XPS Gen 3 fan noise fixed

[munski]

Here's the photos of the old & new heatsinks compared. Except for the 6 circular die stamps on the bottom of the new one (4 on the old one), they look the same. I mounted it to the new MB with no problems and decided to use the Shinetzu thermal paste that came with it since it seems to be very popular in Japan.

The temps with stock rear fans & shroud are about 116f/47c to 127f/53c during H.L.2/Far Cry fragging with temps at the top of the HS being 5-6 deg. cooler.
ATI Tool measures the X800 SE with the new Zalman cooler at 102f/39c idle & 115f/46c gaming with no oc'ing yet. I do have an NMB 80x25mm low speed fan in the "air splitter" cage up front blowing out the back. I moved my sound card to the bottom pci slot and took out 4 pci blank slot fillers, so I have a nice air path right thru the bottom & out the back.
I loved installing the new MB - I was kinda surprised Dell sent it atached to another MB tray. Too bad I don't have any surgical scrubbs. I think anybody who wants to get into even simple customizing should (carefully) dive in to their computer & strip it down to become familuar with was-happinin'.
Munski

[avsforsberg21]

Every now & then I feel the same urge to go old school:

[munski]

I am so modern, I can't stand myself.
Dell XPS Gen5? HA!! - Step aside for the new...

[TRow]

avsforsberg21 said:

Every now & then I feel the same urge to go old school:

Only thing that comes to mind is....European Online Gamer? lol

T.RoW

[avsforsberg21]

LOL!

Trow- Love the Swiper in the sig!

[TRow]

Swiper is the Man!

[hills420]

I called Dell the other day to inquire about the heatsink problem. The XPS Tech told me he did not know of any widespread problems with the HS but that a few (very low number) of Gen3 owners had reported heat problems. He did not know of any reported faulty units... but that it must of been an Internet rumor

He advised me to install the BIOS update and wait a couple of days to see if the problem clears up. He also advised me that I was not allowed to install the replacement HS myself and that a Dell Authorized Tech had to perform the installation. He also mentioned that I should consider extending my warranty so that any future heat problems would be covered.

OK, so there is no *heatsink* problem but I should really consider extending my warranty to protect me against the heat issues.

I thought that was funny....

[phoenixsong44]

I emailed dell about my fan problem after reading a plethora of forum threads which described others with this same awful fan noise. They said it sounded like I had a faulty heatsink and CPU fan, and offered to replace them immediately. I was quite surprised by the immediate response that it was the heatsink. I think if you specifically mention the heatsink they'll be glad to replace it for you. I hope replacing the heatsink will do the job for me, although I have a Gen 2 and not a a Gen 3, mine was probably one of the last Gen 2's made...(yeah I'm still kicking myself over that one. If only I had waited a week.) I'll let you guys know if the heatsink fixes mine.

[m4bohun]

Received new heat sink from Dell after talking with Tech Support about excessive noise with my Gen 3. The new heat sink had conductive paste already installed on the bottom of the stack.

I removed and replaced the heat sink; but 1st cleaned the residual paste from the top of the processor face and then placed the new stack in place. The computer fans still throttle to high or very loud when my Aquarium screen saver kicks in...and throttles to about medium speed or sound level when playing DVDs!!! The new heat sink does not appear to make much of a difference. I looked at the new stack and they are very similar...the only visible difference I could see was at the bottom of the stack the aluminum plate is now one solid piece interfacing with the 6 copper tubes.

Both old and replacement stacks had a copper plate riveted to the aluminum plate with 6 rivets. Again still very noisy with only FISH screen saver kicking in. I will be talking to the Dell Tech on Friday and see what they have to say.

Please note: I've had two hard drive failures within 6 months of owning the machine. I wonder if excessive temperature is accelerating failures?

Mike

[Starfleet007]

I just sent an email last night to tech support and they are going to set up a service call to replace the fans and heatsink. My is not as loud as a 747 but during a game they really get going. I even open email and the fan kicks up a notch. The air from the rear of the machine is real hot. I can heat the room with this thing. Plus my vid card runs hotter than what some say theirs are running. Mine was built at the end of 09-04. I will give you all an update on how my service call goes. It won't be till next week though.

fleet

[m4bohun]

Ok there appears to be an improvement since Dell replaced the old heat sink with the new...the machine runs somewhat cooler and I don't get the extreme fan noise as before. Hopefully this will help avoid premature hard drive failures. Dell is working hard to please its customers...the techs have been very responsive and getting the problems resolved.

Mike

[Deleted]

I emailed Dell and theyre going to replace my heatsink and my rear fans no questions asked. Thank god I found out this thing isnt supposed to sound like a windtunnel before my warranty expires.

[devnull]

Do you have to send back your old fans and heatsink?

[Deleted]

The Dell guy came by today. All I can say is WOW, this thing is exponentially quieter now. My NV Silencer 5 should be here tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to get this beast down to a whisper.

[ultragabe]

Don't mean to overstate the obvious but you NEED to be under warranty for Dell to take action. I tried to plead my "THIS IS A MANUFACTURING MISTAKE AND NOT MY FAULT!" but they wouldnt budge. not even customer care. damnit, why didnt i see this thread a year ago.

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