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

SonicSparks91

Minimal Tinkerer
Mar 15, 2017
4
7
Just got my Cerberus-X in the mail, very nice build quality indeed! Any ETA or possibility on a side panel with a window? I would hate to have to mill it out myself!
 

Kooki

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Mar 30, 2016
129
56
The lack of pictures from people who have already received the case is disturbing.
I need them ASAP!

Is there a way to see a compilation of all the pictures posted in a single thread in a similar fashion as in the overclock.net forums?

This dimension is correct, 146mm is maximum without side hinge from top of IHS - had clicked my dimension to the wrong point on motherboard.

Will get page tech specs to reflect this (thank you for checking!)

So, in the end the maximum CPU cooler height did shrink from the original 148mm... bummer :c
 
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Nanook

King of Cable Management
May 23, 2016
805
793
The lack of pictures from people who have already received the case is disturbing.
I need them ASAP!

Is there a way to see a compilation of all the pictures posted in a single thread in a similar fashion as in the overclock.net forums?



So, in the end the maximum CPU cooler height did shrink from the original 148mm... bummer :c
Lol. Agreed. I opened my C-X to inspect, but haven’t had time to even unwrap the accessories / drive brackets/etc. been so busy. Excuses excuses
 

Pyrath

Average Stuffer
Feb 5, 2016
59
82
I'm starting my own build log here. I expect a month-long process, and accounting for holidays at the family it'll likely be towards the end of Jan before this thing is close to done. I don't want to spam this thread with updates so check it out!
 

nemotron

Chassis Packer
Oct 29, 2017
19
19
Pardon the noob question, but is the red/black or the white/black connected to the front panel power button? I have a MSI mortar Z270M mobo and am trying to do a dry run before I put everything into the case. I just can't seem to get the system to turn on. Here's a picture of the front panel connectors on the motherboard.

In some combinations, the led around the power switch turns on but the system doesn't when the button's pressed. I've checked along the wires and they aren't labeled.

Here's my system:
mobo - MSI mortar arsenal Z270m
CPU - i5-7600k
cooler - Noctua C14s
RAM - G Skill RIPJaws 16gb
GPU - MSI GTX 1080 Gaming Z

Any help would be appreciated.
 

isabirov

Average Stuffer
Nov 15, 2017
58
31
@KSliger said that:

For others that check:
Red/Black = LED (Red = 3.0V)
White/Black = Power Switch

As I can get from photo and labels on the left, you should swap connectors.
 

Kanoko Kochano

Efficiency Noob
New User
Dec 5, 2017
5
18
As an addendum to my previous posts:

1. I unscrewed the power button to see if I could straighten it. Turns out it was crooked because the spacer looks like it was fabricated with hand tools. Not only does it vary in thickness around the ring, but it's also not level:



2. Edit: This point no longer applies. I was able to find another bag of screws that has the correct sizes for PSU mounting.

3. The reason why the countersunk M3 screws are too long for the SSD is because, although typical M3 screws are 4mm for SSDs, this assumes that you're mounting the SSD to a panel, which has a certain thickness and reduces the length that's screwed into the SSD itself. When you use countersunk screws instead, the screw goes deeper than they would a typical M3 and effectively negates the panel's thickness. This is why the countersunk M3's, despite being 4mm, are too long for the SSD.

4. As I mentioned previously, the pegs that hold the panels are very, very tight, making the panels difficult to remove. Also, the top panel is perforated, thin, and does not have any right angles to reinforce its shape. As a result, I bent the top panel simply trying to remove it:



And no, I didn't use any tools. This is just me trying to lift the panel up from the front by hand, but having to brute force it because the peg is holding it in so tightly. Edit: It was stated that the case panels should only be lifted from the back side, never the front.

Edit: Removed what I said because it was born out of frustration rather than reason. I apologize for the hyperbole.
 
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MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
3,669
2,784
As an addendum to my previous posts:

1. I unscrewed the power button to see if I could straighten it. Turns out it was crooked because the spacer used was a shoddily-made hack job that looks like it was made using hand tools. Not only does it vary in thickness around the ring, but it's not even level:



2. There were 3 bags of screws that came with my order: 1 for the case itself, 1 for the rear SFX mount, and 1 for the front SFX mount. As I mentioned yesterday, the bag that came with the front SFX mount had the wrong type of screws for PSU mounting. On further examination, it turns out that they're M3 screws, not 6-32. The rear SFX mount had the proper 6-32 screws. This picture shows the correct screws that came with the rear SFX mount on the left, and the wrong screws that came with the front SFX mount on the right:



3. The reason why the countersunk M3 screws are too long for the SSD is because, although typical M3 screws are 4mm for SSDs, this assumes that you're mounting the SSD to a panel, which has a certain thickness and reduces the length that's screwed into the SSD itself. When you use countersunk screws instead, the screw goes deeper than they would a typical M3 and effectively negates the panel's thickness. This is why the countersunk M3's, despite being 4mm, are too long for the SSD.

4. As I mentioned previously, the pegs that hold the panels are very, very tight, making the panels difficult to remove. Also, the top panel is perforated, thin, and does not have any right angles to reinforce its shape. As a result, I bent the top panel simply trying to remove it:



And no, I didn't use any tools. This is just me trying to lift the panel up from the front by hand, but having to brute force it because the peg is holding it in so tightly.

With all that's said and done, I'm through with this case. These are issues that you wouldn't see on a $20 Rosewill, and nowadays you can buy a tempered glass case for half the cost and none of these problems. I am extremely disappointed in the build quality of the Kimera Cerberus.
There was defintely something getting wrong on your case.
Thanks for sharing that and sliger could improve quality on next runs
 

Phuncz

Lord of the Boards
SFFn Staff
May 9, 2015
5,943
4,952
I finished putting my setup into the Cerberus and I've noticed some additional issues:
To be fair, I've had (variations of) most of these issues too with an Ncase M1 which I consider one of the more delicately crafted community cases I've owned. Yes I have a bent top panel, I have scuffs near the pegs, I have lips from where the panels were cut, I also have a dent in a corner of my panel (although not sure if this was my fault), etc etc.
I never even considered the lips to be an issue until now, I've seen them but have never thought of them to be a problem.

If you go look for imperfections, you will undoubtibly find them on any case. Mentioning a $20 Rosewill as having better quality control means you've not looked at one thoroughly. I have plenty of examples of ~100$ cases that I'd be happy with if the issues you mentioned were the only ones. No, these cases are riddled with unproperly painted panels, razorsharp edges, defective PCIe extenders, power LEDs that light up a room, wobbly panels. I would consider these

Some of your issues certainly need to be addressed, I'm not trying to shrug them off. But it helps to remember that these aren't mass-produced cases but community projects. This case could be much cheaper if it was also produced in the hundreds of thousands like most other cases. Or it could be of much higher quality if every case was QA'ed to Apple levels, at a price multiples of what it is now. The larger companies have their own staff doing the QA but for operations thousands of times larger, which just isn't possible for small community projects like these. If you really want a high-end enclosure that's critically evaluated by the creator, you can look at the NFC S4 Mini Classic, which Josh (the creator) handles personally.

I'vbe not yet received my Cerberus and I'll certainly be on the lookout for anything iffy.
 
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3lfk1ng

King of Cable Management
SFFn Staff
Bronze Supporter
Jun 3, 2016
918
1,717
www.reihengaming.com
Yea, you definitely got the brunt of some QC issues. It pains me to see it but I'm glad these details are being laid out on the table for future improvements -and I bet they'll be swift to make them. That said, the comparison to a paper thin stamped steel Rosewill case, all unpainted on the inside with dented side panels out of the box is a bit unfair.

My top panels (all three of them) come off super easy compared to the side panels, it takes very little effort but has just enough tension to assist with cable organization.
 

Nyven

Caliper Novice
Nov 16, 2017
21
15
@ nemotron

Looking at your pic as isabirov eluded to it looks like your wires should be across the top row (the one you are currently in) Red/Black White/Black. In that color order as well assuming the black is ground.
 

nemotron

Chassis Packer
Oct 29, 2017
19
19
So I tried switching the wires as @isabirov and @Nyven said and the LED doesn't power on and neither does the system.
Put it in the wrong order (white/black red/black) and the led lights up but pressing the power button doesn't do anything.
 

isabirov

Average Stuffer
Nov 15, 2017
58
31
Try to short two power switch pins on your motherboard with a screwdriver. If your PC boots - then there is something wrong with power switch. If not - then there is something wrong with your hardware.
 

Pyrath

Average Stuffer
Feb 5, 2016
59
82
Try to short two power switch pins on your motherboard with a screwdriver. If your PC boots - then there is something wrong with power switch. If not - then there is something wrong with your hardware.
And if your PC boots but you can't seem to get the switch to work, take a picture or tell us what the pin-out on the rear of the switch looks like. Horror of horrors, it could have been wired wrong. Each wire in each pair should be opposite its partner, there should be no pairs made up of adjacent wires.