktechnologies.com> wrote in message news:c8d48000.0407260848.3673c324@posting.google.com...

> However - because the new 5900 requires more than 75 Watts of power,
> the bios kindly informs us that we need to add a PCI cage fan. And
> indeed, if you look in the manual (page 88) there are full
> installation instructions and diagrams on how to do this.

Being curious, I took a look at the open chassis view:

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_8400?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~page=2&~tab=viewstab#tabtop

and downloaded the Owners Manual:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8400/en/om/H3182a00.pdf

I see what you are talking about. It looks as though the fan mounts on
top of those green slotted things, but I can't make them out real well.
Looks like the fan may be venting to that grated area next to the PCI
slots (?).

What with the shrouded CPU approach and the dead area on the
other side of the graphics board, it doesn't look like graphics boards
get much air flow. But I've never run across this kind of setup. IIRC,
I did however come across some kind of graphics board sink/fan
combo that vented via adjacent PCI slot.

Is the BIOS message an FYI or a message that can be turned off or
are you actually stuck until you install this fan?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Ted" <nothanks@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:41058619$0$5643$61fed72c@news.rcn.com...
>
> "Dave Wilkinson" <davegg@yorktechnologies.com> wrote in message
news:c8d48000.0407260848.3673c324@posting.google.com...
>
> > However - because the new 5900 requires more than 75 Watts of power,
> > the bios kindly informs us that we need to add a PCI cage fan. And
> > indeed, if you look in the manual (page 88) there are full
> > installation instructions and diagrams on how to do this.
>
> Being curious, I took a look at the open chassis view:
>
>
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_8400?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~page=2&~tab=viewstab#tabtop
>
> and downloaded the Owners Manual:
>
> http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8400/en/om/H3182a00.pdf
>
> I see what you are talking about. It looks as though the fan mounts on
> top of those green slotted things, but I can't make them out real well.
> Looks like the fan may be venting to that grated area next to the PCI
> slots (?).
>
> What with the shrouded CPU approach and the dead area on the
> other side of the graphics board, it doesn't look like graphics boards
> get much air flow. But I've never run across this kind of setup. IIRC,
> I did however come across some kind of graphics board sink/fan
> combo that vented via adjacent PCI slot.
>
> Is the BIOS message an FYI or a message that can be turned off or
> are you actually stuck until you install this fan?

The "green slotted things" are spare drive rails. (Good of them to supply so
many - there are several more as well). These need to be removed, and then
it looks like the diagram in the manual.

Yes - it vents to the area beside the PCI slots.

And sadly - no - you cannot disable the message. (Well - there's no setting
in the BIOS setup anyway.)

I had a look at some other PCI slot coolers, but it's only going to disable
the message if it's connected to the five-pin socket on the motherboard.
Unfortunately the normal 925x MBs auxiallary fan sockets seem to have four
pins, so it looks like Dell are keeping it proprieatory and third-party
solution is not possible.

This is my first Dell, and I have to admit that I was initially very
impressed with how much information the User Manual gives on upgrading. It
suggests that upgrading is _not_ something they discourage, and it's nice
that there's no "you are about to invalidate your warranty" sticker across
the case opening. Hopefully they can sort it out. It's just frustrating to
see the picture of the part, but not be able to get hold of it.

Dave.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Dave Wilkinson" <davegg@yorktechnologies.com> wrote in message
news:c8d48000.0407260848.3673c324@posting.google.com...
> Has anyone else experienced this issue? I might be the first, but I
> don't think I will be the last.
>

Nail on the head I think there...........it's a brand new machine + new
technology to boot, support clearly aren't 100% au fait with it.