jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'm a fan of fans in computers and other electronic gear. I mentioned that my son's new Dell XPS 8940 let the hard drive get hot - over 110° F while doing a lot of file copying. Looking inside, I saw that it had one small fan at the rear, 90mm, I think. I had a pair of 120mm fans with red LEDs, so I thought I might be able to replace the smaller fan.

It was a tight fit - so tight that I had to grind down the top and bottom of the fan's frame. I also had to do a bit of modification to the computer's chassis, and I had to drill holes for the screws. It fits in perfectly, and it produces a good breeze out the back.

Then I looked at the front for an intake fan. By relocating some wires, the 120mm fan fit in there, but the chassis is not flat in that area, so I had to deal with that. Now I have a fan pulling air in and another pushing the air out. I did a lot of copying last night, and the HDD didn't get above 100° F. And I like the red glow front and rear.

One thing I found strange about the XPS 8940 is that there's a cage for another HDD, but there's no power connection. There are SATA terminals on the MoBo, but no provision I could see for the power cable. Adding another HDD would probably just generate more heat, though. In the last picture, that grill to the left of the fan is where another HDD would go. I've removed the cage. If there were ventilation holes in the plastic front piece, I could have installed a 90mm fan there.

Original Fan Removed


Fan Ground Down


Rear Fan


Front Intake Fan

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

Reasons not to buy a Dell.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

How long have those morons been making computers?? Why didn't you return it? Now your warranty isn't worth a damn.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

They haven't improved over the years. I have old XPS chassis in the garage, and they were much better.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've never had to use a warranty, and my son needed a computer right away. Hopefully, he'll be able to get his big one working. I doesn't turn on. I'm getting a power supply tester on Monday.

Most local repair shops are closed, and the others aren't encouraging people to call. One has a four-day wait after the computer gets delivered before he'll start working on it. I guess Covid can live for only four days on a computer.

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

Yep, never liked Dell computers, they have always been too proprietary with their parts.

will

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

From a "big fan" of DIY - Good job Mr DIY!!!!!

Say Cheese Loc: Eastern PA

Add a filter to keep the dust off of the components.

Robert1 Loc: Davie, FL

I wonder why anybody bothers to buy an already made price point IBM clone computer nowadays. They 're not that great, especially when they have proprietary components that if you need to replace you can only get theirs.

It doesn't make sense, specially when you know that the components will never match at that price point the one you can build to you hart's content by going online to one the various companies that have build your own, where you pick each and every one of the components from the list of many to choose from, until you have your perfect build. choosing components that make sense to your needs, like a case big enough to have plenty of room and options to upgrade to bigger and better components later on.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

A fan and exhaust should be balanced. That is a bid fan and a small exhaust create a problem. One of which is the fan getting back pressure will over heat, that may give you two results, one the fan burns out or the heat from the fan getting hot could blow hot air. Most times things are thought thru and balanced.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Cryogenic cooling, computer runs faster also.

Chromodynamics6 Loc: Beverly Hills Ca.

110°F or C

110°F is well within the normal operating range of most processors that are available in the XPS 8940.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/desktops/new-desktop/spd/xps-8940-desktop

https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000687.htm

https://calculator-converter.com/celsius-to-fahrenheit.htm

You can also use an M.2 ssd on the motherboard in your photos if you want to add another drive.


No trolls.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Wouldn't logic dictate that it is 110°F?
(110°C is more than enough to boil water.)

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Since you are a fan of fans, check out a company that does a great job. It is called
BIGASSFANS.

Chromodynamics6 Loc: Beverly Hills Ca.

No kidding. Wouldn't logic dictate that it was a rhetorical question?