Log SMALLEST ATX CASE : CERBERUS-X (Complete build log)

[rfarmer]

My G3 just lasted for 1 month. How long last your schiit?

I bought that June 2020.

 

[MarcParis]

I bought that June 2020.

short lifespan also... Still in warranty? What will be your next choice?

 

[rfarmer]

short lifespan also... Still in warranty? What will be your next choice?

Thanks for asking because I hadn't thought to check warranty. Came with a 2 year warranty so I guess I need to send it back.

 

[MarcParis]

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Update 14th February 2022 : Special Valentine's day : Asus ROG Clavis!
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In today's review I would like to share with my really postive experience with Asus ROG Clavis, USB-C DAC with 4-poles 3.5mm Jack.

Official Web Page :
https://rog.asus.com/headsets-audio/accessories/rog-clavis-model/

First of all, I must admit I discovered this DAC by chance, as Asus did not put a lot of efforts in marketing.
I found some useful comments on Reddit, but not much. (I don't take into account some YT reviews)

Basically I was hesitating (after failure of my Creative G3) between Creative Sound BlasterX G6, Razer THX Onyx & Asus Rog Clavis.

I excluded SBX G6 as it should be renewed by this year.
Razer THX Onyx is well received by critics & consumers, however, it was a bit too expensive for my budget.

At the end I decided to give Asus ROG Clavis a try as it was sharing some DAC chips as Razer THX Onyx : ESS 9281 QUAD DAC™

So what is the result at the end?

• Output Sound Quality:
  • First of all, I have to remind that all sound reviews are, by nature, 100% subjective and dependent on personal experience
  • I'm comparing Asus ROG Clavis vs following devices while using same headset Audio Technica M60x (with PC) :
    • Sound Blaster G3 :
      • Good all rounder
    • Sound Blaster x-fi surround 5.1 pro
      • 10 years old DAC, but it is managing decent job (way better than Realtek ALC867 for example)
    • Marantz SR6007 (headphone jack)
      • Really clean, but audio soundstage is a bit messy/muddy (outside voices)
  • Basically compared to contenders, Asus ROG Clavis is simply best headset DAC I've used so far :
    • Really, really clean & flat sound output
    • Audio soundstage is marvellous : tons of details can be heard. Asus ROG is the most detailled DAC I personnally used. I was able to hear details I missed completely previously, as if details were extracted from noise mud.
  • With Armor Crate software, you can customize sound output, if you want (I did nothing on my side, except turning off LED..)
    • 
  • Conclusion : Even if 32 bits, 384khzn 130dB are just marketing numbers, output of this Asus ROG Clavis was simply as advertized :
    "Hear every detail and enjoy crisp, clear sound for a true-to-life audio experience with ROG Clavis."
• Microphone Sound Quality:
  • For info, Microphone quality is 16bits, plenty enough for standard humain voice, mainly for standard needs (conf call, chat, etc).
  • With Armor crate software (what a awkward installation!), you can largely improve noise cancellation :
    
    
    • This "AI" noise cancellation is working pretty well versus some specific noise like keyboard clic for example. Compared to Sound Blaster Command software noise function, Asus Rog Clavis is way better.
    • Important thing to note : Asus Rog Clavis AI Noise cancellation is a hardware feature (software setup) whereas Sound Blaster Command is a software solution. That means, once setup, Asus Rog Clavis AI cancellation is applied even if Armor Crate is not running in background or on another device

Asus ROG Clavis is working with my KVM.

Overall, my personal experience with Asus ROG Clavis is really great so far. Time will tell about durability.
The only side effect I'm experiencing is I'm getting used to really good sound quality, and it is becoming difficult to move away from it (either bad source or other DAC/headset)

 

[MarcParis]

Cooler Master just announced SFX platinum V1100 and V1300!
PCIe 5.0 compatible.

Only missing information will be fan noise on those SFX...but it is already a terrific news!
https://summit.coolermaster.com/chronos/advanced-computing/v-sfx-platinum/

 

[Neathdrawls]

Cooler Master just announced SFX platinum V1100 and V1300!
PCIe 5.0 compatible.

Only missing information will be fan noise on those SFX...but it is already a terrific news!
https://summit.coolermaster.com/chronos/advanced-computing/v-sfx-platinum/

Terrific news for builders! If the price isn't too ridiculous at the start.

Kinda irks me to see that the power connectors on the psu being so far out, and not aligned with the length of the unit. Kinda 'cheating' the sfx length, even if it shouldn't affect too much the cable management of wires.

 

[MarcParis]

Terrific news for builders! If the price isn't too ridiculous at the start.

Kinda irks me to see that the power connectors on the psu being so far out, and not aligned with the length of the unit. Kinda 'cheating' the sfx length, even if it shouldn't affect too much the cable management of wires.

I agree there is an offset from rear of PSU & connector : small price to pay for such a power delivery.
I forgot to mention that cooler master will put 10 years warranty...

 

[thelaughingman]

Cooler Master just announced SFX platinum V1100 and V1300!
PCIe 5.0 compatible.

Only missing information will be fan noise on those SFX...but it is already a terrific news!
https://summit.coolermaster.com/chronos/advanced-computing/v-sfx-platinum/

My SX1000 is outdated so quickly hahaha curious to see if other brands will respond, SF750 seems ancient in comparison!

 

[MarcParis]

My SX1000 is outdated so quickly hahaha curious to see if other brands will respond, SF750 seems ancient in comparison!

Very true...eager to see potential reaction from competition also..

 

[MarcParis]

While waiting for Mass Effect V, I've decided to share important video from Mass Effect Trilogy + Andromeda.
All videos are aiming to share best 32:9 experience (HDR if possible).

I can assure you that 32:9 experience is truly a game changer!
I hope you will appreciate..

 

[MarcParis]

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Update 21st March 2022 : Special First Day of Spring : "Fan Control" software
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Today's I would like to share my positive experience while using "Fan Control" from Remi Mercier (another French guy!).

As you may have noticed I'm very concerned with fan speed management, putting a lot of efforts/trials in it.
I've tested Motherboard, dedicated internal usb boxes (Corsair Commander, NZXT)...and I must admit : most solutions were plagued by bad software (crown of worst software to NZXT CAM..)
Honorable mention for "Speedfan", pretty efficient, but very limited on current hardware compatibility. (works great on my Z97 ITX board)

Recently, thanks to Asus latest bios releases, I went back to 100% bios solution.

I must admit that Bios fan control with thermal sensor put on GPU backplate remains the pinnacle solution for me : works everytime, reactive, effective semi fanless, software bug free..

However on latest Z690 Motherboard, those thermal sensor pins were removed from ITX MB but also on most bigger motherboards (all brands!).
That's such a pity!

Hopefully, "Fan Control" represents a new hope!
https://github.com/Rem0o/FanControl.Releases

You can setup an important diversity of fan curves, merged some of them for fan with mix CPU/GPU loads.
It took me 10min to setup fan curve...pretty intuitive.

One major point is that you can leave free some fans that could be better handled by other software (ie RTX 3090 FE Fans by MSI afterburner)

At the end here is result :

• "Fan Control" is managing all fans connected to my motherboard :
  • CPU fan speed is following CPU/GPU temperature (dual purpose fan : cool CPU & exhaust GPU hot air)
  • Keep bottom intake fans (mostly used for GPU) at 0% in case GPU load remains low
• MSI Afterburner is managing RTX 3090 FE using "firmware mode", to make 0 rpm mode possible

Final result is impressive as in low load, only 3 fans are spinning at low speed (CPU, top, rear), while 5 fans are stopped (2 bottoms, 2 GPU, PSU).

"Fan control" remains fast to load & well optimised...very good software I would say. (way faster than speedfan for example)
Let's see how "Fan Control" will be maintained by community, but in current state, it is a "must try"!

 

[mouacyk]

Cooler Master just announced SFX platinum V1100 and V1300!
PCIe 5.0 compatible.

Only missing information will be fan noise on those SFX...but it is already a terrific news!
https://summit.coolermaster.com/chronos/advanced-computing/v-sfx-platinum/

This has been announced before in July of 2021. I think they (and everyone) is having fan problems.

 

[MarcParis]

This has been announced before in July of 2021. I think they (and everyone) is having fan problems.

at which level : issue to produce fan or too much heat to dissipate?

 

[MarcParis]

Here are some news of potential upgrades of my setup inside Cerberus-X.

Unfortunately, as I was expecting, on CPU side AMD Zen 4 is not interesting me in the current state (vs Alder's Lake or even vs Zen 3).

On GPU side, RTX 4090 performances are definitely interesting but its price, power consumption, card dimensions is making me reluctant. I'll wait for RDNA3 and overall for 2023 for any upgrade on GPU side.

Meanwhile I'm monitoring for potential upgrade on SFX PSU (to prepare ATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 standards for very beefy GPU)...but so far, no candidate.. Any proposals?

 

[MarcParis]

Small update today.
After almost one full year of its release my combo Intel Core i5 12600K + Asus Prime Z690-P Wifi D4 + Flare-X 3200 C14 is working well! No longer weird & sudden crashes.

This is requiring Bios 2014 released on 19th October 2022!

 

[Arboreal]

That's a long haul to stability...
Your extended patience has been rewarded at last

 

[MarcParis]

That's a long haul to stability...
Your extended patience has been rewarded at last

Thanks!
Well it was mostly luck as this RAM kit (GSKILL FlareX F4-3200C14D-16GFX) was supposed to be supported since start...

I tested all bios and experienced same bug (cold boot : Stable, warm boot : unstable). Only last bios that unlocks compatibility to Meteor Lake CPU was working...I guess it is simply LGA 1700 platform that is getting more mature.

I'll building right now my new PC eco-system and let you know in the coming weeks..

 

[MarcParis]

And here is my build log about N-ATX v2, that will replace S620 in my living room.
https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...se-sfftime-n-atx-v2-complete-build-log.17997/

You will find full build log, comparison with Cerberus-X & Cats!

 

[MarcParis]

And here is my conclusion on N-ATXv2.
https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...n-atx-v2-complete-build-log.17997/post-270918

I compared it vs Cerberus-X on several parameters, including the most important one : Cat Magnet!

Enjoy!

ps : I'll post soon my recent modifications in Cerberus-X setup. For now I put priority on N-ATXv2 in order to finish my review..

 

[Arboreal]

And here is my conclusion on N-ATXv2.
https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...n-atx-v2-complete-build-log.17997/post-270918

I compared it vs Cerberus-X on several parameters, including the most important one : Cat Magnet!

Enjoy!

ps : I'll post soon my recent modifications in Cerberus-X setup. For now I put priority on N-ATXv2 in order to finish my review..

The look on the reviewer's face says it all! I am not happy with this narrow perch, I preferred the old one that I could happily sit on...
M. Le PC Somelier, bring me a better resting place, NOW!