Cerberus X: Dark Matter Build Thread

MeltedCactus

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After a few ITX builds, (NCASE M1, D-Frame Mini) I was craving something a little bigger. I wanted more RAM slots, more PCI-E slots, etc. I wanted something with presence, but not unnecessarily so. Enter Cerberus X. What a little (big) case! It has a small size foot print, but with the ability to cram an E-ATX motherboard in there I was sold. I do a few LANs a year with friends and I value portability. With the handle option and its relatively small size it will be an excellent fit for my needs.

The biggest reason I went larger was the EVGA X299 Dark. I've lusted over that motherboard since I first laid eyes on it. It's so purposely built and mean looking I just had to build with one at some point. With the recent price cuts in X299 chips now was the time. Say what you will about X299, and I'll likely agree with you that Ryzen and Threadripper offer massively better price to performance ratios, but I didn't select X299 for the processors. I just had to build with the Dark.

As for the plan of attack on this build, cooling the CPU will be handled by a custom loop. This is my second custom loop as I currently run one in my D-Frame Mini (Gallery). However, that one is used to cool both the CPU and GPU. The reasons I'm only going to cool the CPU via the loop are few. One, I'd like to OC the chip more this time around and I don't want it to share radiator space with the GPU. Two, I usually build every 2 years so I tend to sell my used components on craigslist or reddit. Not having to deal with selling a GPU with a water block just makes this part easier. Not everyone is going to do a loop so my potential sales market shrinks. I could see myself staying in this build longer and just upgrading the GPU down the line and this would simplify things for myself.

With that said, here is the parts list. (Subject to change)

Case: Cerberus X
Motherboard: EVGA X299 Dark
CPU: 9900X (Upgrading to 10980XE whenever this unicorn shows up at my local Micro Center)
RAM: 4x16GB HyperX 3200MHz (Will be trying to OC to 3600MHz)
GPU: 1080ti (Will be upgrading to 3080ti? whenever these come out)
Storage: 2x 1TB WD Black SN750
PSU: Corsair SF750
Fittings: Bitspower Black Sparkle
Tubing: 12mm OD copper pipe
CPU Block: Phanteks PH-C350IP
Radiator: 240mm Hardware Labs GTS
Pump: EKWB DDC 3.1
Reservoir: Phanteks Glacier R160 (May use a T-joint off the radiator as a reservoir and fill/drain port)
Fans: Scythe Slim 12mmx120mm
Cables: Custom (May just order from Ensourced if I get impatient)

Well, please stay tuned as I continue this build process. In the end, it's never really done.
 
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MeltedCactus

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So, a few changes have already been made. I decided to go with custom cables from Ensourced. I've used his cables before in my NCASE M1 and they are great. After taking inventory last night I just didn't have enough supplies nor the patients to do them. I will however need to re-sleeve the power button cord, fan cords, and pump cords in black paracord. I had used another material, but ultimately don't care for the shiny look.

Secondly, I think I might be painting the "PHANTEKS" text on the block white to match the rest of the components on the board. I think it will make it pop a little more. I also have decided against a reservoir. I'm going to use a T joint off the radiator to do the filling and draining. The radiator will then act as a make-shift reservoir for bleeding the loop. It's going to be rough, but I think it will clean up the build a lot.

This weekend I'll be focusing on mainly sleeving the fan cables and making them to length. I will also be focusing on the constructing loop. Since there will be no bends and I'll be cutting copper pipe this will take a little longer than usual. I will also still need to buy more fittings as even though I have a lot, I'll need to buy some special ones like double 90s, offsets, etc to make the loop run like I want.

Once the loop is in place I'll have to run a system prep to clean out the rad. After that I will be disassembling most of it and waiting for cables to arrive. In small form factor cases such as this one it always gets tricky at the end. There always seems to be an order of operations to things. I will most certainly need to connect the 24pin to the motherboard before installing the rad and fans. I've always liked 90 degree power connectors on boards, but this is one instance now were it makes things a little more tricky. In the end, patience will need to be my friend and managing the cables will have to be done with the utmost thought.

Anyway, stay tuned for more.

P.S. - I'm sorry I'm an idiot and don't know how to embed the photos in the post. Hopefully Imgur works OK.
 
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MeltedCactus

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Alright, I finally made some progress. After battling clearance issues and the like I decided to move the radiator to the bottom. It’s not ideal, but it’ll be setup as exhaust with the GPU right above it. This change really helped with tubing runs As well. Hopefully the GPU isn’t too starved for fresh air, but I’m not too worried about it. Now, I certainly could move the GPU up to the top 16x slot, but I feel like it then becomes too imbalanced and top heavy. The eye will naturally be drawn to the center, so I’ll be keeping the GPU in the lowest 16x slot.

With the acrylic mockup complete it’s time to tear it all down and start cutting the copper pipe. With the all the black and the black sparkle fittings I think the copper is really going to make it pop. It’ll also bring some dimension to the build as currently the clear tube lends your eye a flat aesthetic. After that it becomes all about cable management. My least favorite thing and admittedly I’m not very good at it. I will be doing my best to stay patient and do it well. I do not like using cable combs as I like the natural “flow” of the cables if you will. I’m waiting on my custom Ensourced cables which be here by the end of the week so hopefully everything else is done. I also need to sleeve the power button cables. Anyway, thanks for reading and enjoy.

 
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MeltedCactus

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Well, the copper is finally in and it looks stunning if I’m honest. Pictures don’t do it justice. My wife even thinks it looks nice. ;) I was actually surprised how easy it was to cut as well with one of those little tube cutters. Just keep adding pressure and spin the pipe. I do have one run I need to fix tomorrow as I ran out of time tonight. Once this final run is trimmed and corrected it will be cable management time.

I’m not looking forward to this as I’m not the best at it. I hope I can do a good enough job where they kind of fade into the background, but we shall see. Patience will be my biggest friend during all this... and maybe a beer or two. I may redo the sleeving for the pump, but not quite sure. I may also replace the power button with a black one I have, but that just might be too much black from the outside. Either way, I’m anxious to get it done. Ensourced cables should arrive by the weekend, so there will be a break in the action until then. Thanks for reading and happy building!

 

MeltedCactus

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Well, I had my first big whoops with this build... It wouldn’t be a sff build without one, but it caught me by surprise nonetheless. As I finally finished my loop and feeling good about it I decided to take it all out and get ready for cables. Well, before that I decide I wanted to put the side panels on for a little preview. That’s when disaster struck. I was using a 240mm Hardware Labs GTS rad and it suddenly became apparent it's too wide. The middle prong on the side panel is too long and hitting the rad so the side panel will not go on at all. I couldn’t believe it. Problem is I cant move the rad closer in by the motherboard because then it blocks the front panel/power button connectors. F*ck! Thankfully I have some spare 360mm EKWB rads lying around and I use one to see what the width is compared to the Hardware Labs. To my amazement it is much much narrower. Perfect, but now I need to buy a 240mm version. A quick drive to Microcenter and I’m back in business. I did have to redo 3 tubes which was alright. It actually helped clean up the run as well and also gives me more GPU length clearance in the future. I doubt performance will be as good given the EK rad has a much smaller footprint of the Hardware Labs, but at least I can finally move on.

So after removing the pipes I decided to sand them and polish them once more. After that I applied a clear coat. They look even better. In the meantime I started managing the fan cables and front panel cables. So far so good. I will now be taking the pump out as well to redo the sleeving I did for that. As long as I stay patient I’m confident with the help of custom length cables I can do a decent job in the cable management department. Anyway, here are some more progress pictures.

 

MeltedCactus

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Alright, it’s basically complete!! I’m just waiting on the 2080ti to show up. I decided to sell my 1080ti to a buddy, but still planning on upgrading to a 3080ti as soon as they are released.

The cables came from Ensourced and look absolutely fantastic. No matter how hard I tried I’m still not satisfied with the cable runs. The runs look fine, it just gets hard trying to cram four 8 pin cables and a thick 24 pin cable in a SFF case. I had to get pretty long ones because I wanted to keep as much of the motherboard and pipe runs in clear view. I think in that regard it was a successful cables management attempt.

I did run into some issues with my pump. I originally had bought a Swiftech DDC that uses a molex for power and then can run PWM of a fan header. I decided to rewire it and dump the molex. It worked great, then I remembered I had to sleeve them. Well, I forgot which cables were which when I got done and fried the thing. Woops! So, I bought a Koolance PMP-400 which just runs of a 3 pin fan header. I run it at 60% and it’s quiet enough that I don’t mind it. Plus, I’m not going to be trying to OC the CPU real far so I doubt I’ll ever require it to run full speed.

To fill the loop I utilized a little res I had laying around and it was pretty slick. I let it run for a few hours on the BIOS screen with some paper towels, shook it around and it was leak free. Since this isn’t my first rodeo I don’t feel the need to do a 24hr test. I then took a little syringe to pull out the extra water out of the res and then removed it. Made sure the T-joint was full and plugged the port.

I’m excited to get the 2080ti in there and wrap this build up.

Overall I’m super happy with the way it turned out. I love the way the copper turned out and I think it’s absolutely stunning. I’ll need to straighten them up a bit for photos as I banged them around a little but during the leak test. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied with the cable runs, but I also don’t think I could have done much better. I think once the GPU is in it will really help lead the eye away from all of the cables at the top and balance the build out. Stay tune for more pictures of the final build. GPU gets here tomorrow.

 
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Curiosity

Too busy figuring out if I can to think if I shoul
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Great job on the wiring, a lot of times I've seen it get pretty gnarly in the cerebus. Copper tubing is amazing.
 

MeltedCactus

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I might steal an idea or two :p

Question - how do you remove the reservoir?

Be my guest!
How do you mean? I just used it to do the initial bleeding of the loop. Then, used a syringe to pull out any remaining water in the reservoir and then removed it from the loop.
 

Revenant

Christopher Moine - Senior Editor SFF.N
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Apr 21, 2017
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Love it.... I'd go full steam punk with that copper.

I have Cerberus X and I have to admit, it was really nice to have the features of a full ATX board again.