Need to upgrade fans in my Dell Studio XPS 9100.

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xybernauts

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I have a Dell Studio XPS 9100 (Mid 2010) desktop system. I primarily use this PC for gaming. My problem is my CPU keeps on getting really hot. The CPU cores are about between 50 degrees c and 55 degrees c when idle and reach up to 75 degrees when I'm actively using the PC. When gaming, the entire PC gets very hot as well. The internal temp reaches up to 70C and this i turn raises the GPU temp. From what I've read this seems to be a common problem for this PC. I need help purchasing fans that will help keep my PC and the CPU quieter and cooler.

I've gathered some info from this and other website, forum threads etc. I know the Studio XPS 9100 uses an Intel X58 Chipset which supports a LGA 1366 Socket according to Wikipedia. (Although you can double check just to be sure.) And I read that my PCs case is around 197mm wide.

Height: 19.4" (49.3 cm)
Width: 7.8" (19.8 cm)
Depth: 20.7" (52.8cm)

I was thinking of using the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heat Pipes (http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Plus-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=pd_cp_pc_2?tag=donations09-20) for the CPU although I've read posters recommend the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=lp_11036281_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1421684062&sr=1-1) in other forums. The thing is I'm not sure if the Cool Master Hyper 212 Plus or Evo can fit in my system? From what I read it shouldn't. Please tell me I'm wrong. This YouTuber succeeded in fitting a Coolmaster into his 9100 XPS case, but not sure if it's the evo. He recommended the Evo in the comments section to a poster having problems similar to mine. If he did put the evo into his PC, not sure if he did other mods to make it work, or if it fit inside the PC naturally. Tried to contact him, but no response yet.

Also I read a poster on another thread recommend the Noctua NF-F12 PWM Cooling Fan (http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-F12-PWM-Cooling-Fan/dp/B00650P2ZC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421686399&sr=8-1&keywords=Noctua+NF-F12&tag=donations09-20) for case fan upgrade. Would this work for front and back fans and is this the best option?
 
Solution
H
Noctua will send you a free kit for the LGA1366 socket. From the U12S FAQ:

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=faqs&step=2&products_id=63&lng=en#16

Is the cooler compatible with LGA775 and LGA1366?
The cooler does not support LGA775 and LGA1366 out of the box, but can be made compatible using the NM-I3 mounting kit. Noctua provides the NM-I3 kit free of charge if a proof of purchase (scan, photo or electronic copy of the invoice) of the cooler and an LGA775 or LGA1366 motherboard or CPU are presented. In order to install the cooler using the NM-I3 kit, please first unscrew the center screw of the original one-piece fastening bracket (you can reach through the fin stack using the long screw driver supplied with the cooler) and remove...
Click to expand...
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I have a Dell XPS 9100 from 2010 that I bought. Since I use it for everyday tasks as well as gaming (BF4, Diablo ROS, Battlefront), I also ran accross heating problems.

Note: CM EVO 212 V2 does NOT fit as you can't close the side panel. Just a touch too wide.

Here is my solution, (apparently I need an ext URL to show pictures) .

* I replaced the back exhaust fan with a artic fan mounted on silicone grommets to reduce vibration
* I replaced the CPU cooler with a Artic Freezer pro R2. This dod not require access to the back of the motherboard nor placing a backplate. The spring clips it came with did not work for me as the stock Intel cooler actually had screw in screws (you might have a different MB), so I took a couple of machine screws from my toolbox and used them. Rock solid.
* I replaced the front intake fan with a bitdefender 120 mm fan. Original fan is in a frame which is super easy to take out and put in your new fan.
* I replaced the PSU which was making horrible noises with an EVGA 210-GQ-0650-V1 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI which has an ECO mode where the fam doesn't even come on until the load hits 25%. Ti say its quiet is an understatement.

Then just for the hell of it, and since I thought it might improve airflow, I cut out the side pabel over the CPU Cooler . I used a window screen extra mesh I had lying around as the dustscreen and by cutting the spline used for putting it in the window in 1/2, as an edge for the bare metal. (maybe I should do a youtube on this frankenstein 🙂) I actually did, here you go: [video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4tT6mJDLs4"][/video]

Total costs for everything I did is about $100 which improves airflow, makes it run cooler and is cheaper than having to buy a new desktop. While it still runs a tad hot, its about 10-15 Degrees C cooler than what it was originally.
 
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Good to know--thanks!


Also good to know: I really don't want to mess with the MB. Which MB do you have? Speccy says mine is "Dell Inc. 05DN3X ."

Can you confirm that the cooler is this one?

ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2


How did you get the fan out of the frame? On mine getting the frame out was a real dog. Since the OEM fan has no screws it didn't look like you could get it out of the frame.



I haven't watched your video yet, but how did you cut the hole in the case panel???


What's your idle and load temps?

Thanks for all the great info!


 
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Hi, am glad to be able to help 🙂.

In no particular order, here is some of my info:

Re how to remove the front intake fan and other useful Dell stuff. A lot of it is in this manual (see section for fan, removing cpu cooler etc. Link is here http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/studio-xps-9100/drivers

Re motherboard: here is what Speccy says: (seems same as yours)
Manufacturer Dell Inc.
Model 05DN3X (CPU 1)
Version A00
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model X58
Chipset Revision 13
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model 82801JR (ICH10R)
Southbridge Revision 00
System Temperature 37 °C
BIOS
Brand Dell Computer Corporation
Version A04
Date 21/10/2010

re Artic Freezer 7 Pro revison 2: yes, thats the same one I bought. Here is a review I did of it which kinda also explains my installation:
ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2, CPU Cooler - Intel & AMD, Multi-Directional Mount, 92mm PWM Fan

Pros: Works really well
Compact in a mid size case
Very quite fan
Keeps CPU cooler by 5-15 degrees
Super fast shipping from Newegg, I was quite impressed and will order again
Long warranty of 6 years

Cons: Installation is horrible, with a lot of fiddling
Clips did not stick, and cooler fell out, good thing did not damage any internal components
Paste is pre applied.. if you have to adjust anyhting, becomes a mess
No screws included for Intel options, just these horrible clips. Screws are cheap and would have cost nothing to include them.

Other Thoughts: * It would have been nice if Artic had included 4 screws for intel chips as clip fell out, so cpu cooler fell out, and I had to find 4 machine screws on my own, inorder to screw base in. Once done, solid as a rock.
* Thermal paste should have been in a syringe instead of being preapplied. Any fiddling creates a mess and having to reuse smeared paste instead of wiping it off and reapplying. See cons above where cooler detached from clips and fell into case.
* This thing is quiet, and I mean really quiet. If I did not see fan moving, I would have thought it was not working.
* Its also quiet under load , as well as in idle. When playing Battlefront, its raises the volume a tad , which is nice in comparison to the deafening noise the stock intel cooler made (I7-920, lga 1366)

Re opening in side case. The area is where you see originally all these little useless holes that the original Intel cooler drew air from. I covered it with painters tape and used a dremel and jigsaw (first time I do this to a pc btw) to cut rectangular opening without scratching case. (Liquid paper is great for covering these little mistakes one makes)

re temp:
At idle: Case is 38 degrees. CPU cores are about 47-49 degrees.
At load while gaming: Case is about 50 degrees . CPU cores are about 67-69 degrees.
To give you an idea , temp at laod with stock Intel cooler and original fans was 78-79 degrees and occasionally touching 80 degrees.

I apologise in advance for the poor quality of the video. I should ahve used my phone sideways to give a better view.

 
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Thanks again for all this. I have some planning to do...:)

One thing that's odd is the manual (which I've had for years) shows how to remove the 120 mm front fan in the frame. But there is no reference as to how to get the fan out of the frame. That's where I got stuck. Mine looks like it's permanently attached to the frame.
 
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Thanks--I'll keep that in mind.

 
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Mine literally snapped out, was held by clips (both frame and fan itself)

 
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I'll have to look at it again. Instead of screws there were these molded plastic plug-like things with no head in the corner screw holes. It didn't look like the fan would come out of the frame without breaking it.

I watched the video btw (thanks). Making the hole in the panel where those very useless pinholes are makes sense.

 
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I thought same as you re these stupod pinholes 🙂

Re the molded plug like things, for me at least, they simply came apart with a bit of prying, nd if I remember right, there is a clip somewhere. All isn all, took 2 mins to remove the fan. This was the first time that I changed all these things in a pc.
 
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Thank you all for your posts, appreciate the information!

I took the front fan out this morning. It comes right out of the bracket. There are 4 clips on each corner, pull on them one at a time and pull each corner out and it should pop out without breaking anything.

When I put the fan back in I wasn't sure if I had it blowing in the right direction. I could barely feel any air flow on either side. I think the original fans are garbage and the circulation in the case is terrible. I'm going to start with replacing the front 120mm fan and the rear 92mm fan and see what difference I get. After that, I'll make a decision on whether I need to upgrade the CPU cooling or not, it looks like a pain to replace it but if it has to be done then so be it.

I'm amazed that the PC has made it this long with these original fans.

32starview: Appreciate the video thanks for that! Did you have to pull the motherboard to install the CPU cooler?
 
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Thanks for heads up on the 120 mm front fan: I pulled the frame out but thought I couldn't get the fan out of the frame and gave up: I'll try again. I already did replace the 92 mm rear fan with an Antec. I agree that the stock fans are crap.
 
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Hi, glad you found the info useful. I changed the back 92 mm exhaust fan with an Artic Cooling Fan and the front intake one with a Bitfenix 120 mm fan . When I put my hand in the case, I can feel the airflow from either fan vs the originals, which as you mentioned, were..shall we say... not very good 🙂.

Re CPU cooler. I did not have to remove the motherboard as the original intel cooler came with screws (means there is a glued in backplate Dell put) vs clips, and you can't open the right case panel on an XPS 9100 anyways. Take a look at the original one, and if you notice they are metal screws, vs clips, then you know. The cooler I referenced above has clips (if your original is clips) , and in my case, I just got machine screws I had lying around and screwed it in as the clips won't works if you have screws.

Hope this helps.
 
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I saw the Bitfenix, but that would take a week to get (would like to do this this weekend). I'm think of trying this one:

Antec TriCool 120mm Fan

or this:

Antec TrueQuiet 120mm Fan

Do these seem like OK choices? I like that there's a switch for the fan speed.

I already put an Antec in the rear; going to do this and see how much of an effect just replacing the two fans has.

 
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I like the Antec True Quiet one as it seems to be a bit more solid and therefore last longer, and hopefully is quieter and you have the switch which you can experiment with. The reality is that anything you get will be an upgrade from the stock Dell fans 🙂.

Not sure which PSU you are using (stock or upgrade), but mine was a major noisemaker and the new EVGA on I referenced above made a huge noise difference. I do wish there was an option to mount it at the bottom where it sucks cold outside air vs heated case air...... wishful thinking !!!!

I also used Speedfan to further control all of my fans (had to watch a video on youtube explaining how to best program it).

Let me know what you do over the weekend and best of luck
 
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I also think the True Quiet one looks better: I don't like the look of the plastic on the other one (looks very breakable)

I'm using the stock PSU and (knock on wood) it seems quiet.

I'll check out Speed Fan.

Thanks!

 
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Loooks like you'll have a busy weekend, all the best 🙂
 
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My 9i00 is in an old-fashioned desk with a compartment for the desktop, which makes getting at it a bit of a pain. That also contributes to the heat...

Thanks for all your help!
 
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I installed the Antec True Quiet. I have to set on "high." Slight improvement (maybe 5 degrees C). But at least I got rid of that crappy OEM fan!

I checked out the old one before putting the new one in because I wanted to be sure to match the direction of the airflow. This desktop is built with a rectangular mesh vent at the bottom of the front of the machine. I was sort of surprised that the front fan is installed to blow toward the back (the same direction as the rear exhaust fan). I was sort of expecting that it would be reversed, to blow hot air out that front vent.

I guess the only way to really improve it would be to swap the case.

Here's one I'm considering:

Cooler Master N400 ATX Mid Tower Case

Of course I'd replace the CPU cooler and the PSU, but that's more than I'd like to take on because this is my work and play machine. It's tough to schedule down time.

Thanks for all the great advice.
 
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Hi dg27. A couple of points to keep in mind:
* You are correct that the front of the case has the hex mesh. This is where you put the 120 mm fan which acts as an intake and takes in cool air from outside and brings it into the case,
* The cpu cooler is usually the next thermal step as this I7 920/930 runs hot. See in this thread some options or ping me.
* Next step is the 92 mm exhaust fan which takes in the hot air and blows it out. I removed the hex grills for the exhaust as I read somewhere they create turbulence so a straight path is preferable (old wives tales ?).
* Next step is your PSU as it also takes hot air from inside the case (as its top mounted) and exhauts it outside.
So everything is a step in the thermal/heat process 🙂.

What temps are you getting now where its only 5 degrees cooler ? My overall case is 37C, with the CPU running from 38-45C on idle and this shows me that the airflow is working. I have all connected to MB which means fans are running at an avg of 31% at idle and obviously 100% at full load like gaming.
You can use speedfan whichwill tell you the temps and in my case, after watching a youtube video tutorial, I also optionally use it to control the fans (2 mins and you are up and running)

Now, I have heard multiple people say that this case is not best airflow cooler. Since I did not want to change the case, I did the above. I checked out the case you included and it looks like it would work. I'm not a case expert so I really don't know so this is just my casual opinios and take it only as such. I did read on Tom HW forum that someone who had our same Dell case changed it to this case this case as a best fit and it worked for me, although note its a tad more expensive.

I know it may seem daunting and overwhelming , and any change above will work as part of the thermal process. In other words, no wrong answer 🙂

Let me know what you end up doing, and as usual, best of luck to you.
 
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OK--thanks for confirming that I have positioned correctly: Makes sense.

Yes--I have seen the options and still haven't ruled this out. For the record, this machine is an i7 960 @ 3.2 GHz.

I actually replaced the 92 mm before replacing the 120. I put in an Antec Tricool.

I know of a Corsair that's compatible with this machine; I hadn't thought of that as a cooling improvement option (I looked into those when the PSU on my first 9100 was dying.

According to Core Temp my CPU ranges around 47C for all cores when idle, about 55 under load. I installed Speedfan, but haven't checked it out yet. (Need to watch that video.)

The cost of the case isn't really an issue: the width is. My computer desk has one of those old-fashioned compartments for the desktop (open on the front, ported on the back: think of a little "garage" for the desktop). The maximum case width I can accommodate is 8". I've looked at a ton of cases on PCPartpicker and there are only a handful that narrow: that Cooler Master and several Silvedrstones that are very pricey. I do a lot of photo/video editing plus music recording/production (Pro Tools). Eliminating that desk is not an option: I have a complicated setup with lots of external drives, two scanners, two 24" screens, etc. Everything fits in this setup.

Thanks again for all your help!

 
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Hi, I can see where this is abit challenging with the desk/PC garage being a challenge. As you mentioned, that enclosed space will defenitly contribute to the thermal process. I am planning on getting a 120 mm fan from ebay real cheap with a USB cable, connecting it directly to a plug, and installing it at the back of my desk to help with ventilation. Total cost $7 and the use of a jigsaw to make hole. I don't now whether this is or is not an option for you, just a thought 🙂

Re PC width, as long as that corsair fit, and as long as you are willing to change cases, then is a good option. In my case, I just changed the stuff inside as did not want to deal with changing motherboards etc. If you are doing that, make sure the Corsiar PC case has the PSU at the bottom sucking in fresh air from out vs the old style of using air from inside PC that the Dell case has.

Re temps. Thats actually pretty good. My idle is lower at 37C but your at load is lower (mine is 65-69C), especially when gaming.

You'll have to post some pics or do a video once its all done. Would be great to see what you ended up with 🙂
 
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This is along the lines of what I've been thinking. Instead of changing the CPU cooler and PSU, I was thinking of adding something this to the back of the cabinet.

AC Infinity AIRPLATE S5


Thanks --I feel little better about my temps. And I'll consider posting pics (I need a third-party place to host them, I believe).

Thanks!

 
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I made these modifications:

Rear Fan: 92mm Noctua FLX
Front Fan: 120mm Noctua Industrual PPC-2000
CPU Fan: Artic Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2

Problem still exists. The Noctuas are barely pushing any air. I noticed however much I stress my CPU, the case fans just stay below 1000rpm and never turn faster (600rpm, 900rpm.) I do not believe the motherboard is correctly controlling the speed of all the fans. Dell's BIOS update tool shows that I'm running the most up-to-date version.

Ran the diagnostic tools in BIOS. There were only 3 fans listed that I could run tests on: PSU, CPU and I don't remember the name of the third. I started with the PSU, I could hear the fan speed up and speed down. CPU fan did not speed up. Third fan did not speed up.

Not sure what else to do and why these fans won't speed up.
 
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