Replacing a Dell Power Supply

[nub]

Kick-ass. Personally I like this case, the way the CPU is cooled is really good.

May I ask you a really quick question though? The CPU cooler is a fairly big heatsink, however Dell put a clunky plastic box on top of it. Should I leave it on or would it be better if I took it off? I don't know if covering up a heatsink like that is the smartest move, but then again I'm not very educated in that sort of thing.

[MayheM]

I am pretty sure that acts as a tunnel for the fan in the front to allow the airflow to push straight through the heatsink and out the back. At least that's how it is set up in the XPS machines i have seen.

[mbombz]

Yes. Leave the air tunnel. that is actually a great setup. Just be sure to think about the placement of the computer so that it does not get dust buildup (ie: not on the floor, etc.) and that your main fan driving air to the CPU is clean and functioning. Standard stuff but essential.

[nub]

The only bad thing about that huge-ass plastic box is that the GTS 250 barely fits. Half the GPU fan is covered by it, so I'm worried that it isn't cooling very well, which is why I have my side panel off right now. The bad thing about having it off is that dust collects way faster.

I actually need to clean this. My dad owns a shop and he has an air blaster that he uses to clean out his case. I'm gonna be taking my computer with me the next time I visit and we're gonna clean it out thoroughly.

I have my case on my desk, at the right edge. It's not in any danger of falling off or something, but it's near the corner of my room. Nowhere better to put it, seeing as I hate having it on my left side or on the floor. I'm picky about that.


PS: Can't find the Q6600 on Newegg anymore. Did they stop selling it?

[poisonic]

Pics of the plugs, please. Current ATX standard has a 24-pin connector, but Dell is known for having proprietary pinout from time to time.

not only dell does this.... my psu has a 20+4 ATX connector... what psu did you buy im using enermax
personaly i would never ever buy a DELL=HELL expanding it so is HP and fuitsu siemens....

[nub]

Pics of the plugs, please. Current ATX standard has a 24-pin connector, but Dell is known for having proprietary pinout from time to time.

not only dell does this.... my psu has a 20+4 ATX connector... what psu did you buy im using enermax
personaly i would never ever buy a DELL=HELL expanding it so is HP and fuitsu siemens....

The PSU is proprietary, as I've stated before. The fact that I received a Dell was beyond my control. My dad bought me it even though I had tried convincing him to let me build one.

PC manufacturers are a given. They use proprietary parts because it's cheaper.

[poisonic]

i got pretty scared of the fact that of 4 laptops that get out (HP) 1 returns in a year...
but hey thats not the problem

i dont have any expierience of having a dell nor hp myself... but friends and family got allot of troubles.... in expanding and such....
"PC manufacturers are a given. They use proprietary parts because it's cheaper" yup so that they can make more bucks andd they make it hard for the consumer to put new parts in their pc.... back in the compaq days they used their own type of memory slot so cheap memory would not fit....

[mbombz]

Nub, thought/comment regarding your video card and clearance on the CPU heatsink shroud. I have an XPS 410 here with a double width video card in it like your card. This machine has a 9800 GTX so the comparisson should be very close (since I have not seen yours in person).

From what I see on my machine here the CPU shroud does not make contact and less than half of the GPU induction fan is 'shadowed'. I say shadowed because it is not in contact and thus not really obstructed. Now, I know you have stated you had to modify your card to fit so remember I am not disputing that... just sharing what I find in this comparisson. the machine I have here may be slightly newer/different.

If this closely compares to what you are seeing in your case, in that the GPU induction fan is not blocked, I would not worry at all and put the side back on to your case. The E6400 CPU runs relatively cool and your internal temps should be very well within any reasonable limits. If you have any worries about specific temps in yoru machine download a program (free) called CoreTEMP at http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/. I use this app frequently.

Also, in closing, I would mention that you should be aware that many computer cases are designed around air flow. Leaving the side off your case is (in many situations) actually worse for cooling becuase impact areas for forced airflow are disrupted. Just thought I would throw that in there. Some machines (The Dell Poweredge sc1430 for example) will not run if the side panel is detected to be missing.

I am happy to offer feedback in more detail if you want to PM me a pic of your video card installation. I have tried to replicate it here but I am not sure I have an accurate copy of what you have.

[nub]

I said I modified my GPU? Nah I never did that. Like you said, it's "shadowed" by the CPU cooler basically. I was just worried it might not be cooling efficiently because of this.

I'll PM a picture for you very soon. Thanks for all the help.