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

[MarcParis]

I got my 270K yesterday and haven't done much testing but temps in Borderlands 4 are 55-62C which is decent and about the same as my 265K. Cinebench R23 temps went from 80-88C and considering the power increase isn't too surprising. Amazing thing is the score. 42,319 up from 35,657 on the 265K, you need a R9 9950X to hit 42k with Ryzen. Using a 240mm AIO for cooling btw.

I confirm your early findings. In terms of cooling, the 270K is easier to tame versus the R7 9800X3D.
As a simple example, video encoding (software) : 150W on the 270K but only 70°C with fan at 50-60% (NH-D12L). On the R7 9800X3D on a similar workload/cooler, +85°C with fan at 100%...with a power consumption of 135W.

On the 270K I never exceed 180W load so far, but I did not try cinebench so far...as my main focus is on Linux...

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

I confirm your early findings. In terms of cooling, the 270K is easier to tame versus the R7 9800X3D.
As a simple example, video encoding (software) : 150W on the 270K but only 70°C with fan at 50-60% (NH-D12L). On the R7 9800X3D on a similar workload/cooler, +85°C with fan at 100%...with a power consumption of 135W.

On the 270K I never exceed 180W load so far, but I did not try cinebench so far...as my main focus is on Linux...

Interesting .... I'm pretty disapointed in my R7 9700X, temperature wise. I expected something cooler. You really have to tame it or it will go balls to wall until it thermal throttle. Good CPU otherwise ... also, just like you, I hate the Mediatek Wifi/BT chip that comes with the AM5 boards, especially as a linux guy

 

[MarcParis]

Interesting .... I'm pretty disapointed in my R7 9700X, temperature wise. I expected something cooler. You really have to tame it or it will go balls to wall until it thermal throttle. Good CPU otherwise ... also, just like you, I hate the Mediatek Wifi/BT chip that comes with the AM5 boards, especially as a linux guy

At least on the B850I, it is pretty easy to replace this nasty mediatek wifi / BT module by an Intel AX210 version. However it is way more difficult on my X870i..
If I decide to keep my X870i+R7 9800X3D I will attempt the switch..

 

[MarcParis]

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Cerberus-X : U7 270K vs the MSI Z890i Mini ITX (05th April 2024)
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After pretty successful trials of the U7 270K with a MSI Z890 Tomahawk motherboard, I decided to give a chance to the MSI Z890i Edge Ti. It has a recent, very positive, review from Techpowerup (Test MSI Z890i Edge Ti)

On the paper, the motherboard is excellent, 14 layers PCB, 4 m.2 slots. I saw comments on the VRM fan that could be nasty and noisy, but it is controllable in the bios.

Meanwhile I wanted to test a specific on a mini ITX motherboard inside the Cerberus-X, basically a reverse flow for the CPU cooling with a side exhaust.

Let’s start the assembly :
For the 3xm.2, installation is simple, easier than on the Asus X870i. To note that the MSI Z890i is cooling only 1-side m.2 SSD.

Inside the Cerberus-X :
The NH-D12L can be fitted alongside the side bracket. There is a slight contact while using the MSI Z890i, whereas there is no contact with the Tomahawk. It is simply linked to the thickness of the PCB of the motherboards : Z890i : 14 layers; Z890 Tomahawk : 6 layers

On the side bracket I managed to put a NF-A12x25 fan, as exhaust. The airflow remains simple with rear intake, through the D12L fan, and exhaust through the side.

The back of the Z890i was very accessible!

As the MSI Z890i Edge Ti and the Tomahawk are using similar components (NCT6687D), I did not have to reinstall Windows 11 or CachyOS. It was a very smooth transition from one motherboard to the other!

I tested briefly (spoiler alert, too quickly) my setup and it worked well!

Thus I decided to ship back my Z890 Tomahawk as the Z890i edge Ti was completely replacing it without any downside.
Once the Z890 Tomahawk was sent back, I spent more time on testing my Z890i Edge Ti. That's when I started to hear some kind of electric noise, like an electric buzz.
I thought of coil whine, but no.
I wonder if it was the VRM fan, but I basically put it at 0 rpm in the bios. While loading CachyOS, the noise gets very noticeable…but I see no report of any VRM fan speed.
I supposed that Cooling Control (similar software as Fan Control for Linux) was perturbating the fan management (but normally that is happening only when I'm trying to control a fan). Thus I launched Windows 11 on which I have no fan control launched by default..and the same result happened.
On windows 11 I even installed the MSI software suite in order to control the fans…that’s where I discovered that the VRM fan (25x10 fan) was spinning at 6000 rpm (max is 15k), creating a horrible noise…which drives me nuts. As my mind was focused on this noise, I was able to detect it even when it was spinning at 1k only…making me unable to use this motherboard at all.

The worst is that the MSI software was unable to control this VRM fan speed.

Anyway, based on my Asus X870i experience, shutting down the VRM fan could lead to instability, thus I did not want to try that on the Z890i Edge Ti.

Sadly I decided to cancel my testing with the MSI Z890i that I will return after Easter.

The stupid stuff is that I just shipped the excellent MSI Z890 Tomahawk, which was basically silent! Luckily I was able to buy a second board just before the closing of the shop.
Ironically, on the same day, I sent back the first Z890 Tomahawk, and bought a second one later on. I definitely urged too much my decision to ship back the motherboard, especially as it was not so urgent. Financial loss is minimal, hopefully.

Otherwise I also came back to my original opinion on motherboards : no more fans on the motherboard, either for VRM or Chipset. I cannot make any compromise on this topic.

Thus my Cerberus-X is back to active service, for long, I guess.

 

[rfarmer]

That's too bad about the z890i Edge, pretty insane fan speeds. I was checking my AsRock and see that the VRM fan runs at 3800rpm, idle anyway and until you asked me I didn't even realize that it had a VRM fan. I have avoided them in the past since they all seem to be loud but apparently I got lucky with the AsRock.

 

[MarcParis]

That's too bad about the z890i Edge, pretty insane fan speeds. I was checking my AsRock and see that the VRM fan runs at 3800rpm, idle anyway and until you asked me I didn't even realize that it had a VRM fan. I have avoided them in the past since they all seem to be loud but apparently I got lucky with the AsRock.

I would say that on my Asus X870i and your asrock Z890i or most of mini ITX motherboard, the VRM fans are 40mm. However on the MSI Z890i it is 25mm x 10mm.
Even on your setup, I'm pretty sure I'll detect the 3500rpm of the VRM fan. I'm very sensitive on this tone. That's why (pump noise) I finally removed any watercooling AIO from my setups. Noise is very subjective.

My mind is pretty clear now, no more fans on the motherboard, whatever its size.

For example the MSI B860i edge Ti has no fan, that would make it ideal for a mini ITX build to replace my B760i + 12600K, as it has only 2 SSDs slots, not ideal for multi OS system with dedicated storage..

 

[MarcParis]

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Cerberus-X : U7 270K vs the MSI Z890 Tomahawk (11th April 2024)
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Time to test, no one but two MSI Z890 Tomahawk with my U7 270K inside the Cerberus-X..

Joke aside, this motherboard is really complete, packs most of the useful features and is well built.
The best feature is that there is no more bifurcation, especially compared to the MSI X870 Tomahawk
Of course, it has an Intel Wifi 7 / Bluetooth chip, compatible with Linux.
Compared to Asus, I appreciate MSI a lot because they precise all components they are using on their motherboards.

The only missing point of this Z890 Tomahawk would be the thermal sensor.

As airflow I chose bottom intake and rear exhaust.
The Noctua D12L is a good theoretical choice as a CPU cooler for the U7 270K+ and it has proven to be good in real life too.

After some trials without the GPU bracket, my RTX 5090 FE was unable to remain fanless for a long time. Like inside the FormD T1, having the RTX 5090 FE fans in this state is pretty distracting while not gaming or using the GPU.
Thus I decided to put back my GPU bracket (Akasa AK-MX304-12BK) with 2xNoctua NF-A12x25 (gen1 & brown..)

Here is the summary of the my setup :
Case : Sliger Cerberus-X, desktop-horizontal orientation
Motherboard : MSI Z890 MAG Tomahawk Wifi
CPU : Intel Core Ultra 7 270K+
RAM : Corsair Vengeance 2x24Go DDR5 7600 MTS CL36 (XMP I profile)
CPU Cooler : Noctua NH-D12L, 1xNF-A12x25r
RTX 5090 FE : Undervolted (LACT)
---Max Core Clock : 2700Mhz
---Offset Core Clock : +700Mhz
---Offset GDDR7 Clock : +6000
SSD #1 : Samsung 9100 Pro 2To (Slot 1 gen5) - used for Win 11 (ntfs)
SSD #2 : WD SN850X 2To (Slot 2 gen4) - used for Cachy OS (btrfs)
SSD #3 : ADATA SX8200 Pro 2To (Slot 3 gen4) - Storage (exFat)
SSD #4 : empty
Bottom Fans : 2xNoctua NFA12x25 Chromax (~950rpm, 40% PWM) with 5mm spacers Noctua NA-IS1-12 Sx2 as Intake
GPU Bracket : 2xNoctua NFA12x25 (~1300rpm, 60% RPM) with Akasa Fan Bracket AK-MX304-12BK
Rear Fan : 1xNoctua NF-A9x25 (~1300rpm, 60% RPM, Exhaust)
Custom fan curves : Advanced thanks to Cooler Control & lm_sensors


As you have noticed, I’m more than testing Linux distros over the last months. In fact with this new build I’ve switched to CachyOS as my main Operating System. I’m keeping Windows 11 as back-up, mostly for firmware updates (SSD or Dual Sense).

Overall, the experience on Linux is rather good. Sure, gaming requires some fine tuning, but all my recent games are running well, even with my RTX 5090 FE. I must admit that Nvidia is improving their Linux driver support. My RX 9070 XT is working well on gaming, but a bit let down on other aspects (video encoding, HDMI features), where Nvidia is still top notch. Intel iGPU of the U7 270K (not the one of the 12600K) can offset those AMD weak points.

Like on Windows 11, I was able to undervolt the RTX 5090 FE, using LACT, and also fine tuning all my fans using Cooler Control, a mix of FanControl & HWInfo.

In the end, the gaming experience is pretty solid on Linux. With my RTX 5090 FE or my RX 9070XT, Windows 11 was consistently better at FPS or 1% lows (10-15%), but the Linux gaming experience is similar to Windows 11. DLSS, FSR are all accessible, directly with Proton or with Optiscaler.

Let’s see if the trend to Linux will continue..

To conclude, here are some gameplays :

 

[MarcParis]

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Cerberus-X (06th August 2026) : Ultimate Cooling Setup
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I’m terribly late on this update. I upgraded my Cerberus-X back to mid-April 2026…but since I was terribly busy, either at work or testing the P-ATX v4.

Basically I managed to maximize the cooling capabilities of the Cerberus-X, especially on the CPU side, as the GPU (RTX 5090 FE) was already excellent with the fans bracket.

What was the solution?

• Add a front intake fan (NF-A12r) on the NH-D12L
• Height limit - constraint : I need to sit the additional fan on my RAM (Corsair Vengeance, 35mm tall) to fit perfectly with the side panel. Also I cannot run the fan at 100% as its vibration is spreading across the whole case.Thus I’m limiting its speed to 60% / 1385rpm.
• Important point : On the D12L, the fan in the middle of the 2 tower must not touch the bottom in order not to transmit its vibrations to the motherboard. If it is touching, it is generating tons of noise at full speed.
• While the CPU cooler fan (middle of the dual tower), its intake (NF-A12x25r) and its exhaust (NF-A9x25) fans are spinning only at 60% maximum, to optimize acoustics.

Here is the final look :

What about the cooling performance?

At an ambient temperature of 33°C, Cerberus-X closed, while using an undervolted (core -0.1v) Intel 270K+, limited to 95°C as its maximum temperature, the NH-D12L is able to dissipate on average 230W during a Cinebench 2024 run, reaching a score of 2349.

In comparison, my starting point was only 2206, with stock 270K & NH-D12L with only 1 fan, with normal ambient temperature of 23°C.

In terms of gaming performance, it is working great, even if the RTX 5090 FE exhaust air is perturbing a lot the cooling of the 270K+.

Here is a first example


With this setup, my Cerberus-X is reaching its ultimate cooling & noise performance, either on the GPU or the CPU! On top, all the components are very well cooler, ie SSDs, RAM, Chipset, VRM.

PS : After 8 years of service, I’ve finally replaced the power switch of my Cerberus-X as the original one was difficult to trigger.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

FYI: Potential replacement path might be the Silverstone XED120S, except it might be a bit louder - will report back as soon as its installed and tested. Same CPU as well, so it might be just a "different apples" comparison instead of apples + pineapples.

cu, w0lf.

 

[MarcParis]

FYI: Potential replacement path might be the Silverstone XED120S, except it might be a bit louder - will report back as soon as its installed and tested. Same CPU as well, so it might be just a "different apples" comparison instead of apples + pineapples.

cu, w0lf.

Sorry, I just saw your message. You are right, this could be an option as 4U is the compatible standard for the Cerberus-X.
SST-XED120S

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

Sorry, I just saw your message. You are right, this could be an option as 4U is the compatible standard for the Cerberus-X.
SST-XED120S

Quick update on this: It did get loud AF because I accidently plugged the fan header into the AIO pump connector. So it ran at max speed and cooled down the CPU to 30.5° C.

Did a fine tune - and after that, it ran in near silence, while still sitting at comfy 35° C - in an OPEN case frame.

cu, w0lf.

 

[MarcParis]

Quick update on this: It did get loud AF because I accidently plugged the fan header into the AIO pump connector. So it ran at max speed and cooled down the CPU to 30.5° C.

Did a fine tune - and after that, it ran in near silence, while still sitting at comfy 35° C - in an OPEN case frame.

cu, w0lf.

would you have any picture from your setup with it?

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

would you have any picture from your setup with it?

I'm working on that. I originally had a silver tier supporter account here, but the upload image size suddenly got capped, so even with "extended max limit" I cannot upload anything anymore.

Currently looking into just running a headless ClassicPress install as image server.

cu, w0lf.

 

[MarcParis]

I'm working on that. I originally had a silver tier supporter account here, but the upload image size suddenly got capped, so even with "extended max limit" I cannot upload anything anymore.

Currently looking into just running a headless ClassicPress install as image server.

cu, w0lf.

ok thanks!

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

I'm working on that. I originally had a silver tier supporter account here, but the upload image size suddenly got capped, so even with "extended max limit" I cannot upload anything anymore.

Currently looking into just running a headless ClassicPress install as image server.

cu, w0lf.

Posted it in my build log (de facto on insta, but I cant seem to get it working / embedded in here): https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...needs-a-case-mystery-build.20407/#post-296711

In terms of fitment: Works perfectly well, no issues with the VRM coolers or back IO plate at all.
Originally it looked a bit tight, but I got the cooler installed effortlessly; just checked: there is at least 3 - 4 mm space left.

Also just measured RAM clearance: Corsair Vengeance officially sits at 35 mm, and there is still at least 15ish mm space left to the bottom part of the CPU cooling fins, so almost all RAM chips should work.

EXCEPT maybe for the batshit craziness thats called Corsair Dominator Platinum / Titanium (acc. to specs sits at 56 - 57 mm) - but one can replace these with nicer covers anyway.

cu, w0lf.

 

[MarcParis]

Posted it in my build log (de facto on insta, but I cant seem to get it working / embedded in here): https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...needs-a-case-mystery-build.20407/#post-296711

In terms of fitment: Works perfectly well, no issues with the VRM coolers or back IO plate at all.
Originally it looked a bit tight, but I got the cooler installed effortlessly; just checked: there is at least 3 - 4 mm space left.

Also just measured RAM clearance: Corsair Vengeance officially sits at 35 mm, and there is still at least 15ish mm space left to the bottom part of the CPU cooling fins, so almost all RAM chips should work.

EXCEPT maybe for the batshit craziness thats called Corsair Dominator Platinum / Titanium (acc. to specs sits at 56 - 57 mm) - but one can replace these with nicer covers anyway.

cu, w0lf.

thanks for sharing! It looks nice! Could you use any fan in the middle or only a specifc one?

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

thanks for sharing! It looks nice! Could you use any fan in the middle or only a specifc one?

In theory, it might be possible to replace it, but I ponder if its worthwhile. Maybe with a T30?

I can pull out the frame / casing tomorrow, as its only attached with two screws to the CPU cooler - ie. the fan is attached to the casing, and then the casing is attached with two large screws to the CPU cooler.

You also get an additional set of brackets to attach another regular 120 fan. My plans were to add a P12 Max in front, but that was canceled out thanks to the GPU vs PSU length issue.

cu, w0lf.

 

[MarcParis]

In theory, it might be possible to replace it, but I ponder if its worthwhile. Maybe with a T30?

I can pull out the frame / casing tomorrow, as its only attached with two screws to the CPU cooler - ie. the fan is attached to the casing, and then the casing is attached with two large screws to the CPU cooler.

You also get an additional set of brackets to attach another regular 120 fan. My plans were to add a P12 Max in front, but that was canceled out thanks to the GPU vs PSU length issue.

cu, w0lf.

Thanks again for your exploration.
Maybe the NH-D12L has a true competitor..

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

Thanks again for your exploration.
Maybe the NH-D12L has a true competitor..

Ok, I've just pulled it out and inspected the casing. The fan is installed inside the casing with sth like push-pins. They fill out the mounting holes completely, so something similar should work, too. But to remove them one probably would have to break them I guess. There might be a more elegant method, similar to how opening a ziptie is also possible without cutting it open.

But I guess some sort of short screws with flat heads, with a nut on the inside, would allow to install a different fan, too. I think M4 size should work; at least its what I used for installing and testing my makeshift / placeholder extension bracket on the Meshroom S, using the original bracket of the Meshroom D.

cu, w0lf.

 

[MarcParis]

Ok, I've just pulled it out and inspected the casing. The fan is installed inside the casing with sth like push-pins. They fill out the mounting holes completely, so something similar should work, too. But to remove them one probably would have to break them I guess. There might be a more elegant method, similar to how opening a ziptie is also possible without cutting it open.

But I guess some sort of short screws with flat heads, with a nut on the inside, would allow to install a different fan, too. I think M4 size should work; at least its what I used for installing and testing my makeshift / placeholder extension bracket on the Meshroom S, using the original bracket of the Meshroom D.

cu, w0lf.

Thanks for your feedback. I would say, the clipping system is specific but we can DIY a solution to fit any fan, as usual.