XPS 420 Cooling

Jakstaar2007 · 1 May 2009 at 17:22

Hi all.

Im looking at replacing the stock CPU heatsink on my XPS 420, as it will get in the way of pretty much any of the decent coolers that i could find for my 9800gt.

Am i right to assume that whatever CPU cooler i purchase, i will need to remove the motherboard and change the CPU heatsink mount on the back of the motherboard? Or are there some coolers that can fit straight in the place of the old one?

Cheers for listening

Jack

95thrifles · 1 May 2009 at 17:49

There are certain coolers that are push pin, but if the present cooler already has a backing plate (cant see from pic as its too small) you'll prob have to remove anyway, to be fair its not that big a job, 10 mins and you'd be done

siumatfung · 1 May 2009 at 17:52

be careful these ready built things are picky my mates packard bell i installed a new akasa 965 fan which just fiited

but then thin wouldnt go past the post screen therefore with a bit of DIY i used a molex to 3pin fan adapter plugged in the cpu fan to the psu directly had to snap a plastic guard on the adapter. then plugged in the old fan in and strapped it to pull air in the case. be prepared

edit: if it has a back plate you will need to remove it unless you buy a cooler which uses one

Jakstaar2007 · 1 May 2009 at 17:54

OK then, ill have a look around. can you suggest any decent ones? my CPU is socket is LGA 775 (Q6600)

Cheers again
Jack

tibbsey · 1 May 2009 at 18:04

Dell motherboards normally use a funny screw that is a PAIN to get out.

Best to make sure you can get it out if you need to get a cooler that needs a backing plate.

Jakstaar2007 · 1 May 2009 at 18:07

OK this is putting me off slightly, lol.

Thanks for the heads up!

siumatfung · 1 May 2009 at 18:12

scythe ninja mini

tbh measure your case and see how much room you have first

Jakstaar2007 · 1 May 2009 at 18:18

just found a thread by someone on here a couple of months back, so you can see the shroud and heatsink better.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=13953570

GeezerButler · 1 May 2009 at 18:26

The heatsink is attached to the plastic shroud which in turn is secured by two screws through the motherboard into the chassis and two hooks which attach to the plastic fitting at the back of the cooler. I don't recall if these boards have the standard 4 holes through the board for push pins or screws. I haven't looked at one of these for a while so I can't be sure.

nutsnut · 1 May 2009 at 21:33

Mine only has a two hole mounting system not a four, I have looked a fair few times for a replacement with no success. I have removed the shroud, put in a rear fan to take hot air out and overclocked the cpu.

When you do remove the shroud, and if you remove the frame that the shroud mounts to then it does leave what looks like a standard four hole mounting system, though you'd have the checked the dimensions to see if the spacing is the same as the coolers.