Dell XPS 730 H2C Performance Gaming System
Interior Design, Layout & Connectivity
Dell has also designed the chassis to be ESA (Enthusiast System Architecture) compliant which allows the system to monitor and report a wide variety of temperature and performance data in real-time. We'll explore the XPS 730's ESA features in detail on a later page.
The XPS 730 features a variety of system monitoring (as per ESA) and special control capabilities for the LED and cooling system (in the case of the H2C version). In previous 700 series models, these controls were handled by the motherboard. This would be a problem if the motherboard were replaced, since all of that functionality would be lost. In the XPS 730, these functions are contained on a separate circuit board which sits to the left of the motherboard, under the cooling shroud. This means you retain all functionality when the motherboard is upgraded. Both the motherboard and the separate control board sit on a removable motherboard tray, which can be unscrewed from the chassis and lifted out. Unfortunately it doesn't slide out the back like in some after-market solutions.
The XPS 730's motherboard (see image below) is a fairly typical looking ATX board that is not unlike NVIDIA's reference design. However, it features a less ornamental cooling solution than most after-market motherboards and doesn't sport an excessive number of copper heat-pipes. The motherboard's chipset is cooled by a single heatsink and the northbridge and southbridge sides of the heatsink are linked by a set of heat-pipes hidden under the heatsink itself. The voltage regulators around the CPU socket have their own dedicated heatsinks connected by a single heat-pipe.
The interior of the XPS 730 is lit by several multi-color LEDs, just like the exterior. There are also a set of LEDs located on the rear of the system. They are strategically placed to illuminate the rear I/O panel and the expansion slots. This is both aesthetically pleasing and very functional since the illumination makes connecting cables in dark environments, such as under desks, much easier. All of the decorative LEDs are part of the chassis and not the motherboard so you do not lose them if it is replaced.
The chassis has built-in cable management for all hard drive cables. Cables are also installed and pre-routed for all four hard drive bays, even if they are not all in use. This makes upgrading extremely simple since all of the cables are provided and installed. You simply need to push the new hard drive in and connect the cables. Unfortunately, like with the previous 700 series chassis, there is no strict cable management for the other cables in the system. This isn't a large issue since Dell routes the cables behind the expansion cards and for the most part they are tucked out of the way and none of the cables are in a position to degrade airflow within the case.
The original 700 series chassis featured a tool-less expansion card design. Push-tab clips were used to secure the expansion cards instead of screws. The new XPS 730 chassis forgoes that and uses screws. A tool-less design would be favorable but this is less of an issue in this case, at least for H2C systems, since all H2C systems come with a free tool kit complete with a set of screwdrivers, as we saw in our preview article.
The chassis cooling is configured in a wind-tunnel setup and no air escapes from any side but the front and back. Except for the drive bays at the top, the entire front of the system is basically one big intake grill. The rear of the system is similar in that, except for the I/O shield and the expansion slots, the entire rear of the system is a large grill to allow for exhaust. This makes for a very efficient cooling design and airflow within the case is relatively straight forward. Another advantage to the design is that there are almost no dead-spots where air becomes trapped or isn't moving.
While the system is at idle, the fans are relatively quiet considering the caliber of hardware it is packing. Under load, the fan speed and noise the system produces increases slightly although the system still remains fairly quiet. While it is certainly louder than a modern office productivity PC, the XPS 730 remains deceptively quiet and doesn't announce its presence to everyone in the room.
Located under the externally accessible drive bays is a fan shroud and the H2C unit. In the air-cooled, non-H2C version, the H2C unit would be replaced by a second fan shroud. The fan shroud holds a caged 120mm cooling fan that intakes cool air and blows it over the motherboard's expansion slots. It is protected by a grill on both sides to prevent stray wires from catching in the blades. This fan manages to move a significant amount of air while remaining fairly quiet.
A small 60mm fan is wedged in between the two columns of hard drive bays. It sucks in air through the first hard drive column and pushes it through the second column and out of the case via a dedicated rear exhaust vent. The chassis has no dedicated exhaust fans. However, judging from the high airflow out of the back of the system, it probably doesn't require them.