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

[GuilleAcoustic]

I wouldn't mind, unless it turns out 25% or more of the boards aren't combatible.

About the tubing cutout discussion, it'll probably be too expensive but oh well:

So basically a steel plate with two holes for screws. It could be used on the outside or the inside, although it would look "stacked" on the seperate rear bracket when on the outside. But it could be an all-purpose plate for I/O or the power button even.

I like this idea and we could also punch some letters / serial number to it

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

... and since user-punch holes for stuff like serial / parallell port disapeared, this could be a great option to add anything non-standard without leaving irreversible scars to the chassis:

• Custom connector(s)
• Arduino mouting plate
• Fan controller with heatsink plate
• etc.

 

[Phuncz]

That was the original idea, but I didn't want this idea to look too much like the power extension cover for the Ncase

 

[superscalar]

Personally I would love an "ATX limited-support" design, just to be able to choose from 4 or 5 times as many boards, I would have no problems with the bottom 3 slots not being usable or limited usable.

I've been watching this thread for several months now. I joined SFF just so I could second the opinion to support limited ATX motherboards. The Cerberus is practically an ATX case (minus the cut outs for two pcie slots). It only needs standoffs in the correct places.

What really makes the Cerberus special is that it is less than 15 inches in length. This means that it will fit on the shelf of a standard lab bench. A normal ATX case is 19 inches long. The Cerberus is also short enough to fit between two shelves.

I have 6 lab benches that are begging for a Cerberus. The price isn't a big deal since my employer would foot the bill.
Please add ATX motherboard support.

 

[jeshikat]

just give us the diameter of the hole, the thickness of the metal, and we can 3d print a pop-in hole cover ourselves.

They're 25mm in diameter and the rear plate is 18 gauge steel, so ~1.38mm including the powder coat.

I have 6 lab benches that are begging for a Cerberus. The price isn't a big deal since my employer would foot the bill.
Please add ATX motherboard support.

If we end up not offering ATX as an option and if price isn't a problem we can do semi-custom designs at even just 6 units for you.

Just adding 2-3 slots and appropriate standoff layout for ATX motherboard compatibility only requires new side panels, front panel, middle frame, and expansion slot dust cover. Everything else can be reused from the standard mATX design. Sliger also does silkscreening in-house so they can be branded if you want.

 

[superscalar]

They're 25mm in diameter and the rear plate is 18 gauge steel, so ~1.38mm including the powder coat.

If we end up not offering ATX as an option and if price isn't a problem we can do semi-custom designs at even just 6 units for you.

Just adding 2-3 slots and appropriate standoff layout for ATX motherboard compatibility only requires new side panels, front panel, middle frame, and expansion slot dust cover. Everything else can be reused from the standard mATX design. Sliger also does silkscreening in-house so they can be branded if you want.

Hi Aibohphobia. At first I thought an ATX motherboard could already fit into the Cerberus. However, it looks like you would need to exand it from 5 slots to 6 slots (with a unusable 7th slot). This would probably add an inch to the height of the design.

However, I just want to be clear that I don't need access to the last two slots on an ATX motherboard. I only need the motherboard to fit into the Cerberus. The small form factor is key to me. I don't care if the last two pcie slots are usable.

You might ask why I need an ATX motherboard? Well, Intel has a habit of offering new technologies in ATX motherboards. Thunderbolt 3 is one example. Until recently, Xeons were only offered in ATX, etc.

Thanks again.

 

[superscalar]

I hope this doesn't offend anyone ... and forgive me if this has already been discussed.

On the manufacturing subject, is it a goal to make a business out of the Cerberus like the Ncase guys? If all you want is the case, have you considered open sourcing the design so individuals could have them built (at great expense) at ProtoCase.

Alternately, you could see if Mountain Mods would build it. I believe Mountain Mods is based in the US and they can do aluminum. I had them do a small mod that added usb ports to the front panel of a Monticle 18. It cost me $145 for the additional panel + usb ports. Sheesh.

Anyhow, you could pass the specifications to Mountain Mods and let them worry about the hassle of order processing, manufacturing, and shipping. Users could Mod (at great expense) the cases as they see fit. Also, as an added bonus, the case would be available for purchase all year long instead in batches like the Ncase guys.

I just want the case. Don't care who builds it, etc. :-)

 

[jeshikat]

Hi Aibohphobia. At first I thought an ATX motherboard could already fit into the Cerberus. However, it looks like you would need to exand it from 5 slots to 6 slots (with a unusable 7th slot). This would probably add an inch to the height of the design.

The bottom clips for the side panels prevent the floor of the case from being right up against the bottom edge of the board. It looks like a 44mm height increase would be the minimum for ATX motherboard support.

On the manufacturing subject, is it a goal to make a business out of the Cerberus like the Ncase guys?

That's the plan.

Alternately, you could see if Mountain Mods would build it. I believe Mountain Mods is based in the US and they can do aluminum.

Haha, I'm amazed Mountain Mods is still around, I never hear anything about them anymore. We're working with Sliger Designs out of Reno, NV and we have a good relationship with them so there are no plans to change manufacturers at this time.

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Except thunderbolt, there's nothing ATX motherboards have that mATX ones don't.

 

[jeshikat]

Except thunderbolt, there's nothing ATX motherboards have that mATX ones don't.

Frustratingly there isn't a mATX X99 board that can do spaced SLI + large air cooler + 3.0 x4 M.2. All the current boards can do various combinations of 2 of those features but none do all 3.

 

[tedlas]

We have a good relationship with them so there are no plans to change manufacturers at this time

:/

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Frustratingly there isn't a mATX X99 board that can do spaced SLI + large air cooler + 3.0 x4 M.2. All the current boards can do various combinations of 2 of those features but none do all 3.

Honestly, I'd be concerned about a PCIe 4x M.2. storage temps with two high end GPUs above it and an LGA2011 CPU into such a small case. I think it would be better to use the 2.5" Sata express version of those drives, like the Intel 750 SSD:

 

[Phuncz]

Except thunderbolt, there's nothing ATX motherboards have that mATX ones don't.

I'm affraid there are, or atleast that I know of:
- more than one M.2 slot
- more than 4 RAM slots (X99)
- spaced PCIe for GPUs (already mentioned)
- M.2 and U.2 together
- choice: Socket Z170 ATX: 70 boards | mATX: 10 boards

Mind you I'm not advocating that these are important, that depends on the use-case, but just the insane difference in choice means you don't have to compromise as much. If I want an X99 mATX board with one PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 support, I basically have 4 options of which 3 are basically the same board with a few features tacked on ("gaming") and one has users reporting issues with NVMe.

Still I would make do, but I would not hesitate to order the ATX version of the Kimera just to not be slave to the whimsy of manufacturers which have seriously scaled-down their mATX lineups.

BTW: most complaints about M.2 SSD temperature issues are because of long-running benchmarks, not normal use-cases.

 

[tedlas]

2.5" Sata express version of those drives, like the Intel 750 SSD

The 750 doesn't use Sata Express. It uses pcie over the SFF-8639 or U.2 connector.

 

[PlayfulPhoenix]

:/

I'm curious as to why you'd feel that way about us using Sliger. They're certainly going to be the best bet for a domestic manufacturer, and an international one will mean reduced quality and way more time-to-production even in the best of circumstances.

Anyhoo, we're still figuring out a plan for production, but conversations with them have actually been really engaging. They've indicated that they really want to make production happen, and we're already seeing a few ways that we can make the case even better for users.

Obviously, this is all a WIP, but I don't think people should be dreading what will come of Cerberus. We've had some of the biggest opportunities for our project present themselves following the day the Kickstarter failed. I think the future of Cerberus and KI is actually pretty rosy, even if we have to wait a little longer than we wanted to get there.

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

I thought the 750 was Sata-E. Looks like you can use an M.2. to U2 adapter.

There are PCIe to multiples M.2. boards too.

Again, I do not see the point of plain ATX if it is only for more than 4x RAM slots (4x DDR4 allow for 64GB) or multiple M.2. Remember the first gen Nucs, where mSata had serious heat issue because of the stacked heat.

 

[jeshikat]

Out of curiosity, what do you all think of Caselabs new "SFF" designs? http://www.overclock.net/t/1594644/something-small-and-wicked-this-way-comes

Some of their design goals are similar (relatively compact, easily transportable) but their approach differs and it's interesting to me to see the design decisions they made.

And before anyone complains: no, they are not ripping off our vent pattern. Caselabs has been doing a offset obround vent pattern for a long time.

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Their chassis are too wide. I have a Lian-Li PC-V353 that might be around the same size and it is too wide.

Their case is basically a PC-V353 with the 2 zones swapped, which is what Lian-Li should have done:

Also, I do not like rounded edges and prefere agular designs. Handles are too thick too .... Well, your design is way better.

The only advantage of horizontal motherboard is that you do not have to pay attention to the heatpipe orientation when installing the CPU heatsink.

 

[PNP]

Out of curiosity, what do you all think of Caselabs new "SFF" designs? http://www.overclock.net/t/1594644/something-small-and-wicked-this-way-comes

Oh my, this is was rather unexpected. It's tempting but the incompatibility with magnetic dust filters, departure from the industrial look of their Mercury cases, and being unable to fit two of them under my desk...I will wait for Cerberus.

 

[jeshikat]

Handles are too thick too .... Well, your design is way better.

What do you think of Cerberus's handles then? It's hard to tell from the picture of the Caselabs one but I think their handle is thinner, but proportioned differently.

and being unable to fit two of them under my desk

Yeah, I find the horizontal layout an interesting choice. A horizontal case is perhaps better for transport but there's never enough desk space at a LAN.