Dell XPS Gen 3 VERY Loud!!

A

aburnette81

Geek Trainee
I've got a Dell XPS Generation 3 and the fans are very very loud. I haven't used the computer in a while (using a XPS 420 now), but am wanting to get it going again and quieten it down so i can bare to work with this computer. Looking at replacing the fans, but I didn't know which route to go. There was a local computer shop that was going to replace the fans in favor of water cooling, but they have went out of business. I found these Computer Water Cooling Kits at Xoxide.com - Liquid Cooling Systems
but wasn't really sure which one would be best, or if they are even better than fans. Or is there another route that I need to take that would be a better alternative to the fans? Or fans that would be more quiet. Thanks in advance

Aaron
 
I am working on a Dell XPS 600 right now, and if it is anything like it, then it can have up to 6 different fans in it.. you need to open the case, and then turn it on to find which fan is going bad..you might have more than one going out, check them all, and replace the bad ones..
 
Thanks for the reply. But this thing has done this since the day it came out of the box. Even had a Dell tech guy come to the house, replace the fans less than 6 months into owning the machine. Didn't help, so I assume it is supposed to be loud. Do you think replacing them again would do anything? Or what would be the best alternative to these fans?
 
I don't think it would be all of them that is going bad, Thats why you need to open the case and then turn it on and narrow it down.. And the do make Quiet fans..It is more than likly the smaller fans on the bottom.. Another thing to try is to hunt down the fans wiring and try unplugging one at a time..
 
I just tried what you said and the 2 larger fans in the back of the pc are where the noise is coming from. I unplugged them one at a time. With the higher fan unplugged, pc started up, still was loud, but not as loud. Plugged in the higher fan, unplugged the lower, pc wouldnt boot up. It would appear to start, and was as loud as always it seemed, but the monitor would never come on. They are both together inside a green case with XPS down the side. This is what the Dell tech guy came out and replaced. Do I need to get the same exact fans from Dell, or should I go with a different way to see if something else would work?
 
I believe those are your processor fans..You don't have to use dell fans.. you can other ones.. you just need to to know the size and the way it plugs in.. Does it have a 2,3, or 4 connection on it.. the prongs..
 
4 Connection. I looked at Best Buy today and didnt see anything that would work. Any store that would have something or would it need to be ordered on the net?
 
I done some more research on this problem and have found that one person said the heat sink was defected on 250,000 gen 3 XPS Dell's. He said he replaced the heat sink, and his computer runs perfectly quiet now. Do you know if this is a very hard process to do? And what is a good type of heat sink? Dell XPS Gen 3 owners: Nikon D3 - D1 / D700 Forum: Digital Photography Review is the forum i found it on. This is leading me to believe there really is nothing wrong with the fans at all...

Aaron
 
Dell make there computers so you pretty much have to use THERE Parts..So you would pretty much have to get another one from dell...OR you could take it out and try to match it up... But this could take some time..
 
Wait, stop! Umm the heat sink itself can't be defective in the way you describe... the heat sink itself is just the metal part with all the fins, and it doesn't make any noise at all! What the person said about the 250,000 heat sinks being defective, was likely intended to mean the fan on the heat sink. Often times people refer to the heat sink as the entire unit of heat sink + fan, but technically they're 2 pieces.

So... the bottom line is you don't need an entire heat sink + fan unit. You only need to replace the fan. The fan is the only part that makes noise. Besides, replacing heat sinks might be difficult (I imagine especially so on any brand-name computer which is not exactly designed with DIY tinkering in mind).

Like Ghostman said, with fans, all you need to know is the size and the type of plug. Dealing with just the fans is a hell of a lot easier (and cheaper) than with entire heat sinks (hsf for short). You just look for the noise and airflow rating on fans of the right size and type and depending on how much you want to pay, pick one with lower noise ratings but higher air flow ratings. If they're your cpu fans, it's important they don't underperform on air flow so that cpu doesn't overheat.
 
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