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Cerberus-X 2025 : Back to active service : R7 9800X3D + RTX 5080 Ventus (30th March 2025)
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After having performed so many trials with my MSI RTX 5080 Ventus, I decided to move back to my Cerberus-X as my active setup.
I could not ignore how superior the MSI RTX 5080 Ventus was inside my Cerberus-X versus all the mini ITX cases I tested.
As an ATX motherboard, I decided to not go back to the MSI X870 Tomahawk I used in late 2024. In comparison, the Asus B650E-I already performed way better (RAM compatibility, Boot time, USB incompatibilities).
MSI remains a very good brand, but mostly focused on Intel (Motherboards) and Nvidia (GPU). I wish MSI was putting the same love into AMD products.
Thus I selected to go with the
Asus ROG STRIX B850-E Gaming WIFI for the following reasons :
- Great connection bifurcation to the CPU setup :
- GPU : PCIe 8x Gen 5
- SDD : 3x m.2 SSD at PCIe 4x Gen 5
- Very good connectivity : 1xUSB4, Wifi 7 (full @6.5Gbps), 5Gb Ethernet
- Total of 5 m.2 slots, up to 3 full PCIe 4x Gen5 (CPU) + 2 full PCIe 4x Gen 4 (B850 Chipset)
To be frank, the technical specs of the Asus B850-E are close to the MSI X870 Tomahawk, but Asus is delivering a significantly better user experience on this, at a 80€ overcost.
I started with the installation of the Thermal Grizzly Contact Frame & bios flash back.
Time to install it in the Cerberus-X.
Here is the full setup :
- CPU : AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D (default limits), PBO Curve Shaper :
- Min Frequencies : -30
- Low Frequencies : -30
- Med Frequencies : -30 (Max Threads performance, like Cinebench)
- High Frequencies : -10 (Gaming)
- Max Frequencies : -10
- Motherboard : Asus ROG STRIX B850-E GAMING WIFI
- CPU Cooling :
- Heatsink : Noctua C14S with offset mounting bars NM-AMB13
- Cooling fan : Fan replaced by a Noctua NF-A15 HS PWM CHROMAX BLACK SWAP
- Thermal paste : Arctic MX-6
- Contact frame : Thermal Grizzly
- RAM : Corsair Vengeance 2x24Go 7600 MTS (XMP profile). Booting time is also excellent.
- GPU : NVIDIA/MSI RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/+2000 (Core/GDDR7), custom fan curve °C/PWM (50:0/60:40/100:60), power limit @100% (I cannot increase it , anyway), connected at PCIe 8x Gen5
- PSU : Corsair SF1000 with its standard cables.
- SSD#1 : Samsung 9100 Pro 2To (Gen 5), connected to the CPU at PCIe 4x Gen5, Motherboard heatsink
- SSD#2 : Samsung 990 Pro 4 To (Gen 4), connected to the CPU at PCIe 4x Gen5, Motherboard heatsink
- SSD#3 : WD SN850X 2To (Gen 4), connected to the CPU at PCIe 4x Gen5, Motherboard heatsink
- Bottom Fans #2, #3 : Noctua NF-A12x25 Chromax/black + Inlet side spaces NM-IS1-12 Chromax.black Sx2, Intake
- Front i/o : 2xUSB Type-A, 5Gbps
m.2 SSD Beauty!
RTX 5080 @8x PCIe Gen5
As usual I’m installing Windows without a dedicated GPU. I enjoyed the full display port on the motherboard i/o. Before I tend to deactivate iGPU but finally I’m keeping it active right now.
Like on the MSI X870 Tomahawk, the Noctua C14S is perfectly aligned with the Cerberus-X side bracket! Only one fan for now. I will most probably test with 2 as it should improve the top intake.
Time to plug the MSI RTX 5080 Ventus
Inlet side spacers are great to avoid air turbulence noise!
Gorgeous view!
Very clean rear side…even if nobody will check it when the Cerberus-X is in its place..

By the way, by looking at the photos, I might have forgotten to remove the plastic film on the rear i/o..
A quick word regarding the fans setup. As for the MSI X870 Tomahawk, “Fan control” software is currently incapable to see or manage properly the fans connected to the Asus B850-E motherboard.
My main concern is mostly for the intake fans that need to be linked to the MSI RTX 5080 Ventus GPU temperature. I was finally covered by the Asus Fan Xpert software (now integrated in Armory Crate). At first I thought it was iGPU temperature, but no, it is well, the discrete GPU temperature that is monitored here. Thanks Asus for that!
Let’s finish with some benchmarks. Once again I used 3DMark benchmarks to compare versus my Core i5 12600K and versus my RTX 4080 FE & RTX 3090 FE.
3DMark Time Spy :
- While using the RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000, the R7 9800X3D is 10% faster compared to the Core i5 12600K
- Combo RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000 + R7 9800X3D is 29% faster than RTX 4080 FE + Core i5 12600K
- Combo RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000 + R7 9800X3D is 80% faster than RTX 3090 FE + Core i5 12600K
3DMark Port Royal :
- While using the RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000, the R7 9800X3D is 4% faster compared to the Core i5 12600K
- Combo RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000 + R7 9800X3D is 42% faster than RTX 4080 FE + Core i5 12600K
- Combo RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000 + R7 9800X3D is 95% faster than RTX 3090 FE + Core i5 12600K
3DMark Nomad Steel :
- While using the RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000, the R7 9800X3D is 3% faster compared to the Core i5 12600K
- Combo RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000 + R7 9800X3D is 11% faster than RTX 5080 Ventus OC “Stock” + Core i5 12600K
- Combo RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000 + R7 9800X3D is 41% faster than RTX 4080 FE + Core i5 12600K
3DMark Speed Way :
- While using the RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000, the R7 9800X3D is 1% faster compared to the Core i5 12600K
- Combo RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000 + R7 9800X3D is 10% faster than RTX 5080 Ventus OC “Stock” + Core i5 12600K
- Combo RTX 5080 Ventus OC +420/2000 + R7 9800X3D is 40% faster than RTX 4080 FE + Core i5 12600K
Please keep in mind that the Ventus OC “Stock” is ~5% above a true stock RTX 5080 FE.
I’ve also updated my RTX 5080 Ventus fan curve to this one : °C/PWM (50:0/60:40/100:60). It is working like a charm as the RTX 5080 is reaching low 70 even at higher power load (300-330W) that the RTX 5080 tends to reach way more than the RTX 4080.
Here is a RTX 5080 power test in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, testing how much the GPU is using while using DLSS4 modes, DLAA, Multi-Frame Generation (x4). Speaking of this MFG (x4), it is working well when FPS is reaching ~160 fps. Below it could feel sluggish.
As a simple conclusion, I’m very pleased with this final setup : it is fast to boot, very reactive, very good at data transfer, pretty powerful while remaining cool & quiet within a compact format, especially with the horizontal position I’m using.
Of course, more to come!