Crawlerz246 Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 my previous (in no way "old") DELL has a wimpy stock 375W PSU and a hefty 8800GTX (installed by DELL btw - so they should know better). at the time I first got the video errors, I thought the tower didn't get enough cooling. what did I do? I opened up one of the "walls" of the tower and left it that way. it worked alright. now, the 8800GTX burned out for some mysterious reason (I heard some static electricity shocks can kill a card weeks after touching it) and I bought a new HIS ATi Radeon 4890 1GB and a P&C PSU (to make it work!) after I stick the new harware in, should I close the tower back up, or should I leave it open on one side again? will that help in cooling or will it only create a place where the air in a "wind tunnel" can escape? thanks for any and all answers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 I'm having a bit of trouble understanding your post, but my take is you removed the side panel of the case along with the wind tunnel thing? I am doubtful that cooling in dell machines are up to par with what we consider adequate, but they do put time in the development, and I am absolutely certain that whatever they had in place worked (well enough). The wind tunnel and side panel are probably necessary to maintain airflow, and by removing them that might have caused the 8800gtx to burn out. I would be wary about the 375W power supply, but I doubt they would intentionally put a ticking time bomb in there... for warranty purposes, but who knows what schemes they had in mind . The PCP and C might not work due to proprietary connectors used on dell motherboards- unless you are referring to the pcp and C line made for dells, but then I might be a bit dated on this information. You really don't have too much options in terms of cooling, but a few additional intake/ exhaust fans might help. Could you perhaps put up a picture of the system? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawlerz246 Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 no, no, no, you misunderstand. this is a stock xps 410 and there is no wind tunnel. I meant the "tunnel" effect - air going inside tower from front to back. and the card has been showing signs of death (spots/snow) before this. p.s. I don't know if I explained this clearly - the 8800GTX came inside the PC from DELL, I didn't install it. but being cheap bastards, they put some other inadequate parts inside, like the woefully underpowered 375W PSU. and basicly no cooling besides the PSU fan and a big square heatsink "thingy" on the mobo. looks strange - square, encased in black plastic. but you know, whatever floats their boat... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidst Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 I would monitor the video card and cpu with the side panel on and then off. You should find lower temps with it off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munkypoo7 Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 Well theres also always the option of buying a new case with better air flow, ex Antec 1200... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 no, no, no, you misunderstand. this is a stock xps 410 and there is no wind tunnel. I meant the "tunnel" effect - air going inside tower from front to back. and the card has been showing signs of death (spots/snow) before this.p.s. I don't know if I explained this clearly - the 8800GTX came inside the PC from DELL, I didn't install it. but being cheap bastards, they put some other inadequate parts inside, like the woefully underpowered 375W PSU. and basicly no cooling besides the PSU fan and a big square heatsink "thingy" on the mobo. looks strange - square, encased in black plastic. but you know, whatever floats their boat... The black plastic is probably a duct, and given the limited cooling your system has, I would say the side panel was necessary for the airflow. The 8800 started showing these effects after you removed the side panel right? I wouldn't say it was the power supply thats killing the video card, Dell being a major producer probably worked out their numbers before selecting the power supply (or I would hope). The 375W value does irk me, but I wouldn't say that would be your main area of concern. But to recap, you only noticed these signs after you started to run the computer without the side panel? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawlerz246 Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 But to recap, you only noticed these signs after you started to run the computer without the side panel? no, before. someone on another forum recommended to try with the panel off. so I tried. no real change... after a few weeks the problems appeared again. and the black plastic cannot be a duct - there is to outlet for it if it was a duct - I mean a duct to where? hell? seems just a huge covering of an oversized CPU heatsink, although I cannot see a fan. is it possible that it's JUST a heatsink? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 Could you post a picture? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawlerz246 Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 Could you post a picture? I'll try... you see that black "squared" case in the middle? well it extends to the very front of he case. from the back you can obviously see the heatsink. my guess is there's some sort of fan in the front, although you can't see it due to tower's front covering. hope you can see well in the photos... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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