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

[PlayfulPhoenix]

Silverstone now sells that exact plate for ~$8, FWIW. We actually discussed it on the most recent episode of Low Volume, to boot. Thus, we'd just point people in that direction since our manufacturing cost alone to make such a bracket would be higher than the retail price of SilverStone's

I very much think Cerberus should stay how the current prototype is with a back cutout for ATX or exhaust fan. It will give us more options if we change our minds later.

You aren't alone in feeling that way, but having that functionality has a pretty high cost. If we assume that the SFX/ATX breakdown is 60%/40% (about where polling was at earlier), that means we'd be making a worse product for 60% of end users, and charging at least $25 more to the other 40% - many of whom probably wouldn't desire that "flexibility" anyway, meaning they'd be paying more and getting essentially nothing in return.

Dedicated frames means the same pricing and a stronger frame for everyone, with a minority bumping up against that inflexibility. If the proportion of people who want that flexibility is large enough, we can look into creating a "kit" (backplate, extension cord and front SFX bracket) that "converts" the ATX version into an SFX one, but at this point we don't think it makes sense to impose a design and monetary cost on everyone when only a small minority benefits.

 

[Pat-Roner]

Personally, i would rather have a Atx bracket to have in the front. But then again, I think I'm one of the few who's planning to have an itx mb in the case.

 

[Phuncz]

Silverstone now sells that exact plate for ~$8, FWIW. We actually discussed it on the most recent episode of Low Volume, to boot. Thus, we'd just point people in that direction since our manufacturing cost alone to make such a bracket would be higher than the retail price of SilverStone's

True, I didn't miss that but I expect the finish to not be remotely close to what you gents are going to grace us with, but also a bracket on a bracket would just look sad. I've used one of the SFX to ATX brackets supplied with my Sharkoon SFX-L PSU on another case and it just looks off. Maybe we'll luck out and it matches. But I see your point and I get you want to focus on the important things first. I'm probably getting ahead of myself too much.

 

[PlayfulPhoenix]

True, I didn't miss that but I expect the finish to not be remotely close to what you gents are going to grace us with, but also a bracket on a bracket would just look sad.

I mean, it won't look custom-made for Cerberus, but it will work fine, and the color/finish should be similar. I'd suspect that you'd only realize it wasn't built in if you knew or were looking for it - but I'm sure we'll be ordering one, so we'll find out soon enough ourselves.

But I see your point and I get you want to focus on the important things first. I'm probably getting ahead of myself too much.

It's fine. We're just in a tricky spot, as designers, because above all else, we have to maintain focus and make the best possible enclosure for a specific niche - one that best fills the void in the market, as well as one that (frankly) fills the empty space on our desks.

A consequence of that focus is that we have to say no a lot, even to ideas that have very good reasoning behind them. Even to ideas that are make-or-break decisions for people. It pains us each time that we do that, but such decision points are inevitable, and if we try to compromise in a way that services a lot of these things, we compromise everything.

A lot of people don't like the (pretty darn high) price, a lot of people would like the case if it had just one change made. But we think that we're close to the collection of features that optimizes the utility of Cerberus for the most people, and that's about the best we can go for.

 

[Phuncz]

Very true and in the end you have to make choices. In the end it's very true: functionally there's not much difference.

 

[jeshikat]

Q&A is live! https://discord.gg/0qIs01UX9MY2Dlvx

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the live Q&A! We'll be posting a recording of it for those who missed it sometime.

 

[jeshikat]

Here's a 140mm on the front with a SFX-L PSU:

So it fits, but you can see what I mean about the modular connectors.

 

[jsco]

Here's a 140mm on the front with a SFX-L PSU:

So it fits, but you can see what I mean about the modular connectors.

thank you for the photo! considering i only ever change modular PSU connections when i do a total rebuild, i have no problem with clearances like this as long as it fits. seeing every square inch of intake covered with fan like this warms cools my heart.

my plan so far is to run SFX-L, 1x140mm in front, 2x140mm on the bottom (offset as needed, possibly modded for all corner screws depending on how secure they feel), and a noctua NH-C14S cooler in top fan mode with the fan mounted to the case side bracket instead of the cooler (possibly with a 3mm adhesive foam shroud depending on how exact the fit is). all fans on intake, all fans with low restriction wire mesh dust filters. the phanteks 140s you use in your photos are what i use in my megaATX desktop and they're awesome CFM/dB performers, but i have a box of vardars on order now that those are available in 140mm. on paper, they're unmatched. (and yes, peanut gallery, filtered intakes and convoluted exhaust paths call for static pressure fans.) no exhaust fan, because lol @ this positive pressure.

i'm going to have to experiment with blocking off the non-intake region of the perforations on the side panel. i expect that they will lead to some recirculation of hot air through the CPU cooler, but i don't know how much.

one thing that does bug me is the low fraction of open area across the infinite vent regions. this is going to increase static pressure and turbulence noise, especially when coupled with a filter being smashed up against the frame. what you did on the side bracket with the open strip in the middle is perfect. i'm wondering if there is any justification not to do that on the front and bottom as well, leaving only as much material in the center as necessary for frame rigidity.

at any rate, from the perspective of an airflow efficiency snob, i really appreciate the design of this case. even being able to have this kind of discussion means something is very right.

 

[jeshikat]

one thing that does bug me is the low fraction of open area across the infinite vent regions. this is going to increase static pressure and turbulence noise, especially when coupled with a filter being smashed up against the frame. what you did on the side bracket with the open strip in the middle is perfect. i'm wondering if there is any justification not to do that on the front and bottom as well, leaving only as much material in the center as necessary for frame rigidity.

You can see the vent pattern of the rear fan on Nova-00 here and it was the same pattern on the bottom. I tested a Noctua P12 mounted to the bottom vents of both the Cerberus prototype and the Nova prototype and the fan noise was basically the same, with a very slight advantage to Cerberus.

There's more material between the holes but the slots on Cerberus are larger so I think it evens out. The uniform pattern on the front and bottom is partly for looks and partly because the 2.5" bracket can make use of the inner slots.

 

[PlayfulPhoenix]

To build on this, we've found no real temperature/performance delta between Cerberus and Nova-00, - consequently, although we haven't replicated all of the tests we did with that older prototype, the stats for that case will more or less be replicated with the shipping version.

 

[jsco]

There's more material between the holes but the slots on Cerberus are larger so I think it evens out. The uniform pattern on the front and bottom is partly for looks and partly because the 2.5" bracket can make use of the inner slots.

you may be right. it's hard to tell what's significant from my armchair. i would retry your noise test with a filter in place, though. filter+restrictions is what really sends your face velocity through the roof. even chopping the region between the 2.5" channels would make a difference. (and to be exact, just putting the same fan in the two cases without measuring the effect on airflow is unfair; you'd probably need higher RPM in the cerberus to match the nova's airflow.)

FWIW, the two reasons i'd consider cutting this chassis are: removing the centers of the vented frame panels, and drilling the bottom and/or feet to accommodate the corner screws for 2x140mm fans.

To build on this, we've found no real temperature/performance delta between Cerberus and Nova-00, - consequently, although we haven't replicated all of the tests we did with that older prototype, the stats for that case will more or less be replicated with the shipping version.

sure! i am totally splitting hairs here, and i doubt many people will push the envelope this hard. this just seems to be a pareto improvement on the existing vent design. it's one of the few things i'd consider dremeling out of the cerberus.

another edit: i can't stress enough that these criticisms are a form of praise. the closer you get to perfect, the easier it is to identify minor opportunities for improvement.

 

[jeshikat]

I see your point, but I know we'll get complaints from OCD people if the vent pattern isn't uniform and Joshua is one of those so you'll just have to get the dremel out for your case

 

[MunneY]

Hey guya... what's the distance between the front panel and frame? Can you get slim fans in there?

 

[jeshikat]

It's ~20mm. So you could put slim fans there but I don't think it'll be very effective.

 

[HansWursT619]

When going for the ATX version , can I fit a 240 rad on the bottom and another 240 on the front? Probably with slim 15mm fans.

I found 329mm as total internal length. 45mm for the front rad leaves 284mm for the bottom rad.

Or does something get in the way?

 

[jeshikat]

Dual 240 can be done but it's a tight fit: http://i.imgur.com/alG28GJ.png

 

[tedlas]

Dual 240 can be done but it's a tight fit: http://i.imgur.com/alG28GJ.png

So tasty.

What rads are those? are 3.5" drives mountable anywhere with that setup?

 

[HansWursT619]

Great, what radiators or dimensions are you using for the models?

Smallest I have found is Magicool G2 with 272mm length and 27mm height. Should fit with a 15mm fan.

With a graphics card in the top slot, will the top fan pass over it? Enabling a pump/res combo to be mounted to the fan holes?

I would choose the ATX version with a SFX-L on a bracket.

 

[jeshikat]

What rads are those? are 3.5" drives mountable anywhere with that setup?

The 240mm rads in the mockup above are the Alphacool ST30: http://www.alphacool.com/product_info.php/info/p977_Alphacool-NexXxoS-ST30-Full-Copper-240mm.html

With a rear-mounted SFX power supply in place of the ATX you could potentially fit the 3.5" bracket on the side.

Great, what radiators or dimensions are you using for the models?

Smallest I have found is Magicool G2 with 272mm length and 27mm height. Should fit with a 15mm fan.

With a graphics card in the top slot, will the top fan pass over it? Enabling a pump/res combo to be mounted to the fan holes?

I would choose the ATX version with a SFX-L on a bracket.

The ST30 is 278mm x 30mm so that Magicool is close but that extra 6mm saving in length could make things easier to fit. The top fan in that pic clears the top video card with room to spare.

 

[xkhoi]

Here's a 140mm on the front with a SFX-L PSU:

So it fits, but you can see what I mean about the modular connectors.

Thanks for the photos! I will most likely use 3 140mm NF-A14 Noctua Fans in this beast!