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

[kecoal2]

Hey Helaton

The feet are basically nuts with a one of those locking washers. The bottom of the chassis has screws connected to it. I have taken them off to install 2 of my 140mm fans with the default screws that come with 140mms (not the ones provided by Sliger). Hope that helps.

 

[Helaton]

@kecoal2

Thanks for the response, do you know the thread size?

 

[KSliger]

Quick question as a new Cerberus owner (will have hands on it this weekend). How are the feet (chromed) attached to the case?

@kecoal2

Thanks for the response, do you know the thread size?

There's 4x studs that stick out bottom of case, thread is 10-32

 

[Spartoi]

Amazing!! How was fitting that pump and reservoir? The fan so close! Any performances or temperature issues in general? Thanks man!

Sorry for the late reply.

The pump/res combo initially required placing the parts in a certain order, but now I'm familiar with it and have learned that I can just put the pump in first and let it rest/stand on top of the GPU. Then, I simply close the side-bracket and attach the pump to it using the screws/washers. I haven't encountered any performance or temperature issues. The GPU runs very cool and the CPU runs okay at stock. The CPU in general runs pretty hot though and that's why I decided to water cool in the first place. I ended up giving up on running all cores at 4.2GHz+ because of the voltage requirement and decided to leave it at stock.

 

[nemesis429]

There's 4x studs that stick out bottom of case, thread is 10-32

Hey,

Any updates?

Cheers!

 

[Furaah]

Hello !

Just a question regarding the Cerberus (not the Cerberus-X), would it be possible to fit this AIO at the bottom : https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-mlc-phoenix-280-radiator-core-module ?

I have searched but could no find the answer in the previous posts...
The specs on the site seem to indicate that it is possible to fit such radiator at the bottom, but on the other hand it looks quite huge, so I would like to confirm.
I assume as well that if it is in place, you can only fit one GPU ?

I'm open to other suggestions regarding the cooling solution (ASRock x399M Taichi + Threaripper 1950X). I was initially going for the "Enermax liqtech TR4", but I have seem some scary reports about the quality/corrosion etc...

 

[MaskedNozza]

Hey there! I've been using my Cerberus for a while now, and I do indeed love it!
I do have 3 issues, though. I am using the internal SFX PSU mount and I really would love to have 2 intake fans on the side bracket. However, 2 120mm fans overlap just a bit with the PSU, and the PSU is sitting just a bit too close to the side bracket. Is there a way to modify the PSU bracket to let the PSU fit much further into the back of the case, or does the bracket only mount one way?
Secondly, the side panel window that I have appears to be peeling off the side panel. I'm not sure if the adhesive is faulty or if some coating on the panel neutralises the adhesive's ability to hold it on, but is there any suggestion on how I might mitigate this? It's not a big problem when I have the panel on, but it does allow unfiltered air into the case.
Lastly, It was recommend to use DEMCIflex fan filters on the case, however I do not see how I might be able to use said filters on the case itself. Ideally I want to use the filters in the front of the case and on the side bracket, but the 240mm filters are too large to fit, as if the magnetic frame is too thick.
Any suggestions or potential solutions would be most appreciated

 

[MarcParis]

Hello !

Just a question regarding the Cerberus (not the Cerberus-X), would it be possible to fit this AIO at the bottom : https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-mlc-phoenix-280-radiator-core-module ?

I have searched but could no find the answer in the previous posts...
The specs on the site seem to indicate that it is possible to fit such radiator at the bottom, but on the other hand it looks quite huge, so I would like to confirm.
I assume as well that if it is in place, you can only fit one GPU ?

I'm open to other suggestions regarding the cooling solution (ASRock x399M Taichi + Threaripper 1950X). I was initially going for the "Enermax liqtech TR4", but I have seem some scary reports about the quality/corrosion etc...

I strongly recommend you to stick on 240mm radiator inside cerberus (located at bottom). Even if it’s feasible to fit some compact 280mm radiator (for me, ek phoenix 280 is too long...and beware of pump orientation...as far as i remember ek predator 240 was fitting physically but orientation was the issue), you will lose all access to i/o that is generally located at bottom on mb.

Hey there! I've been using my Cerberus for a while now, and I do indeed love it!
I do have 3 issues, though. I am using the internal SFX PSU mount and I really would love to have 2 intake fans on the side bracket. However, 2 120mm fans overlap just a bit with the PSU, and the PSU is sitting just a bit too close to the side bracket. Is there a way to modify the PSU bracket to let the PSU fit much further into the back of the case, or does the bracket only mount one way?
Secondly, the side panel window that I have appears to be peeling off the side panel. I'm not sure if the adhesive is faulty or if some coating on the panel neutralises the adhesive's ability to hold it on, but is there any suggestion on how I might mitigate this? It's not a big problem when I have the panel on, but it does allow unfiltered air into the case.
Lastly, It was recommend to use DEMCIflex fan filters on the case, however I do not see how I might be able to use said filters on the case itself. Ideally I want to use the filters in the front of the case and on the side bracket, but the 240mm filters are too large to fit, as if the magnetic frame is too thick.
Any suggestions or potential solutions would be most appreciated

Front sfx psu bracket can be mounted one way. However it could be a good option to be able to offset it to allow to put dual 120x15mm on side bracket..
On side window panel, i experienced same issue. I was able to mitigate almost the peeling by bending (by hand) the panel to better match window bend. Issue i had was my aluminium panel was a little concav while my acrylic window a little convex...gently i managed to adjust both window and aluminium panels.

I’m using demciflex filters only on front, as there is enough space for magnetic border. For all others panels i’m using different dust filter bought on ebay. Check my build for details.

 

[Furaah]

Thanks for the helpful answer MarcParis !

Yes I figured that the EK Phoenix 280 is too big as you said, unfortunately (it is longer than other radiators/AIOs that are already barely fitting), and in the end I won't go for the 240 either, due to the orientation issue (can't be placed with the tubing facing up, according to the manual), I did overlook this initially : / (Also, impossible to fit in the front due to the GPU length - 280mm).

I'm not sure what to do at this point, either go for aircooling with the small noctua (NH U9 TR4-SP3), but I'm a bit afraid of the temperature/noise (+ annoying for the DIMMs height), or go for a cooling solution less optimized for TR (Corsair H100i v2, etc ...), I can probably fit it both at the bottom or at the front (removing the bottom fan or doing push-pull using 15mm fans).

Not yet decided, I guess I need a bit more time

 

[MaskedNozza]

Thanks for your advice. I've tried to match the window to the panel but it's still not sticking particularly well. I will try some M3 adhesive perhaps.
I have not been able to fit the DEMCIflex 240x120mm dust filter in the front of the case. The clips to hold the cover on seem to be a little too close together to fit the filters, or perhaps the filter frames are just far too wide? I can't see how it might fit as is, but I suppose I could trim the frames to better fit both on the front and the side panel.
I'm also not sure if I'm looking at the wrong page, but I don't see what other fan filters you used.

 

[Helaton]

Hello !

Just a question regarding the Cerberus (not the Cerberus-X), would it be possible to fit this AIO at the bottom : https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-mlc-phoenix-280-radiator-core-module ?

I have searched but could no find the answer in the previous posts...
The specs on the site seem to indicate that it is possible to fit such radiator at the bottom, but on the other hand it looks quite huge, so I would like to confirm.
I assume as well that if it is in place, you can only fit one GPU ?

I'm open to other suggestions regarding the cooling solution (ASRock x399M Taichi + Threaripper 1950X). I was initially going for the "Enermax liqtech TR4", but I have seem some scary reports about the quality/corrosion etc...

https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/91goc3/cerberus_build_almost_complete/

This modder shifted his mini itx stand offs to fit 2 radiators. ImI waiting for pictures of the complete build.

 

[VegetableStu]

nuts, I'm wondering about the IO part of the motherboard o_o like is it simply blocked off by the case or did he cut it out?

 

[MarcParis]

Thanks for the helpful answer MarcParis !

Yes I figured that the EK Phoenix 280 is too big as you said, unfortunately (it is longer than other radiators/AIOs that are already barely fitting), and in the end I won't go for the 240 either, due to the orientation issue (can't be placed with the tubing facing up, according to the manual), I did overlook this initially : / (Also, impossible to fit in the front due to the GPU length - 280mm).

I'm not sure what to do at this point, either go for aircooling with the small noctua (NH U9 TR4-SP3), but I'm a bit afraid of the temperature/noise (+ annoying for the DIMMs height), or go for a cooling solution less optimized for TR (Corsair H100i v2, etc ...), I can probably fit it both at the bottom or at the front (removing the bottom fan or doing push-pull using 15mm fans).

Not yet decided, I guess I need a bit more time

Why not going on enermax tr4 version?

https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/91goc3/cerberus_build_almost_complete/

This modder shifted his mini itx stand offs to fit 2 radiators. ImI waiting for pictures of the complete build.

Nice setup...overkill cooling..but impressive build

 

[Furaah]

Why not going on enermax tr4 version?


Nice setup...overkill cooling..but impressive build

That was my initial plan, but I'm afraid of the quality issues with the Enermax.
I see negative reviews, reports of corrosion, leaks, etc... It seems to be a bit too many of those for a simple coincidence.

That doesn't really give me much trust into that product.

 

[VegetableStu]

probably wait it out after August? hopefully their second gen Enermax TR4 AIOs aren't this crappy out of the factory (the first half of the gen 1 lifecycle was pretty okay actually. It's just gone downhill for the recent batches for some reason)

 

[MarcParis]

That was my initial plan, but I'm afraid of the quality issues with the Enermax.
I see negative reviews, reports of corrosion, leaks, etc... It seems to be a bit too many of those for a simple coincidence.

That doesn't really give me much trust into that product.

I guess if you are aiming new theadripper 2 with 250w tdp, you should go to customed watercooling...even aio won’t be able to handle those beast efficiently.

You should save maximum space by staying on sfx or even hdplex psu, depending on your gpu.
Sorry to ask again : are you going to cerberus or cerberus-x?

 

[Furaah]

I'm going for the Cerberus (non-X), I want to minimize the size for the platform/socket I have.
I did consider going ITX with Intel (LGA2066) but I find TR to be a way better value in HEDT (also it's nice to go AMD for a change ), as there is no ITX available, I went for micro ATX.

I have a 1950X. I did not want to go for TR2 for a few reasons : Full price at release, not sure if the mobo/VRMs will be compatible/handle the 250w load (X399M Taichi), and yes, cooling... worst case, if compatible, I can upgrade later (and if not it will take a while to have a compatible microATX board, if it ever happens).

My PSU is SFX-L (SX800-LTI).

---

Regarding the cooling I'm considering a custom loop potentially, there are some thinner radiators that could do the trick, I'm not sure where I'd mount the pump/tank yet.

As of now I think I will go for the small Noctua CPU cooler (NH-U9 TR4-SP3) as a temporary solution,
then either go for AIO (Maybe new ones coming with TR2 ? Or a non-optimal baseplate one...) or a custom loop.

 

[MarcParis]

I'm going for the Cerberus (non-X), I want to minimize the size for the platform/socket I have.
I did consider going ITX with Intel (LGA2066) but I find TR to be a way better value in HEDT (also it's nice to go AMD for a change ), as there is no ITX available, I went for micro ATX.

I have a 1950X. I did not want to go for TR2 for a few reasons : Full price at release, not sure if the mobo/VRMs will be compatible/handle the 250w load (X399M Taichi), and yes, cooling... worst case, if compatible, I can upgrade later (and if not it will take a while to have a compatible microATX board, if it ever happens).

My PSU is SFX-L (SX800-LTI).

---

Regarding the cooling I'm considering a custom loop potentially, there are some thinner radiators that could do the trick, I'm not sure where I'd mount the pump/tank yet.

As of now I think I will go for the small Noctua CPU cooler (NH-U9 TR4-SP3) as a temporary solution,
then either go for AIO (Maybe new ones coming with TR2 ? Or a non-optimal baseplate one...) or a custom loop.

Looking at your needs and current cpu cooler market, go for Noctua u9s tr4 as first solution (and future back up once you will have watercooling solution)..

 

[Helaton]

Slowly building in my Cerberus case.

This is going to be a list of notes for people to reference. No particular order.

Demifilters ncase sizes. These are a struggle. They don't match the cerberus well. If you are going 140mm don't use the ncase ones. Build quality is exceptional though.

Dark Rock TF almost doesn't fit in a strix z370i. It touches horizontally the RAM and heatsink near the IO panel.

The IO shield is warped concave due to having to force it in the IO slot of Cerberus. It was very tight and needed to be forced in.

Noiseblocker 140mm fans work beautiful in the bottom of the case. The mounting system only interferes a little with the chrome feet. One long and one short cable end up uniform length together and then work in a pwm splitter on the chassis fan header. Highly recommend. I'm using them as chassis fans, not radiator.

My Cerberus came as the X version instead of the non x. Didn't notice until after fans were mounted. I fly out in 8 days so not sure if I want to try exchanging for the smaller version. Fits in my suitcase after testing. It's still very small though.

Cerberus is quality. I really mean it. Don't judge me when I say I spent 5 minutes rubbing the powder coat. Its uniform all over.

The chrome feet are solid. Not hollowed or coated. Solid, as in I could probably hurt someone throwing one at a target.

The standoffs are well done for motherboards and match the case.

The clipping panel system works extremely well. Wish the infinite vent in the bottom was also clipped. Would make installing fans even easier.

Everything is screwed. No cheap welds I could see. If something is in your way, unscrew it and put it back later.

Getting late. Will continue building tomorrow and take more notes and pictures.

 

[GucksTV]

My PSU is SFX-L (SX800-LTI)

Hey! I appreciate that you’re going to build around the Asrock X399M and a mATX Threadripper setup. I was considering a similar setup but how do you solve the fact that the SX800-LTI does support easily a dual GPU Setup but just offers a single 8pin EPS connector? I mean all Threadripper boards have a minimum of 8pin + 4pin (like the X399M has) the bigger ATX boards have a 8 + 8pin configuration but the minimum is 8 + 4pin to power any Threadripper setup. So currently there is no SFX nor SFX-L PSU that offers this specification. Am I right that an ATX PSU would be needed?