XPS 8930, questions about a case swap

I see, thank you for the information! That does sound like more work than it's worth than just buying a new motherboard. I think I will buy my GPU first, then check to see if it fits and if there are other issues.

Thank you for the help!

@nicholascg    I'm thinking of getting a new GPU and I've read about and am having some heat problems with the current case.

The XPS 8930 can be cooled . . .  if you are brave enough 

LOL.   @Anonymous that just scared him off for sure!

@nicholascg wrote

Hello, I am looking to change the case of my Dell XPS 8930, but I have some questions about some modifications others have had to do in previous posts. I want to change my case in order to have more space and better cooling, as I'm thinking of getting a new GPU and I've read about and am having some heat problems with the current case.

My first question is about the form factor of the motherboard. I saw in another forum post that it's Micro ATX, but I can't confirm it in any manual. Is the form factor Micro ATX, or is it proprietary?

Micro-ATX for sure,   Will fit in any case setup for micro-ATX, no modifications necessary and it’s clear that it fit in several different cases on that thread….

I've also seen posts about having to modify the front I/O cord to fit into the motherboard's plug, and issues with the plugs for the front USB slots.

This forum post also talks about some issues with the USB plugs and front I/O, or from what I can understand. https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8930-Case-Swap-CPU-Liquid-Cooler-temps-Upgrade-summa...

You don’t have to modify any front I/O cord.  Where did you get that?  You just have to bring the I/O panel into the new case which isn't a big deal as long as you get a new case with a lower PSU shroud to make it easier to hide the panel.  Lot of nice cases that have this feature.

All the motherboard connectors are clearly shown on that thread and any necessary workarounds as well.  There are multiple examples of successful case swaps shown, using some well regarded brands.  So there should be no confusion on how to do one.  Given the step by step instructions, the case swap process should be straightforward.  

Finally, I've read a couple times that the motherboard cannot support multiple fans. Does the motherboard only support one fan, and does it only support the fan inside the current case?

Wrong.  The motherboard might be a little picky with a particular brand of fan (Corsair ML-120 non-Pro fan, Noctua NF-F12 Chromax), but many off the shelf fans work with the motherboard.  You can put multiple fans on  the headers as long as you stay within the voltage rating of those fan headers.  There are countless posts of fans being used with the motherboard and is summarized here.

I'm new to all of this, so any information and advice is welcome.

Case swap is not that difficult and all the information is there as well as updates on how the swaps have been reliable and trouble free.  The Dell XPS motherboard with the onboard NVME drive and Windows 10 are rock solid.  Uninstall any Dell software and you should be fine.

All I can answer about is the heat issue/noise issue.  I was getting random shutdowns and finally traced it back to crtical core temps. Case has space for everything you want but airflow is an issue. 

I replaced the top case fan with an alienware full size fan, added a front case fan, and replaced the cooler with  DELL T3630 Heatsink T57JF 0T57JF from the big auction site. All fit fine, and the CPU is now at reasonable (non critical) levels.  Runs quiet. 

Hope this helps

No pics? I know this thread is 3 years old at this point, but please post pics.

Legend. You, sir, are an absolute legend.

XPS-8930 Exhaust-Fan-and-PSU-Upgrade