Cooling a Dell 330W ac adapter

Mr_NumNutz

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Jan 4, 2018
20
13
Has anyone done any little mods or have any good ideas for keeping the Dell 330W ac adapter a bit cooler?

I opened it up with thoughts of making a mesh based housing for it to allow airflow but noticed how its all enclosed internally with a sheet material for heat dissipation.

So now im a bit stuck..

Should I go ahead with the meshed housing because surely some airflow to the sheet material is better than suffocated in its plastic box (and maybe with a heatsink on top) or something else?

Oh if anyone asks.. i feel more comfortable giving some venting or cooling because it was uncomfortable to touch in one area last night after a good session of pubg.

Yes its an official unit as i contacted dell..

My specs are

i5 7600 under volted to 0.985
h55
msi z270i gaming pro carbon
8gb ddr4
m.2
ssd
zotac gtx 1070 ti mini
HDPLEX 400W
 
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BrotherStein

Cable-Tie Ninja
Nov 11, 2017
168
136
I'll be interested to see what ideas people have. I was thinking about building small shroud, add some fans to it, and then mount it under my desk so that it's out of the way. My G-Unique PSU should be coming in with a Dell brick, so we will see.
 

BrotherStein

Cable-Tie Ninja
Nov 11, 2017
168
136
It's already designed to radiate heat from its outer surface, so putting a heatsink in contact with that should work.

Forgive me if this is a silly question, but what kind of heatsink would you suggest? Size, brand, copper?
 

EdZ

Virtual Realist
May 11, 2015
1,578
2,107
You'd be going from a flat plastic surface to a metal finned heatsink, so pretty much anything that's the right size and flat on the bottom. Attach it using thermal adhesive or thermal tape. No need to go overboard here, there's not much more elegant that can be done without disassembling the PSU itself, and that's generally a bad idea.
 

Mr_NumNutz

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Jan 4, 2018
20
13
well as an update i was playing pubg for less than 2 hours tonight and my pc just turned off.. no smoke.. no smells.. wouldnt turn back on. checked everything and no visible damage.. luckily i have my atx psu laying around so im running off that...
The dell brick still has the led illumination on the barrel end but no power to the system. im hoping if something has died its the dell brick and not my hdplex..

think im going to buy 2 bricks and run them together like the mod i have seen on here.
 

BrotherStein

Cable-Tie Ninja
Nov 11, 2017
168
136
im hoping if something has died its the dell brick and not my hdplex..

Hate to say, but it sounds like the hdplex. Not sure the best way to test that. Have you looked into getting a g-unique? You can get a modded dell brick that works up to ~450w.
 

robbee

King of Cable Management
n3rdware
Bronze Supporter
Sep 24, 2016
855
1,335
Did you try unplugging the brick from the wall for a while and plugging it back in? I had this happen to me once while benchmarking. I think I triggered an overload protection which shut down the unit and I couldn't boot anymore, until I unplugged the unit for a while.
 

Mr_NumNutz

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Jan 4, 2018
20
13
As ots all unplugged I will try it again tonight.. though surely if it was tripped the blue illumination wouldn't be on the barrel connector still? Why would the hdplex die.. it's a 400w model and its only a few months old..
 

BrotherStein

Cable-Tie Ninja
Nov 11, 2017
168
136
As ots all unplugged I will try it again tonight.. though surely if it was tripped the blue illumination wouldn't be on the barrel connector still? Why would the hdplex die.. it's a 400w model and its only a few months old..
Components aren't always perfect and can go bad at any moment?
 

Mr_NumNutz

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Jan 4, 2018
20
13
Yes this is true. I can return it if they are covered under warranty?
I will look into a g-unique. I have heard of it in one of Josh's videos recently.
 

jottwehh

Bonobo
Mar 19, 2016
65
162


you are welcome :thumb:
any further questions? :p
 

Thestarkiller32

Cable-Tie Ninja
Aug 13, 2017
152
102
Has anyone done any little mods or have any good ideas for keeping the Dell 330W ac adapter a bit cooler?

I opened it up with thoughts of making a mesh based housing for it to allow airflow but noticed how its all enclosed internally with a sheet material for heat dissipation.

So now im a bit stuck..

Should I go ahead with the meshed housing because surely some airflow to the sheet material is better than suffocated in its plastic box (and maybe with a heatsink on top) or something else?

Oh if anyone asks.. i feel more comfortable giving some venting or cooling because it was uncomfortable to touch in one area last night after a good session of pubg.

Yes its an official unit as i contacted dell..

My specs are

i5 7600 under volted to 0.985
h55
msi z270i gaming pro carbon
8gb ddr4
m.2
ssd
zotac gtx 1070 ti mini
HDPLEX 400W


somting like that to cool it down?
 
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Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
KMPKT
Feb 1, 2016
3,382
5,935
Just to be clear, this a 400W modified G-Unique Dell 330?
 

Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
KMPKT
Feb 1, 2016
3,382
5,935
1.) Play marathon session of PUBG
2.) Start house fire
3.) Sue Dell
4.) ?????
5.) PROFIT !!!!
 
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Mr_NumNutz

Chassis Packer
Original poster
Jan 4, 2018
20
13
Yes it's a standard unit.. I have messaged gury about a modded block.. have also seen the dynamo mini.. so many good sounding options to the hdplex.
 
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Al Hoff

Average Stuffer
Feb 25, 2017
80
144


This is a special build, don’t ask for it or you will get me in trouble lol but this is just an idea of what you could do. Small fan on one side and vent holes on the other side of the brick.