Kimera Industries Cerberus: The 18L, mATX, USA-made enclosure

yoyo55 said:
I'm sticking with keeping the case as small as possible, but the case slowly keeps creeping up in size to accommodate 'just a little more". LOL. I'm just one buyer and again I'm sure many will disagree.

As far as a new SFX PSU in the next few months, hey you never know! My SX-600G runs great, I think my Noctua IndustrialPPC fans sound louder than the 80mm fan.

The hinged side bracket is an awesome addition to the case. I see how it will definitely come into use when comparing it to the M1 side bracket. Trying to fit a custom water loop with a 240mm radiator and two fans was a challenge.

Keep the updates coming and I'll give my constructive criticism as much as possible lol
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Feature creep is alive and well here at Kimera Industries! :p

I think everyone will agree that the extra size (talking 17L to the current 18.0L) will be worth it when they see the design. If everything works out like I'm hoping it will the case is going to be amazing.

I guess I'm just really picky about noise, which is why I'd like an ATX PSU because who knows how long it'll take for someone to deliver a 700W SFX-L PSU with effective semi-passive functionality.

But I still want to use the side bracket. Oh well, I could just get a one-off custom version for myself :D

I'm working on it right now actually but I may be able to have the side bracket screws tool-less AND captive to boot :)
 
While we're on the topic of ATX support, why not add another 2 expansion slots for full ATX mobo compatibility...
 
vipz said:
While we're on the topic of ATX support, why not add another 2 expansion slots for full ATX mobo compatibility...
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Really?! I think the whole idea of this case was to be as small as possible yet fit dual graphics cards and a microatx board. Going Full ATX would dramatically increase the size of the case and that defeats the entire purpose.

I think the case is at the perfect size.
 
A 7- or 8-slot variant sounds interesting, especially if it comes with front ATX PSU support. My estimate for an 8-slot variant comes out to be 22.4L - I based it on the 18.6L figure and added 61mm (2.4") to the existing height of 300mm, assuming identical footprint.

22.4L is phenomenal for something with full ATX support, given that the smallest ATX case I've seen recommended here recently is the NZXT S340 at 38L.
 
I wouldn't change the depth, that way we could use the same top panel and side bracket.

With 3 extra slots it'd be about 21.7L.
 
Nova XL ?

Support for 1000W ATX PSU's seems obligatory though, otherwise why not just use mATX.
 
Phuncz said:
Nova XL ?

Support for 1000W ATX PSU's seems obligatory though, otherwise why not just use mATX.
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Something like that :p

We'll be changing the name actually to avoid confusion with the CaseLabs Nova X2M. Haven't decided on what yet.

I want an ATX version just for the better motherboard selection. I was considering getting a prototype of one for myself just so I can switch to an Asus but they've finally answered my prayers and are launching a microATX X99 board really soon. JJ said before the end of the month.

Isn't a Rampage V Gene unfortunately but it's a WS series board and that's good enough for me :)
 
But, are there any silent good quality high efficiency (gold or platinum) 140mm ATX psu's?

A passively cooled Seasonic would be nice, I thought, but they're all 160mm (and modular).
 
To quote @wahaha360
"A new high performance SFX/SFX-L should be revealed at Computex 2015 and we will make a decision after the announcement. Based on the information we have, there is no need to update M1 V3. However, until the announcement is made, specifications could change. So we will wait and see"

Hmmmm New SFX/SFX-L.......lets wait and see Aibohphobia! This might be it!
 
A high quality 600W SFX-L with high quality bearing fan with proper fan control would be the dream for many right now.

Aibohphobia said:
We'll be changing the name actually to avoid confusion with the CaseLabs Nova X2M. Haven't decided on what yet.
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Do you mean you'll be changing "Nova" or the "XL"-part ?

Aibohphobia said:
I want an ATX version just for the better motherboard selection.
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While I can see that might make it a better solution, ATX boards don't provide much usefulness these days with proper sound chips (ALC1150 is surprisingly decent) and Intel Gbit NIC's, even M.2 allows the fastest current SSD's to be used on mITX. mATX already has some solid boards that offer everything including the kitchen sink. So I believe mITX and mATX is for most people (not everyone ofcourse) more than enough.

It's my belief that the innovators, like you, Ncase and all the other wonderful SFF projects, should be pushing smaller formats so the industry adapts. We shouldn't have to get large cases because the best boards are the largest boards, we should be focusing on teaching the people that a huge honking >40L is only good for wasting space. Think about SFX and how far it has come, or even the Asus Maximus Impact and ASRock X99E-ITX boards. The upcoming Radeon R9 390X even seems to be going for a short card.

Help SFF by putting your foot down and saying no to old habits of putting the best hardware on the large boards. And vote no on proposition ... oh wait.
 
We'll be dropping the idea of front ATX PSUs for this design. After implementing some other stuff it turns out it'd require more like a 1.1L increase. Reception has been lukewarm for the 0.6L so that won't fly.


yoyo55 said:
Hmmmm New SFX/SFX-L.......lets wait and see Aibohphobia! This might be it!
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I'm interested to see what it is but Dirac is Japan only so won't apply to most of us. Plus I suspect it's just another Enhance unit that's been up-rated.


Phuncz said:
Do you mean you'll be changing "Nova" or the "XL"-part ?
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Nova


Phuncz said:
It's my belief that the innovators, like you, Ncase and all the other wonderful SFF projects, should be pushing smaller formats so the industry adapts. We shouldn't have to get large cases because the best boards are the largest boards, we should be focusing on teaching the people that a huge honking >40L is only good for wasting space. Think about SFX and how far it has come, or even the Asus Maximus Impact and ASRock X99E-ITX boards. The upcoming Radeon R9 390X even seems to be going for a short card.
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Oh I agree, the vast majority of even enthusiasts don't need more than mATX or Mini-ITX: http://techreport.com/review/27113/...-pc-is-more-decked-out-than-you-might-think/3

But all the current mATX X99 boards have issues for my setup. Especially fan controls on this Gigabyte drive me up the wall and after building with the Asus X99-A it was really tempting to make an ATX version of Nova just so I could use AI Suite III.

But now Asus has seen the light and hopefully their upcoming mATX board is awesome :D
 
My personal experience with AI Suite III is not that great:

Phuncz said:
Nope apparently not. The H220 pump connected to the CPU_FAN header also has a fluctuating rpm, which you can hear.

EDIT: I've put all three (pump, two 120mm fans) on a fixed rpm and they fluctuate about 100rpm each.
AI Suite III also has access violation errors when putting fans into "smart mode" along with UI errors.
Please remind me why I almost paid double for this Z97 board because I am confused...
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Phuncz said:
I solved the fan/pump rpm fluctuation by UNINSTALLING AI Suite III and setting the same profiles in the BIOS. It didn't allow me to do this properly at first, it somehow decided that my pump could only work at 100% duty cycle which is loud. But after another "calibration", it now allows 10% -> 100% duty cycle.
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But I think we can safely say that fan control on motherboards need more attention than the amount they have had the last few years. 4-pin fan-headers without real PWM support is just sad-panda.
 
Phuncz said:
4-pin fan-headers without real PWM support is just sad-panda.
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140159.jpg
 
Phuncz said:
It's my belief that the innovators, like you, Ncase and all the other wonderful SFF projects, should be pushing smaller formats so the industry adapts. We shouldn't have to get large cases because the best boards are the largest boards, we should be focusing on teaching the people that a huge honking >40L is only good for wasting space. Think about SFX and how far it has come, or even the Asus Maximus Impact and ASRock X99E-ITX boards. The upcoming Radeon R9 390X even seems to be going for a short card.

Help SFF by putting your foot down and saying no to old habits of putting the best hardware on the large boards. And vote no on proposition ... oh wait.
Click to expand...

+1....couldn't agree more
 
yoyo55 said:
Phuncz said:
It's my belief that the innovators, like you, Ncase and all the other wonderful SFF projects, should be pushing smaller formats so the industry adapts. We shouldn't have to get large cases because the best boards are the largest boards, we should be focusing on teaching the people that a huge honking >40L is only good for wasting space. Think about SFX and how far it has come, or even the Asus Maximus Impact and ASRock X99E-ITX boards. The upcoming Radeon R9 390X even seems to be going for a short card.

Help SFF by putting your foot down and saying no to old habits of putting the best hardware in [larger form factors].
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+1....couldn't agree more
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FWIW, this has been my fundamental philosophy about the case as well.


Darth Bobo said:
You could go with "Goblin", or "Wisp" (both small mythological creatures) or "Manticore" because Manticores are cool :)
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We're still considering options for the new name, and welcome any suggestions from you all! Just bear in mind that it's very much a decision that we, as the designers/creators, will ultimately want to make. A name says a lot about how we want to present the case, what we think of it, how we want to capture people's attention, and so forth.
 
Here's a few random suggestions:
"Singularity" - in the sense of the centre of a black hole which has an incredible amount of mass in a tiny space.
"Quanta"/"Quantum" - in physics, it's the minimum amount of a physical entity.
"Photon" - a tiny packet of energy
"Vice" - in the sense of a screw clamp that holds/squeezes things in place
"Corset" - somewhat feminine, I guess, but it's also a device that squeezes and holds things in place
"Artifact" - in the fantasy/video-gamey sense that rare artifacts are man-made objects of great power
 
I was thinking of stuff from quantum mechanics too but it's not too suitable for a family of products because most of the names are pretty outlandish :p
 
With that power supply, dual Titan X's and an octa-core Intel CPU (with whatever other hardware you can come up with) would be possible on SFX. Any dual-GPU build in Nova, in fact, would be supported by SFX, short of configurations that overclock like hell.

That's a pretty big deal. Save for the most outlandish of builds, anyone who would use Nova could reap the benefits of SFX - a way smaller power supply, much neater cabling, and a component layout that does a fantastic job of showing off the primary components.
 
Now let's hope that "Platinum" and the absense of "semi-fanless" means it is properly quiet and free of strange noises.
 
Aibohphobia said:
I was thinking of stuff from quantum mechanics too but it's not too suitable for a family of products because most of the names are pretty outlandish :p
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jX30VGf.jpg


..has a nice ring to it, eh?

If you must change from Nova, perhaps use an actual celestial name instead.. Persei, Pyxidis, XMMU J115113.3-623730, or something to that effect.
 
AFD said:
If you must change from Nova, perhaps use an actual celestial name instead.. Persei, Pyxidis, XMMU J115113.3-623730, or something to that effect.
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I have a good name in mind, just need to convince PlayfulPhoenix to go with it :p


Got some powder coat samples in and man does the textured black look and feel nice:

lKXzJAj.jpg


Completely hides fingerprints too :)
 
That looks pretty interesting. Fingerprints are indeed somewhat of an issue, but I think it's often overrated. There aren't many reasons to touch your case except when turning it on. And with the Nova, even moving it wouldn't necessarily require touching the case.

BTW, how are the plans for the handle going?
 
I must be a weirdo then, always touching my case :p

It's looking good, got the carry handle bracket re-implemented after doing all the other changes. The only parts that hasn't been heavily redesigned or completely redone from scratch is the dust cover for the expansion slots
 
Aibohphobia said:
I must be a weirdo then, always touching my case :p

It's looking good, got the carry handle bracket re-implemented after doing all the other changes. The only parts that hasn't been heavily redesigned or completely redone from scratch is the dust cover for the expansion slots
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Any new updates? My patience is wearing thin...lol
 
yoyo55 said:
Any new updates? My patience is wearing thin...lol
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We're in talks for a manufacturer. Hopefully it all works out but I don't want to say too much in case it turns out some parts of the design aren't manufacturable.
 
Just got the paint samples in the mail that Aiboh inspected a few days ago :D

I know that he was eager to show off the black, but to me, the most impressive color was definitely the red ;) (Click the images to see in full-res)


 
^^ Nice! If you guys decide upon only 1 or 2 colors, you should do 1 batch with black exterior and red interior and the other batch the exact opposite.

I'm personally only into black cases, but would appreciate an interior that pops with color, that I'd only ever see when working on it (probably seems weird, I'm sure :p)
 
AFD said:
^^ Nice! If you guys decide upon only 1 or 2 colors, you should do 1 batch with black exterior and red interior and the other batch the exact opposite.
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I'm really trying to avoid having more than one frame color to keep the number of SKUs down but I've done some renders with black panels and red frame and it does look good :D
 
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