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Eleven years after the build of my first Intel
i7 computer, I finally upgraded to a faster system. This time I purchased a Dell XPS 8940 which was less expensive (and less stressful) than buying the parts for a new build. It has 64GB RAM, a 1TB M.2 NVRAM and an Intel i7-10700 processor. Cooling modifications, additional storage and USB ports were added (see below). |
 The first modification was the addition of another 1TB M.2 NVRAM in a PCIe adapter and an additional 4X USB3 card in the final PCIe slot (see picture above). The rear exhaust fan was also changed to a Noctua NF-A9 92mm PWM fan. |
 The new rear exhaust fan change was not enough to keep the CPU under 100°C for fast processing (like video editing), so the stock CPU cooler was removed and the unused 3.5" hard drive cage was removed from the front to improve air flow. A 2TB 3.5" drive was added for additional storage (upper right in picture above). Also shown above is the mounting bracket for the new CPU cooler (above & below the CPU). |
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| A Noctua NH-9DL CPU cooler was installed. |
 The final cooling modification was the addition of another NF-A9 fan in the front. With these modifications, the maximum temperature is about 70° C with an idle of 35° C. |