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

Biowarejak

Maker of Awesome | User 1615
Platinum Supporter
Mar 6, 2017
1,744
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That’s the issue, all hot air will go inside...with no way to be exhausted..;)
I mean that's kinda the point of positive pressure, right? Air escapes out the cracks instead of dust getting sucked in. Much easier to pull off (if a bit louder) than a neutral set up :)
 

Anthony

Average Stuffer
Dec 5, 2015
79
36
I mean that's kinda the point of positive pressure, right? Air escapes out the cracks instead of dust getting sucked in. Much easier to pull off (if a bit louder) than a neutral set up :)

I can see the solid panels making sense though, I'm pulling in all that hot air through a thick rad in the bottom and pushing it out the back with another fan, I wouldn't need vented panels either. Debating about the solid panels as well now. Would look a bit classier to have a solid right panel in conjunction with my planned full window panel on the left. Need to find a local glass maker.... the never ending pursuit of perfection will be my downfall lmao.
 
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Taswegian

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Oct 1, 2017
89
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Well, cooling psu with hot air for cpu or case is still a bad idea for me. I did once in the past..and my psu didn’t last long...;)

I'm not advocating hot intakes, just noting an alternative exhaust pump. I prefer feeding direct tfresh air to the main heat generators and exhausting that air directly outside.

I think it's a stretch to associate a particular example of failed PSU to a warmer intake. It's similar to people's reaction to failed HDD and they feel some brands are more/less reliable but their sample size is too small to be meaningful.


Best proof is current layout of cases with psu located almost at bottom with good intake from outside..;)

As above, if you can take fresh air into a hot item and then directly exhaust that's usually good but it in compact cases using a mandatory fan like the PSU to help flow air through the case might be reasonable.

Still having only plain panels are the contrary of proper case airflow..;)

Yeah I don't get that. For me Function >>> Form so I'd happily have way more vents if they were useful.
 

MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
3,629
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I'm not advocating hot intakes, just noting an alternative exhaust pump. I prefer feeding direct tfresh air to the main heat generators and exhausting that air directly outside.

I think it's a stretch to associate a particular example of failed PSU to a warmer intake. It's similar to people's reaction to failed HDD and they feel some brands are more/less reliable but their sample size is too small to be meaningful.

As above, if you can take fresh air into a hot item and then directly exhaust that's usually good but it in compact cases using a mandatory fan like the PSU to help flow air through the case might be reasonable.
Unfortunately i hope to make mistake but, it’s true that bringing hotter to a fan is reducing is life span ...like capacitors.
Putting a psu with a hot intake is a non sense in terms of lifespan as it will reduce it obviously.

I’m not even mentionning the fact that fan will spin quicker and louder...;)

We are discussing about cerberus, not a s4 mini or smaller case. I found my cerberus to be one of the best compromise space efficiency, powerful components, thermals and noise

Yeah I don't get that. For me Function >>> Form so I'd happily have way more vents if they were useful.

Putting plain panels everywhere is simply stopping airflow...i don’t see your point here
 

Vittra

Airflow Optimizer
May 11, 2015
359
90
Other way around would probably work better since hot air rises.

This is a common misconception. The general principle of hot air rising does not apply to a pressurized enclosure such as a computer case, as air current within the case is in a constant state of movement (in, through, out). Due to this, it never has the opportunity to become at rest, where warm and cool air would then have the opportunity to separate due to density differences.

The only time the concept would bear relevance is to deadzones in the case where no air movement is present. As you can imagine, a case that has deadzones is generally considered to be a poorly designed one - you don't want locations where a lack of air movement allows for hot air to accumulate.
 
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MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
3,629
2,722
This is a common misconception. The general principle of hot air rising does not apply to a pressurized enclosure such as a computer case, as air current within the case is in a constant state of movement (in, through, out). Due to this, it never has the opportunity to become at rest, where warm and cool air would then have the opportunity to separate due to density differences.

The only time the concept would bear relevance is to deadzones in the case where no air movement is present. As you can imagine, a case that has deadzones is generally considered to be a poorly designed one - you don't want locations where a lack of air movement allows for hot air to accumulate.
I cannot say better than that..:D
 
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Evan

Efficiency Noob
Oct 29, 2017
6
9
Signed up not this is finally going into production, been looking for an amazing small case like this for e5 v4 build. Super happy that there is a quality small case that’s for bigger than mITX boards.
 

nemotron

Chassis Packer
Oct 29, 2017
19
19
First off, let me say that I am super pumped for this case. Registered for SFF forum just so I could comment and follow the thread. It would be perfect if I could get the graphics card to be vertically mounted to show it off, but one can't have everything. I was looking at the Orthrus, but looks like its still early in development.

So a question about component selection. Specifically for cooling. I was hoping to go with air cooling for now and switch to water cooling once I have the money for it or my next build in this case.

Am I right in assuming I can't have a SFX-L power supply in the front AND 2x 120/140mm fans in the top? I was hoping to do SFX-L up front with 1x 120 fan below it, 1x 120 on the side bracket, 2x 120s on the bottom, and 2x 120s in the top. Might be too many fans so let's just consider these all of the possible places I can get 120/140mm fans. Was going to use a Noctua NH-C14s for the CPU since it'll go right up to the side bracket. Probably some air cooled 1070 or if I get a hybrid cooler, put it in one of the slots on the case.

When I water cool, I was going to do a 240 rad in the front and 240 rad in the bottom with the SFX-L power supply in the rear slot with 2x 120/140 in the top and 1x 120 in the side bracket.

P.S. are there PCI slot covers coming with the case? I don't see any in the pictures. Only plan on using 1 GPU.
 
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chemist_slime

Caliper Novice
Aug 21, 2016
32
62
Is it possible to do a 7x1 single slot GPU for the Cerebrus X? I'm planning on doing a quad 1080 Ti build but is a 7 GPU water cooled build possible? Seven R9 Nanos with a 150W TDP each can just about be cooled with a Nemesis GTR 240mm which can handle 1100Ws. Can the Cerebrus X fit a triple rad by any chance?
 
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Ubermarshall

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Sep 11, 2017
110
44
Had a bit of a muck around in sketchup today, even though it has somehow become unstable for me now.
It is almost next to impossible to scale properly when the program crashes periodically.

First I scaled the case height to approximate Cerberus-X height to see about rad space using the Alphacool ST30 models from the library here.


Then a second go to see what the case would be like with some improved ventilation on the front panel.
I want to do a WC build, but am nervous that the 15mm fans will not have enough static pressure to overcome the 5mm of breathing space they will have, mounted on the front panel.
 
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rifter

Caliper Novice
Oct 26, 2017
28
35
Ok, quick fitment question: will a radiator with a total width of 153mm fit in the case bottom (HWLabs Nemesis 280gts)? I honestly expect it won't as the nepton 280L (with a width of 140mm) seems to be a tight fit. Better to ask before expending capital, however:eek:
 

MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
3,629
2,722
going by the EK 360 (which is 400mm tall), nope. CX is about 363mm tall (did I get this right?), and that's counting the outside boundary (i.e. the case itself)
Yes no 360mm rad support on cerberus-x...;)

Easy 240mm rad support
Dual 240mm rad support with strong challenge on tubing, cable management...not even speaking of pump and reservoir location..;) (easier if you go apogee drive ii...but not sure apogee drive will fit below below a sfx psu o; rear bracket