XPS 8940, I should have looked closer before buying

@tjfrankus15    What was Dell thinking? And better yet, what was I thinking!?

Unfortunately . . . you will be limited to a 500 watt PSU     It is not so much the PSU shape . . . but the Dell proprietary power connectors. There is no 3rd party PSU that has a 6-pin mobo power connector . . . amongst other Dell proprietary nonsense. However, I'm pretty sure the XPS 8940 supports a full length graphics card . . . perhaps up to 10.5 inches in length.  If you are looking for improved performance for your current configuration, consider looking through this forum for additional cooling options.

Thanks for the reply, Dell630i.
Is the 6-pin mobo power connector the cord that connects the PSU to the motherboard?
Again? What is the thinking behind that?

Like I alluded to, I am happy with my XPS - for now, but just thinking down the line.
I had my 8900 for almost 7 years, and had to replace the GPU about 3 years in, which required an upgraded PSU as well, and this was no problem.

Dell claims the XPS 8940  is "highly expandable" ... I guess it is if one desires to pop in four more storage units (HDDs & SSDs) but you better not add anything that will require more power I suppose (but isn't what most people choose to upgrade is the GPU, which may require more power?)

Oh well ....... maybe Dell is planning on making PSU greater than 500 watts for this (and other PCs).

@tjfrankus15   Is the 6-pin mobo power connector the cord that connects the PSU to the motherboard?

Yes . . . system board power cable. There are also two 4-pin CPU power connectors.

Again? What is the thinking behind that?

How cheap can we make these on a per unit basis.

Dell claims the XPS 8940 is "highly expandable" ...      

but isn't what most people choose to upgrade is the GPU, which may require more power?

In my opinion, for your RTX 2060 Super . . . your 500 watt PSU is already under-powered.

Oh well ....... maybe Dell is planning on making PSU greater than 500 watts

Based on the Dell track record, if they make a 850 watt PSU, it will be released on the XPS 8950 with a 9-pin power connector . . . so it is not backwards compatible     that is how they sell more computers.

Depending on your usage regime . . . the XPS 8940 can be a nice and enjoyable rig. There are a few adjustments that can be made if you bump into some thermal issues. Otherwise, just accept the reality, and remember the lesson learned . . . do more research next time.

Thanks, again, Dell630i, for you reply, and you are correct ... my fault ... lesson learned, and I believe this experience will probably move me towards building my own in the future ... starting with the case.
I really appreciated your input.

For what I do and the games I play (maybe Anno 1800 and Satisfactory are the most demanding - graphic wise) I think I should be fine and hope the RTX 2060 Super (with just 1 fan?) holds up.

I already replaced their garbage fans with a pair of Nactura NF-A8 Premium Quiet fans, and will just have to move ahead.

Thanks for your honest input - very much appreciated.

I have the same computer. I knew about the heat issues beforehand. Best solution is to swap out the CPU cooler for a Noctua NH-U9S or NH-9DL. Put one of your existing Noctua fans at the top rear exit and the other at the lower front. You will not have anymore thermal throttling issues with a new CPU cooler.

Different online PSU calculators recommend 400-465w with your setup. So you are close but fine. Yes, you may have trouble in the future if you wanted a more power hungry GPU, but I don't see you outgrowing the 2060 super anytime soon. With that video card and amount of ram, I do not see any reason you would have to upgrade in the near future. 

The only thing I was not aware of was the fact that you could not just add ram because of the lack of XMP profiles and the weird ram DELL uses. Better off just pulling all the DELL ram and swapping it for some Crucial. You have plenty of ram though... so again you are fine.

Just swap that CPU cooler!

Thanks, kanadian-kaos.

Like you, I believe I am fine with my Processor, RAM, and the 2060 Super, for the time being, as well, but like your idea of adding the Noctua cooler, which I just may do.
Curious about where the fan goes in the front of the case, but I will look into that.

Again, and with what you stated about the type of RAM, it looks like building from scratch is the way to go in the future.

Thanks, again, for your input.

@kanadian-kaos 

Just curious...how did you mount the 2nd case fan @ lower front location and did you set this up as intake or exhaust?  Seems to be little room, open air space behind PSU and that this would require modification, drilling holes etc just to squeeze in.  Was debating if worth doing if overall level of performance isn't much better or worse yet, there is a tradeoff like increased noise or something along those lines.  If you have a pic, that would be great.  Much appreciated...

@KGA4841 

If you get a quiet Noctua fan you will not have the noise issue. The fan should be set-up as 'intake', and your don't need a tornado blower . . . you are just trying to get air moving through the case . . . front to back. You might get lucky and have a hole or two line up, but no need for drilling, as double sided tape will provide a sufficient hold.

This is a photo of a lower front intake fan in a G5, which is essentially the same chassis as the XPS 8940.

@redxps630      Whether standard psu form factor can fit inside 8940 is a different question.

You can always just put it in the back yard  

Yes .... in the garden, next to the bell peppers.
That actually may happen someday.

https://www.moddiy.com/products/Dell-Inspiron-3650-PSU-Main-Power-24-Pin-to-8-Pin-Adapter-Cable-30cm.html

There is even an engineer who designed his own adapter from scratch.

https://raphtec.wordpress.com/projects/dell-poweredge-t20-atx-power-supply-adapter/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiwJ62TnrOc

They anticipated people wanting to MODDIY so they changed it again.

The 3040 5040 7040 24 to 6 pin WILL NOT WORK because that's not how the 8940 power supply rolls.

not single 6 pin and 4 pin

Has 6 pin and DUAL 4 pin and other connections.

You might get away with modifying the original power supply and a moddiy 24 pin to 6 pin by splicing cables from a regular EPS12v power supply but it wont physically fit in the case.

It is NOT a Moddy 5040 six pin due to the OTHER connectors being non standard.

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/xps-8940-desktop/docs

@KGA4841 

I mounted the Dell 80mm there using the existing rubber hardware. I removed it though as it was quite loud (I think it ran at a high RPM). I will be replacing it next week with another 92mm Noctua and I will probably mount that one with double sided sticky tape.

I will take a picture when I put the new fan in the lower position.

I say just leave it alone and build your own. And if Dell keeps doing all this it will go down the toilet like Compaq. 

Yes HP purchased Compaq I feel this may be one reason Compaq went down. The name went on for awhile HP was selling Compaq's but Compaq had a bad reputation that is why Compaq is no more.

The website don't even work anymore HP stopped selling the Brand.