Sliger Cerberus and Ryzen 3950x - Please help

mpta

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
May 25, 2020
11
10
Hello,

My name is Maciek and I would love to build small and strong PC - some 3d rendering and gaming from time to time, maybe VR.
I have already ordered Sliger Cerberus (not an X version) with SFX / SFX-L Internal mount for PSU and it will arrive here in 3-5 weeks. I will also probably use blower version of 1080ti.

Last time I was building PC was 6-7 years ago (m-atx lian li air cooled) so I am totally green :)
Since few days I am reading about SFF builds but more I read less I know :D

I just know that for Air Cooling my best option will be Noctua C14S but it seems it might be not efficient enough for 3950x.
I would love to avoid custom water cooling just because I have never done it before :)

Is there any good AiO I could use?
What would you guys recommend?

C14S with undervolting 3950x? or Maybe other air cooling option?
AIO? If yes - which one?

Thank you!
 

ososoba

Case Bender
New User
May 25, 2020
2
2
I might be wrong but I think the C14S should be good for the 3950x. There are a few RAM compatibility issues you'd want to be mindful of, I believe the ram clearance is about 40mm so some tall sticks might not be compatible.

If you want to go with an AIO, the EVGA CLC 240 should be fine as well. Or you could use one of the NZXT 240 coolers.

I personally prefer air for fewer failure points but you should check reviews to see cooler performance for the 3950x to inform your choice.

Sliger has a list of coolers recommend on the specs section here - https://www.sliger.com/products/cases/cerberus/
 

DrLeroy

Noob Saibot
May 15, 2020
186
117
Hello,

My name is Maciek and I would love to build small and strong PC - some 3d rendering and gaming from time to time, maybe VR.
I have already ordered Sliger Cerberus (not an X version) with SFX / SFX-L Internal mount for PSU and it will arrive here in 3-5 weeks. I will also probably use blower version of 1080ti.

Last time I was building PC was 6-7 years ago (m-atx lian li air cooled) so I am totally green :)
Since few days I am reading about SFF builds but more I read less I know :D

I just know that for Air Cooling my best option will be Noctua C14S but it seems it might be not efficient enough for 3950x.
I would love to avoid custom water cooling just because I have never done it before :)

Is there any good AiO I could use?
What would you guys recommend?

C14S with undervolting 3950x? or Maybe other air cooling option?
AIO? If yes - which one?

Thank you!
Your system spec will be similar to mine, 3950x and 1080ti, mines currently in a Dan A4 with a Cryorig C7G with Noctual Fan swap as a temp solution till i move to a FormD T1 and custom loop.
With the 3950x in ECO mode ive had no issues cooling it with the C7G which is pretty awesome, it does get temp spikes when you start a full 16core workload, but settles down soon after.
with ECO mode off it was getting too toasty for me.

Given you have a lot more space to work within the Cerberus, I think you will be fine even with something like an NHu9s and second fan. the 3950x seems to run cooler than the 3900x in stock form.
However the C14S is listed as fitting from Cerberus, so if thats what your preference is, go for it.
 

mpta

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
May 25, 2020
11
10
Thank you guys!
@DrLeroy I will be mainly using it for rendering so 16 cores will be running for hours thats why I am concerned. I don't mined to reduce power few percent if possible.
@ososoba Thank you for info about ram clearance. Would you try C14S or just go for EVGA or NZXT in my case?

My other issue is matx board. I had no idea there will be only one option to choose and it doesn't have best reviews. I might consider DTX size instead. Do you guys think it's a good idea? Good quality mainboard is important to me.
 

DrLeroy

Noob Saibot
May 15, 2020
186
117
Thank you guys!
@DrLeroy I will be mainly using it for rendering so 16 cores will be running for hours thats why I am concerned. I don't mined to reduce power few percent if possible.
@ososoba Thank you for info about ram clearance. Would you try C14S or just go for EVGA or NZXT in my case?

My other issue is matx board. I had no idea there will be only one option to choose and it doesn't have best reviews. I might consider DTX size instead. Do you guys think it's a good idea? Good quality mainboard is important to me.
Multi Hour full core workloads is going to heat soak almost any cooler, at that point its about getting the airflow I guess, I would grab the C14S then, see how you go without Eco Mode, as the CPU with throttle back to stock clocks if the temps are too high anyway, but it will initially boost to max clocks at the beginning of the workload, you could turn off the XFR to prevent this boost also before trying eco mode, it might be better in your situation, for me in ECO mode i get full boost clocks still, as long as its short, which most of my needs are, i have high core allocations, but not much heavy use per core.

I Assume you have gone uATX for a reason, more PCI slots or something, so going for a DTX or ITX board may be a step backward for you?
i guess you are referring to the Asrock X570m-Pro4 as the board with 'not the best reviews' which does seem to be the only real options for X570.

Have you considered looking at x470 micro and B450 micro boards, possibly a B450 board as a stand-in for a while till X570 and B550 micro ATX board start rolling out, there is normally a bit of a delay on x chipset micro ATX boards (or at least my local retailers there is) B550 is more likely to have the crop of uATX gear though. if you can hold out, or go with a B450 for now and swap out later may be an option.
 

mpta

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
May 25, 2020
11
10
Thank you so much @DrLeroy for your answer! I was not aware I could use older chipset. I have to wait anyway for my cerberus so maybe in few weeks there will be new boards. Yes, I was referring to Asrock X570m-Pro4. I would love to keep uATX format. I had it in the past and I find uATX as a perfect size for my needs.
If you guys think it's not best idea to use so many cores in a small build (air cooled) I might even consider switching to GPU rendering and just use i7 or slower ryzen.
 

DrLeroy

Noob Saibot
May 15, 2020
186
117
Thank you so much @DrLeroy for your answer! I was not aware I could use older chipset. I have to wait anyway for my cerberus so maybe in few weeks there will be new boards. Yes, I was referring to Asrock X570m-Pro4. I would love to keep uATX format. I had it in the past and I find uATX as a perfect size for my needs.
If you guys think it's not best idea to use so many cores in a small build (air cooled) I might even consider switching to GPU rendering and just use i7 or slower ryzen.
Just check the specific B450 you get is already updated to support 3000 series though, and with the 3950x itx you still want a solid quality B450 with good VRM's
Hardware Unboxed does a good video on this and which ones are good etc.

3950X in uATX isnt an issue, plenty of people with 3950x in itx cases etx, just go for it, you can search this forum to find what other coolers people have used in Cerberus builds, the 3950x isn't really any hotter than a 9900K, actually better with ECO mode by a bit, so you can take some guides from what coolers people run for them in a Cerberus etc.
 

MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
3,616
2,705
Welcome to Cerberus club..:)

Basically I've created a short summary to guide future Cerberus user in cooling :
https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/smallest-atx-case-cerberus-x-complete-build-log.2007/

Noctua C14S will be perfect for R9 3950X...Zen 2 are not really worth 240/280mm AIO (leave that for intel toasty 14mm processor..;)).

I hope this will help.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best cooling setup
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based on my Cerberus-X experience I wanted to sum-up best cooling setups in it :
  • More gaming oriented setups :
    • With vented side panel : Noctua C14S (dual intake fans) : Return of the king : Noctua C14S (Update of 21st February-16th May 2020)
    • With solid/window side panel : 92mm watercooling : Testing Watercooling 92mm (Asetek 645LT) (Update : 3rd January 2020)
  • More CPU workload oriented setups : Finding better 240mm watercooling compromise (Update : 19th November 2017)
 
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mpta

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
May 25, 2020
11
10
@DrLeroy @MarcParis Thnak you so much guys! So It seems I will try one of those:
1. Noctua C14S + uATX X570 + 3950X (If there iwll be a option for solid model)
2. Noctua C14S + uATX B450 (probably Asus) + 3950X
3. Noctua C14S + Intel/AMD 8 core CPU + Stronger GPU for GPU rendering

@MarcParis I love this setup. - With vented side panel : Noctua C14S (dual intake fans)

I am glad there some options! Thank you guys so much!
 
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MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
3,616
2,705
@DrLeroy @MarcParis Thnak you so much guys! So It seems I will try one of those:
1. Noctua C14S + uATX X570 + 3950X (If there iwll be a option for solid model)
2. Noctua C14S + uATX B450 (probably Asus) + 3950X
3. Noctua C14S + Intel/AMD 8 core CPU + Stronger GPU for GPU rendering

@MarcParis I love this setup. - With vented side panel : Noctua C14S (dual intake fans)

I am glad there some options! Thank you guys so much!
Indeed there are plenty of options with Cerberus...that's its main advantage : versatility..:D

Keep us informed..:)
 
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mpta

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
May 25, 2020
11
10
Hi @MarcParis :)
Can I ask you few questions?

1.in your air cooled build you have used NF-A12x25 mounted on the side bracket. Do you think 140mm would be ok?
2.Which B450 m-atx do you think would be the best? I did some research and it seems MSI B450M MORTAR or ASUS TUF B450M-PRO GAMING might be ok?
3. For the fans would you go PWM even if there is no as much of support from the mainboarD? (futureproof maybe) or it's better to go non PWM?
4. Which fans in your build I should prioritize for PWM in your opinion?

Best,
Mac
 

MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
3,616
2,705
Hi @MarcParis :)
Can I ask you few questions?

1.in your air cooled build you have used NF-A12x25 mounted on the side bracket. Do you think 140mm would be ok?
2.Which B450 m-atx do you think would be the best? I did some research and it seems MSI B450M MORTAR or ASUS TUF B450M-PRO GAMING might be ok?
3. For the fans would you go PWM even if there is no as much of support from the mainboarD? (futureproof maybe) or it's better to go non PWM?
4. Which fans in your build I should prioritize for PWM in your opinion?

Best,
Mac
Sure you can ask...::)

Answer 1 : Yes you can use 140mm fan. I used some in my early build (dual Noctua 140 PPC 2000 PWM, way too loud for me).
https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...cerberus-x-complete-build-log.2007/post-45574

Answer 2 : ASUS TUF B450M-PRO GAMING as Asrock has not been so great on AMD since AM4 launch.
Answer 3 : Go to PWM as soon as you can. I guess you misunderstand, PWM fans are pretty well supported. It's general DC fans (3 pins) that tends not to be supported by motherboard (even if more and more motherboards are handling DC fans now.)
Answer 4 : For price/performance ratio, Artic Bionix series is great. Noctua Brown or Black standard fans are also great picks. Avoid RGB fans if you are aiming to performance...led integrated in those fans are generating heat....
 

mpta

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
May 25, 2020
11
10
Hello,

Thanks once again for your help @MarcParis @DrLeroy and @ososoba.
So finally I have canceled my Cerberus order and went with Cerberus X with Asus X570 strix-e and 3950x. I was lucky cos X version was in stock so I did not have to wait that long. Thanks DENSITY!

At the end it works great. It's a great case I recommend to everyone.
Thanks!

IMG-8299
IMG-8297


Here is size comparasion Cerberus X and be quiet! Pure Base 500

IMG-8225
 

MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
3,616
2,705
Excellent build!

I'm glad you are happy with it!

What about temperature of R9 3950X with C14S?
 

mpta

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
May 25, 2020
11
10
Thank you @MarcParis
Can you please guide me how to check temps in a proper way?
Which software should I use? How long should I stress CPU and GPU? Should I stress them separately or together?
Cinebench would be ok?

Best,
Mac
 

mpta

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
May 25, 2020
11
10
thank you guys,
so here are temps after 10 min all 16 cores rendering 3D scene.
It's a thin layer of MX-4 thermal paste on this cpu.

temps
 
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Uruk

Trash Compacter
Feb 1, 2019
45
47
Good temps for 3950X at full power rendering, even if its only 16min. C14S works great in this case.
 

MarcParis

Spatial Philosopher
Apr 1, 2016
3,616
2,705
@mpta as @Uruk stated, hwinfo64 is the the benchmark to monitor your system.

For testing your cpu cooling, I recommend Intel Burn Test 2.54, using very high profile...:)

For gpu cooling, fur mark with max resolution with no frame cap is ok to test thermal (not really stability).
 

mpta

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
May 25, 2020
11
10
Hi @MarcParis I could not get intel burn test running (is it just for intel processors?)
Anyhow I've done long time renderings with 100% all cores and threads constant usage and same temps. It doesn't go higher.
Also I've noticed that PWM of case 1 had different speed with the same settings as PWM case 2. Case 1 (two fans at the bottom of the case) was to aggressive and making too much noise so curve edit solved it.

I am so happy with the case and decided to build another cerberus X for my wife but this time just Ryzen 3600 and glass panel.