Chimera Industries Cerberus: The 18L, mATX, USA-made enclosure

PNP

Airflow Optimizer
Oct 10, 2015
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Yeah, the screws need better kitting for production.

And that standoff is a known problem with this run, they all have that issue.

So for us alpha testers, will there be some way to swap out the motherboard/PCI area? Looks to be held together with screws.

I didn't mind USB2.0 or lack of 3.5mm jacks since I figured that would actually be better for an eventual headless server build, but this is damping that plan a little bit.
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Feb 22, 2015
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So for us alpha testers, will there be some way to swap out the motherboard/PCI area?

Probably not, the production design will have some tweaks that will make the main frame incompatible with these units.

It looks like I had forgot to clarify with you that this was a known issue before you bought it, so I apologize for that. If it's a problem, we could refund you.

But FWIW I haven't screwed in the same standoff location on the prototype, even though it lines up correctly, because the heatsink and handle bracket is in the way and I'm too lazy to bother. That's also the Noctua C14S and I carried it back and forth to work 5 days a week for several months with no issue.
 
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BlackRogue

Trash Compacter
Oct 22, 2016
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Hey, sorry if this has been asked before, I'm sure is has been but over 100 pages is kinda hard to look through. But will there be a point where the case will be available to just purchase? Or is it going to be a production run system similar to that of the NCase M1

Greatwork BTW

*Edit: by just purchase I mean like most cases, either from you directly or from resellers etc, I realise that that part may have been a bit vague*
 
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jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Feb 22, 2015
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It will be available to buy at some point, but exactly how it will work and when isn't set in stone yet.
 

MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
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Yeah, the screws need better kitting for production.

And that standoff is a known problem with this run, they all have that issue.
Was it also an issue on Cerberus-x, i don't remember of having this issue. The only pseudo issue i remembered that i was unable to put i/o shield of my crosshair vi ( it's quite thick as there is some foam on it)
 
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Anthony

Average Stuffer
Dec 5, 2015
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It will be available to buy at some point, but exactly how it will work and when isn't set in stone yet.

Will this some point be by September? (Either via preproduction sales or the finalized unit). Looks like AMD might be launching the consumer version of Vega around August - September. I'd love gift myself a new rig for my birthday.
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Feb 22, 2015
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Not sure, it depends on if the next pre-production run goes smoothly.

There shouldn't be much left to tweak but pretty much everything that could possibly go wrong with this run did, so I'm not making any promises.
 

PNP

Airflow Optimizer
Oct 10, 2015
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Probably not, the production design will have some tweaks that will make the main frame incompatible with these units.

Well that's unfortunate.

If it's a problem, we could refund you.

Yeah but I'd have to send it back at that point, wouldn't I? Then I'd have to move to some inferior case that doesn't fit under my desk and that's another n months of neck strain to use my second monitor...ech. It's not an ideal course of action.

How late would you be willing refund me? I would like to at least finish the build to see what other difficulties lie in wait (and take pictures).
 
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PNP

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Oct 10, 2015
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Well....now what?

Nevermind the madness of trying to shove the SC2 Hybrid in there, you can see how the front of the card goes in (and even locks) but the back doesn't, resulting in the screws not lining up.


And how the IO plate on the back is tilted (see the gap by the DisplayPort row.


And how there's a bit of rubbing going on in the slot key (the white marks on the left side).

I am really not sure at this point who is out of spec. I still have the KL06B so I will transfer over and see what's what.

Also, bloody hell the SF600 has some stiff cables.

EDIT: Fits like an expensive glove in the KL06. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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Phuncz

Lord of the Boards
SFFn Staff
May 9, 2015
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You could check your motherboard being alligned properly, it might explain all the tiny offsets. Especially with those terrible Asus foam-filled I/O shields, you really have to jam it in there so the screws and the screwholes are alligned perfectly.
 
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PNP

Airflow Optimizer
Oct 10, 2015
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You could check your motherboard being alligned properly, it might explain all the tiny offsets. Especially with those terrible Asus foam-filled I/O shields, you really have to jam it in there so the screws and the screwholes are alligned perfectly.

Yes, the I/O shield is pretty horrible, but it's as aligned as the screws will allow, barring the one that is known to be misaligned.

At any rate, Any more progress in this case cannot be made without custom cables that are also softer.

I'll put my X99-M WS in my case from this batch tomorrow to check this.

Be sure to check the second 3.0 x 16 slot. The PSU cables would not allow me to use the first one.
 
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jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Feb 22, 2015
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At any rate, Any more progress in this case cannot be made without custom cables that are also softer.

I keep complaining to Corsair about those stupid cables so hopefully they'll take it into consideration for any future revisions.

Be sure to check the second 3.0 x 16 slot. The PSU cables would not allow me to use the first one.

Will do
 

PNP

Airflow Optimizer
Oct 10, 2015
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@PNP Yup, I can confirm that the PCI slots in the case are slightly off. I'll have to do some more testing and measuring to figure out exactly why, looks like a combination of things instead of one simple measurement being off.

So, being nocturnal has not driven me mad after all. I'll start packing everything up.

Funny thing is, I won't need to worry about PCI interference for a little while. It would seem my SC2 Hybrid likes to reboot my PC under load so back to EVGA it goes.
 
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