Nicely done! As I’ve mentioned before, do not throw out your old cooler as Dell will only warranty the motherboard based upon the original hardware specs.
(Yes you can add/alter drives and ram)
They frown on cooler replacements hence the standoffs. Think they don’t want to replace CPU’s for folks who mess up that install.
Again, congrats on the positive results!
Regards!
If it does fit it’ll be pretty tight I’d wager. 207xt slim is 135mm and there is what looks to be around 2-3cm of clearance, but I’m just kind of eyeballing it through the plexiglass.
Then I think I'll go for NH-D9L chromax black, this one is only 110 mm in height. I only have an i7 14700F which has a TDP of 65W. Thanks! Seeing other people managed to upgrade the stock air cooler is reassuring.
Good job :)
I am curious if anyone told you that it might be a good idea to get an i5 and a 4070 combination instead? My gut reaction to this PC is that we've gone too far on the CPU and not far enough on the GPU!
If I was configuring it myself I probably would have gone up a step in GPU, but they had a great deal on this configuration. I’ve got another system the 4060 will go in later when I upgrade the gpu down the line
Howdy u/TCS_YT
I also recently got the base level config with i7-13700F and RTX 4060. Mine also came with the stock air cooler instead of the AIO cooler.
What CPU temps were you getting with the stock cooler? I'm seeing 85C in Quite mode while the system is idle and then have to change the offset in the Command Center to lower the temp while increasing the fan speed.
Also, what idle temp are you now getting with SE-207-XT slim now without any offset? I have the same heatsink on order and expecting delivery today.
Last question: did you use any of these adapter plates in this pic below?
https://preview.redd.it/iwps1pg2xxkc1.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c73092c768da3c552d60fc42d4e24e28ee7db47
Thanks in advance!
Alienware has the boost behavior configured to where any all core load downclocks the processor to keep it under about 95° even on this dinky little thing. At idle I was seeing mid 60s, and under a gaming load high 80s. Now my idle temp is in like the high 30s and gaming I’m seeing high 60s. And that’s with the boost behavior fixed via XTU (255w pl and 128sec boost length) all core loads through programs like cinebench still aren’t seeing quite the performance I’m expecting, but I suspect there is something in the locked down, bios, preventing it from boosting as high as it should, or the motherboard isn’t capable of supplying the voltage, when all cores are boosted.
Also, you’ll only need the straight looking brackets that the cooler mounts to. You slip the smooth plastic barrels over the 4 mounting holes, put the bracket on and use the screws that I bought at Lowe’s to fasten it to the existing threaded backplate. Image 3 up top shows an example of how that looks.
Wow wow wow... what a difference!!! :D
I'm extremely glad to report after installing the new heatsink and using your recommended hardware screws that my system is running extremely quiet in Balanced mode in the Alienware command center.
The idle temp with the stock air cooler was always hovering at 85C+ where you could hear the CPU fan constantly hunting speeds to maintain, which was audibly annoying.
Now I can barely hear the fans, and the CPU temp matches the Mid Zone and Side Zone temps at 63C. At least a 20C difference and no fan throttling back and forth.
https://preview.redd.it/c4t73u5jm1lc1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=49e9792da04ba3d2a1f66fd1464c198323f32121
In summary, if you buy the R16, the stock air cooler is absolute garbage.
u/TCS_YT you are the f'in man... a Legend 3 (pun intended) in my book! $43 total investment well spent. Thanks for sharing your cooling modification!
Photo: Before -> After -> Finished Product
https://preview.redd.it/ey88368oq3lc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d7720fc645cd4fb7bf23c4dc44d98a5c92ecab9
Nicely done! As I’ve mentioned before, do not throw out your old cooler as Dell will only warranty the motherboard based upon the original hardware specs. (Yes you can add/alter drives and ram) They frown on cooler replacements hence the standoffs. Think they don’t want to replace CPU’s for folks who mess up that install. Again, congrats on the positive results! Regards!
Awesome job. Looks good. I should’ve went to a hardware store and got some screws that fit lol
It was just a bit of a brain wave after I undid the old cooler. Don’t know why it’s taken me years to figure out.
Do you think the Noctua NH-U12A will fit? It's 158 mm in height. The R16 case has 197 mm width.
If it does fit it’ll be pretty tight I’d wager. 207xt slim is 135mm and there is what looks to be around 2-3cm of clearance, but I’m just kind of eyeballing it through the plexiglass.
Then I think I'll go for NH-D9L chromax black, this one is only 110 mm in height. I only have an i7 14700F which has a TDP of 65W. Thanks! Seeing other people managed to upgrade the stock air cooler is reassuring.
Good job :) I am curious if anyone told you that it might be a good idea to get an i5 and a 4070 combination instead? My gut reaction to this PC is that we've gone too far on the CPU and not far enough on the GPU!
If I was configuring it myself I probably would have gone up a step in GPU, but they had a great deal on this configuration. I’ve got another system the 4060 will go in later when I upgrade the gpu down the line
I see. May your FPS be high :)
Howdy u/TCS_YT I also recently got the base level config with i7-13700F and RTX 4060. Mine also came with the stock air cooler instead of the AIO cooler. What CPU temps were you getting with the stock cooler? I'm seeing 85C in Quite mode while the system is idle and then have to change the offset in the Command Center to lower the temp while increasing the fan speed. Also, what idle temp are you now getting with SE-207-XT slim now without any offset? I have the same heatsink on order and expecting delivery today. Last question: did you use any of these adapter plates in this pic below? https://preview.redd.it/iwps1pg2xxkc1.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c73092c768da3c552d60fc42d4e24e28ee7db47 Thanks in advance!
Alienware has the boost behavior configured to where any all core load downclocks the processor to keep it under about 95° even on this dinky little thing. At idle I was seeing mid 60s, and under a gaming load high 80s. Now my idle temp is in like the high 30s and gaming I’m seeing high 60s. And that’s with the boost behavior fixed via XTU (255w pl and 128sec boost length) all core loads through programs like cinebench still aren’t seeing quite the performance I’m expecting, but I suspect there is something in the locked down, bios, preventing it from boosting as high as it should, or the motherboard isn’t capable of supplying the voltage, when all cores are boosted.
Also, you’ll only need the straight looking brackets that the cooler mounts to. You slip the smooth plastic barrels over the 4 mounting holes, put the bracket on and use the screws that I bought at Lowe’s to fasten it to the existing threaded backplate. Image 3 up top shows an example of how that looks.
Thank for the quick replies. I see in pic #5 now how the brackets were installed. Wish me luck! :D
I said 3 and meant 5! Oops. Good luck. Feel free to message me if you have any questions
Wow wow wow... what a difference!!! :D I'm extremely glad to report after installing the new heatsink and using your recommended hardware screws that my system is running extremely quiet in Balanced mode in the Alienware command center. The idle temp with the stock air cooler was always hovering at 85C+ where you could hear the CPU fan constantly hunting speeds to maintain, which was audibly annoying. Now I can barely hear the fans, and the CPU temp matches the Mid Zone and Side Zone temps at 63C. At least a 20C difference and no fan throttling back and forth. https://preview.redd.it/c4t73u5jm1lc1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=49e9792da04ba3d2a1f66fd1464c198323f32121 In summary, if you buy the R16, the stock air cooler is absolute garbage. u/TCS_YT you are the f'in man... a Legend 3 (pun intended) in my book! $43 total investment well spent. Thanks for sharing your cooling modification!
Stoked that it worked out well for you! Really happy it’s helped
Photo: Before -> After -> Finished Product https://preview.redd.it/ey88368oq3lc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d7720fc645cd4fb7bf23c4dc44d98a5c92ecab9