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

MarcParis

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Yes! And I finally getting at the end of my setup! I will miss the 3rd GPU, but is not out yet). I've decided to go for a full Watercooled setup, so, we'll see the performance and temp under overclock!
Ah good news..:)
I'm eager to see your final setup and see how it performs in terms of noise & cooling..:)
 

fabio

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Apr 6, 2016
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@MarcParis, what's your idea and thought about the Noctua Sterrox compared to the Gentle Typhoon 2150 DC?
I am curious because I got the Gentle in black and with the ASUS you can control easily the speed like was a PMW.
I remember that you were using the Typhoon, so I just want some comments on those! I am building a small Workstation to move around!
Thanks a lot man!
 

MarcParis

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@MarcParis, what's your idea and thought about the Noctua Sterrox compared to the Gentle Typhoon 2150 DC?
I am curious because I got the Gentle in black and with the ASUS you can control easily the speed like was a PMW.
I remember that you were using the Typhoon, so I just want some comments on those! I am building a small Workstation to move around!
Thanks a lot man!
In terms of ratio performance/noise, Gentle Typhoon dark side (2150rpm) and nf A12x25 are similar performer at 900-2000 rpm.

After GT can go up to 2150rpm, bringing a tiny performance improvement (1-2°C)...and nfa12x25 can decrease their speed to 400rpm leading to quieter setup on idle/low load.

Thus they are both great...no bad choice there.
After if you already one of them, I don't see reason to move to another...but it's up to you..:D
 

MarcParis

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MarcParis,

Did you custom cut the side panel yourself? If not where did you have it done? Thanks.
No this semi-opened panel was available on sliger store...however due to a tooling breakage it's no longer available.

I appreciate this panel a lot since my main exhaust fan is the one on the side..:D
 

MarcParis

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Hi all,

For me, from CES, I noted 2 important news : AMD Zen 2 using 7nm and chiplet architecture and AT LAST, Nvidia is opening doors to FreeSync as G Sync is a commercial failure! (driver 417.71 WHQL of 15th Jan 2019)

I've just tested with my screen LG 27MU67-B (4K 27", freesync, pre calibrated, 60hz).
I need to double checked, but as soon as I enabled FreeSync on my screen, reboot computer...and bingo, GSync is ON..:)

I thought automatic GSync was only available for 12 screens.


What about the result?
Well i need to test on long term. I've only tested World of Tanks right now, and blur while moving fast camera has disappeared (side effect of vsync with no gsync or adaptive sync). Image was crisp and clean.

I might reinstall more demanding titles to see how it behaves on lower framerate than 60fps.

I keep you informed of course!
 
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MarcParis

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I guess my case about freesync is not an exception.

As soon as you have a decent/working freesync monitor (connected with displayport), it's working...even with LFC (low framerate duplicate) and HDR..:D

Nvidia marketing, once again, is terrible (state : "FreeSync does not work" CES 2019)...ahah..:D
 
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MarcParis

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I made some progress about GSync setup with my freesync panel (lg 27MU67-B, 2016).
Here is Nvidia panels parameters :

I cannot apply "3-Display specific settings". I tried but games were stuttering like hell with this option checked.
I assume specific settings mean LFC or HDR, as there is clearly good synchronisation of the panel with gpu.


Anybody else has tried Gsync on freesync?

ps : correction : I managed to enable full GSync Compatible, by simply turning off and on my screen.


Here is list of games tested & approved (smooth, clean & crisp image with fps between 40-60) on GSync with FreeSync Monitor (LG 27MU67) :
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider (framerate between 45-60)
  • World of Tanks 1.4 (stable, rock solid 59 fps)
  • Mass Effect Andromeda (tested in Havarl canyon where framerate could drop to 45)
 
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Nanook

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May 23, 2016
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I made some progress about GSync setup with my freesync panel (lg 27MU67-B, 2016).
Here is Nvidia panels parameters :

I cannot apply "3-Display specific settings". I tried but games were stuttering like hell with this option checked.
I assume specific settings mean LFC or HDR, as there is clearly good synchronisation of the panel with gpu.


Anybody else has tried Gsync on freesync?

ps : correction : I managed to enable full GSync Compatible, by simply turning off and on my screen.


Here is list of games tested & approved (smooth, clean & crisp image with fps between 40-60) on GSync with FreeSync Monitor (LG 27MU67) :
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider (framerate between 45-60)
  • World of Tanks 1.4 (stable, rock solid 59 fps)
  • Mass Effect Andromeda (tested in Havarl canyon where framerate could drop to 45)
Are you seeing the benefits of G-sync on your setup? How’s 4k gaming?
 

MarcParis

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Are you seeing the benefits of G-sync on your setup? How’s 4k gaming?
Definitely G Sync or FreeSync are WAY better than standard VSync. Game is smooth from 40 to 60 fps, no stutter, no blur.

When I bought GTX1080 ti to replace my r9 nano it was a pain to leave freesync...but now it's back...and it's great!
 
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Nanook

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Definitely G Sync or FreeSync are WAY better than standard VSync. Game is smooth from 40 to 60 fps, no stutter, no blur.

When I bought GTX1080 ti to replace my r9 nano it was a pain to leave freesync...but not it's back...and it's great!
That's great to hear! I would love to move to UHD soon, and having the flexibility of picking a higher quality FreeSync 4k monitor is nice :)
 

MarcParis

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That's great to hear! I would love to move to UHD soon, and having the flexibility of picking a higher quality FreeSync 4k monitor is nice :)
Look at those videos :
If you a proper freesync monitor, you can enjoy GSync (including Low Framerate Compensation LFC, or even HDR).

Way to enable it :
  • Just turn on freesync on monitor
  • Reboot computer
  • Open Nvidia driver panel
  • On GSync Panel, check all stuffs
  • Don't forget to restart monitor to finish setup..:D

Now question is simple : if you can enjoy Freesync with LFC and/or HDR, what is remaining to GSync Monitors?
Only drawback GSync cannot apply freesync through hdmi (at least yet..:))
 
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MarcParis

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Update of 10th February 2019 : Cerberus-X turned into storage warhorse
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Since couple of weeks/months I was wondering how to add to Cerberus-X storage role.
Indeed i dedicated all usable storage space to cooling (radiator, commander mini, fans, etc...).

I thought to add some nvme m.2, but only true slot was available (second pcie 16x with 8x/8x while shared with gpu) and also nvme drive are so great for storage as they required pcie connection (motherboard or thunderbolt).

Finally I decided to go for sata m.2 as they are easy to use outside a case...but I wanted to avoid any new cable (sata or power).
Thus I used Startech.com PEX2M2 card that manage up to 2 m.2 sata drives, directly connected on pcie slot!
https://www.startech.com/fr/Cartes-...rs-HDD/SATA/carte-controleur-m2-double~PEX2M2



Second issue on this card was its port : PCIE 4x 2.0. As my crosshair VI hero has only 3xpcie 1x 2.0 and 1xpcie 4x 2.0 (it's a 16x), I decided to test on pcie 1x 2.0 directly...just above my GTX 1080ti..:)




With 1 SSD, pcie 1x 2.0 bandwitdh is clearly enough :

I expect speed to but in half on transfer rate between m.2 sata SSD located on PEX2M2...to be checked when I'll add one.
Even MX500 1to temperature (while GPU is not loaded) is perfectly fine, reaching 67°C under heavy benchmark. (71°C with GPU working at max load during 1 hour)

Edit : I just tried PEX2M2 on second pcie 8x 3.0 and here are maximum speed on MX500 :

Basically being on pcie 1x 2.0 is removing 100Mo/s on max sequential speed...not horrible at all.
By the way I also moved PEX2M2 at the bottom pcie 1x 2.0 for better cooling and no great issue for gpu cooling.

Next steps are
  • Get another m.2 sata drive (most probably Samsung 860 Evo 2TB) to put on PEX2M2
  • Get another m.2 nvme to put on pcie 16x (8x/8x) with low profile adapter card...I may wait for arrival of new pcie 4.0 models that sounds promising
 
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MarcParis

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Update of 17th February 2019 : Cerberus-X Horizontal stand
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As spring is coming, I decided to revisit completely my desktop layout.
Target was to merge/use my gaming setup (Cerberus-X) with my older desktop computer (AMD apu A10-5700K in sugo SG07).

As I wanted dual monitors (Dell U2407WFP 24" 1200p VA-2008 & LG 27MU67B 27" 2160p IPS from 2016) setup, i was forced to remove cerberus-x from my desk (damn refresh rate of older monitor captured by camera...:)):


True innovation of this setup was Cerberus-X orientation : Horizontal.
Indeed my new setup is now located near a window, adding a vertical constraint. My first thought was to put Cerberus X, vertically, as usual. However window was able to touch it very easily.
Thus i tried to find alternatives : on the floor (well no...Cerberus-x is made to be on desk), and finally i tried as a "why not" horizontal stand...and it was a revelation : Cerberus-X is as good vertically as horizontally!

Have a look at the total setup :



No issue on cooling & noise as the right panel is solid. (I made some trials and cooling is as efficient as vertical)
No issue on aesthetics (even case vertical feet are not bothering me that much)

Less pressure on motherboard and GPU as they stand vertically
Great point of view on components..:)


Only "temporary" downside is horizontal cerberus is slippery as i did not put any rubber feet for now. (I have some from my past experience with horizontal S4 mini..:)

But I love this position and setup as Cerberus-X seems fully integrated with furnitures...if my side panel was black (instead of red), it would difficult to find Cerberus-X at first glance.

Here are some others pictures :






Now question is asked to @KSliger is it possible to make some new right panel, including stylish feet?

Enjoy!
 

MarcParis

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Last news on my setup was to install this wonderful Samsung 860 evo 2TB M.2 SSD on Startech PEX2M2 succesfully. It was simple, effective.
As I've currently plugged this expansion card on pcei 1.0x gen 2, transfer is limited to ~250mo/sec between the two sata ssds...however it's only an issue on big file transfer...and an issue of tiny seconds.

But biggest news is related to cats. I've switched back to plain side panel...and you will understand why easily :
Looks good, I think the real question is do the cats like it? ;)
YEAH!!
Here is my cat's king (small baby of 12kg..:)) :


@KSliger Cerberus is now fully certified by cats, either it stands vertically or horizontally! Congratulations!
Just for fun :
 
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MarcParis

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I posted this early on J-Hack's Pure case thread but figured it might be of interest to someone here.

It's a comparison between (left to right)
J-Hack's Pure, S4M-C, Compact Splash and Cerberus X.


Cerberus X is my current build, love the case so far!
Thanks for sharing this comparison.
It reminds me comparison with my sweet node 202 and make cerberus-x shine...:)

I still find Cerberus-x is offering best compromise between size, expandability, compatibilty...and of course cooling & power..:)
 
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