Thanks for that, I was hoping to get an upgrade kit prior to delivery so that I could get it all done in one go but it sounds like I'll have to wait until arrival and have a look inside.

Do Dell vary the HDD manufacturer as well? I seem to remember that one of my previous PCs had a mix (one being a Seagate if memory serves me) I assume based on not having both go bad at the same time.

I am not sure the 16GB memory configuration is always 2x8GB. In my XPS 8910 it was 1x16GB. I don't know if Dell is still doing this in some cases.

"...and have a look inside." You don't have to open the case. There are some apps like CPU-Z that will tell you or just like in Task Manager, Performance tab, click on Memory and look at the bottom right next to "Slots used".

Hmmm...sound like I've got some more trawling to do. I'd seen mentioned the heat and noise issues and watched the YouTube videos that show how tight it is inside the box.

As suggested, I'll do the upgrade(s) once I've got things set up then monitor the temperatures and noise (we've got what we jokingly call "The office" where the PC is) and make decisions then.

This will be my third Dell PC (we've also got an XPS 17) and although I wasn't impressed by the experiences associated with the XPS version following on from the Dimension 8300, I haven't managed to come up with a contender from other manufacturers.

Ah, the good old days when "Build your own" meant all sorts of options built in from the start.

@Anonymous , am I right to say that the non-OC 8930 comes with no heatsink over the VRM while the one with OC has heatsink? I looked at your OC'ed rig and noticed you do have a heatsink but not this picture you posted.

Look no further than the guru's post:

https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/XPS-8930-GPU-and-CPU-Liquid-Cooler-PSU-Case-Swap-Upgrade/m-p/6137280#M16363

@HanoverB , did you upgrade to unlocked CPU? Did you have to install a 3rd party VRM heatsink? Sorry I may have missed that part in your case swap posts.

Reply to @GTS81

No, using the unlocked non-K version. 

Still does a decent job and will run with all cores in boost mode at 4.3K without any issues since it is liquid cooled.

I find that if you start with a decent i7 CPU it will last you a while.   I tend to keep my machines for a while.

Last machine was a i7 3770.   The i7 8700 was the first CPU that came along which I thought was worth the upgrade.

I really don’t want to – as I noted, I’m a confirmed Dell devotee, only ever having bought their (3) PCs – but after the warnings about space, heat and noise, on top of wanting to upgrade, I’m seriously considering “jumping ship”.

Having PCS build me a custom machine gives me the option of a full tower case, plus more RAM, 2 HDDs, an internal Blu-Ray drive and better cooling from first build. It’ll cost more up front but it doesn’t make sense to me to re-build a brand new Dell to get what I’d like (I can’t say need, we all want more than we need, don’t we).

@Gym Rat 

Having PCS build me a custom machine . . .

Who is PCS? 

My situation and thinking are very similar to yours and I am looking at other options to the 8930 series.

Thanks.