8950 AIO Cooler vs. 8960 "Performance CPU Liquid Cooling"

Have you checked to see if there are any threads about the liquid cooler in the XPS 8960? Maybe someone in one of those threads can post (or Private Message) the details.

Otherwise, you might try contacting Dell Spare Parts (1-800-357-3355) to ask if the product numbers for the liquid coolers are the same for both models. Can't guarantee they'll provide that info...

"Have you checked to see if there are any threads about the liquid cooler in the XPS 8960?"

If there were ... I wouldn't be asking here.

"Otherwise, you might try contacting Dell Spare Parts ... to ask if the product numbers for the liquid coolers are the same for both models."

BTDT ... which is why I'm asking.

The 8960 is still pretty new. I should be patient and wait for the 8960 FAQ to be filled in.

Looks the same based on these review photos . . . still just 120mm (sad trombone)

XPS 8950 review 

XPS 8960 review 

FAQ XPS 8960 updated!

Well, well ... thanks! Looks like the same water cooler from the 8950 (2G44F) is being offered in the 8960, albeit with a different descriptive name.

That being the case, I think it's probably safe to say that people's experience with this water cooler will be the same in the 8960 as it was in the 8950 - particularly regarding the background noise that some have noticed from this cooler.

It also looks like the 8960 gets the same (C253W) tower cooler from the 8950, under the description "Advanced air cooler." This is good news (to me) since people have generally had good experience with this cooler.

(The Dell Community is one of the unsung benefits of owning a Dell PC.)

If you plan on getting a "K" series CPU, I would still get the liquid cooling. The noise really isn't that obnoxious.

If you plan on getting a "K" series CPU get the cheapest pancake fan cooler you can buy and be ready with your own 240mm AIO CPU liquid cooler to install on day numero uno.

I have a Dell Premium Air Cooler in a XPS 8950 with an i7 12700(non-K) and it provides excellent cpu cooling. On the other hand, I built a PC with a i7 13700K cooled by an AIO 360 and the i7 13700K is a challenge to keep cool under load.

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@ProfessorW00d wrote:

If you plan on getting a "K" series CPU get the cheapest pancake fan cooler you can buy and be ready with your own 240mm AIO CPU liquid cooler to install on day numero uno.

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(The italics are mine.)

This brings up a related matter ... replacing parts that ship with the computer. It's not at all unusual to want to upgrade an OEM computer over time.

However, this is something one should avoid doing while the computer is still under warranty, since Dell's technical support is likely to give you a hard time if you've changed the hardware, if they agree to talk to you at all.

Personally, while I don't claim to be a computer genius, I will allow that I have enough experience with computers to be able to know in much less than a year whether my new Dell needs warranty repairs. So I wouldn't wait a year before upgrading the cooler - but I wouldn't do that right from the beginning. And I would rather start off with the cooler I really want, which is the tower.

Yes, I can understand those sentiments. I am not a computer genius either, but I would not want a Dell tech working on my personal rig. I modded my Area-51 straight out of the box . . . never even plugged it in before changing the CPU and graphics card, among other things.

You can always put back any OEM hardware you've replaced, if you ever need warranty support.

That can actually help solve things if the same problem exists when the non-OEM component is removed and the OEM component is re-installed.

With all due respect, I don't think it's a practical solution to remove new hardware and reinstall OEM hardware before every contact with Dell's technical support.

I think customers should be prepared to live with their computer's hardware as-delivered until the warranty period is over, unless you're knowledgeable enough to feel confident that your computer is unlikely to need servicing from Dell, in which case you can feel confident to add or replace hardware even before the warranty has ended.

That's the stipulation in Dell's warranty. They have the right to ask users to uninstall any after-market hardware that's been installed before they'll provide warranty support/repairs.

And users are free to upgrade at any time before or after the warranty expires....