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

I'm really excited about this case and the builds people will create with them. I'll probably transplant my mITX setup from my Ncase M1 in it, awaiting the next Broadwell-E or what we can expect to follow the X99 platform.
 
PlayfulPhoenix said:
Awesome news: I'm happy to share that we've signed on with a manufacturer, and greenlit them to make pre-production test units of our final design! :) This will culminate in a few cases straight off the manufacturing line, that will more or less represent what [REDACTED] will look like in production. It's one of the most important (and final) preparatory steps to make, and it's what we've been waiting to begin for some time now.

Beyond giving us an opportunity to test and verify the design and its functionality (as well as perform various quality and other checks), this work also gives our manufacturer the opportunity to actually make the case, and look for places to simplify the design or streamline how they'll produce [REDACTED] at scale.

Needless to say, stuff’s starting to get really exciting!
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AWW YEAH! Congrats! You better gives us pics when you get the pre-production units!
 
superblockio said:
AWW YEAH! Congrats! You better gives us pics when you get the pre-production units!
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I'll be taking a bunch of pics but you'll have to wait for the big reveal :p

Hopefully certain hardware (EVGA X99 Micro2 mainly) will be available by the time I get the case so there won't be much delay.
 
Aibohphobia said:
Not yet. It'll all be revealed in due time :p
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Let the speculation begin! Place ya bets! Manufacturer, case name, and reveal date!

My guesses are:
1) Lian Li as manufacturer. I have no idea how likely that actually is, I'm basing this completely on the fact that they made the M1, so it makes sense they'd be open to making other cases like it.

2) Cerberus for the name. I know it was mentioned earlier in this thread, and from what I remember it sounded like a leak. In any case, that name sounds amazing and fits great with the company name.

3) Aug 7 for the big reveal. This is very telling:
Aibohphobia said:
I'll be taking a bunch of pics but you'll have to wait for the big reveal :p

Hopefully certain hardware (EVGA X99 Micro2 mainly) will be available by the time I get the case so there won't be much delay.
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The Micro2 is expected to be available by the end of July or sooner. So based on my interpretation of that quote, the pre-production cases will arrive shortly after that board, and the big reveal will happen shortly after they build a computer inside the case. But there's probably other things that will cause delays just because that's how life is, so I'm guessing Aug 7. Hopefully that's not too optimistic. :D
 
If it's Lian Li or Silverstone, I hope they make it out of aluminum! The "nova"'s specs have always stated steel construction, but since I'm interested in portability I'd be super pleased to see the weight reduced.
 
superblockio said:
Let the speculation begin! Place ya bets! Manufacturer, case name, and reveal date!

My guesses are...
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Qrash said:
...
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It's been (and will continue to be) fascinating to see what everyone speculates leading up to when we can finally spill the beans :D

Anyway, although your reasoning is fine, your predictions aren't any more accurate than some of the others we've heard. Though, with respect to the announcement date, not even we know for certain what that will be - we have a target in mind, of course, but our ability to meet that is contingent on others. And if we've learned anything across the past few months, it's the fact that those dependancies are what kill timetables :p

Kaldskryke said:
If it's Lian Li or Silverstone, I hope they make it out of aluminum! The "nova"'s specs have always stated steel construction, but since I'm interested in portability I'd be super pleased to see the weight reduced.
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The steel construction won't be changing. You're correct that the steel case will weigh more than a comparable one made of aluminum, but in almost every other respect, steel is preferable, as it's:

  • more durable.
  • less malleable (letting us use thinner gauge material).
  • (in conjunction with the powder coating) can be color-customized.
  • environmentally friendlier (anodization involves a lot of chemicals; powder coating yields almost zero waste).
  • much more resistant to surface damage, such as scratching.
  • does not show fingerprints or dust as readily.
  • is (in our particular scenario) cheaper to work with.

There's more weight, but the case will last much longer in transit/use before you start to see any scratches or blemishes. And the added rigidity is important when you consider how fragile components are... Because of that, and the fact that the handle makes toting Nova around much easier, we're confident that powder-coated steel is the right choice to make.

(I'd add that, even as someone who loves aluminum finishes, the powder coat finish we've been using is really fantastic. It looks wonderful, and feels luxurious - and I sincerely don't use that word lightly.)
 
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Not many established case manufacturers make sense for this kind of project. Sliger, maybe?
 
I'm betting Sliger or Silverstone. LianLi doesn't make anything with steel from what I know, they're certainly out of the ring. The prototypes were made by local shops, but maybe that's not viable for mass production?

Didn't know that anodisation was using so many chemicals. You can powder coat Aluminium as well, though.
 
Silverstone doesn't own their own manufacturing facilities though, unlike LL or (presumably) Sliger. All things being equal, that makes them a more expensive option, since they're basically a middleman between you and the factory.
 
iFreilicht said:
LianLi doesn't make anything with steel from what I know, they're certainly out of the ring.
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Their Lancool range was primarily steel internals, so I wouldn't completely rule them out.

Looking forward to this case, though I may not have a build in it for a long time ..
 
mekky said:
Looking forward to this case, though I may not have a build in it for a long time ..
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Same here, waiting for SLI being ironed out for VR..
I just might keep it on my desk anyway, if I can get it in a stylish color scheme like the Unit 00 one shown earlier :)
 
xinux said:
Same here, waiting for SLI being ironed out for VR..
I just might keep it on my desk anyway, if I can get it in a stylish color scheme like the Unit 00 one shown earlier :)
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I'm kind of hoping they sell an "unfinished" one that some of us can get coated/plated how we individually want.
 
I'm hoping for nice, heavy steel to keep the vibrations and (perhaps) the prices down.
 
Kaos_Drem said:
I'm kind of hoping they sell an "unfinished" one that some of us can get coated/plated how we individually want.
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That probably won't be an option in the short term due to logistics. We already have enough SKUs to deal with as it is.


sonsonate said:
I'm hoping for nice, heavy steel to keep the vibrations and (perhaps) the prices down.
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It's a mix of 20 and 18 gauge steel. I think it'll strike a good balance between vibration resistance/strength and portability.

Steel vs aluminum doesn't make that much of a difference in price at this volume. Since we can't use mass-production techniques like stamping due to the extremely high setup costs, labor is a bigger driver of cost than material.
 
Just saw this case today, though I was hoping an ATX psu can fit it in the current SFX slot. It has similar length as the ncase M1, but the mATX size takes the space away for an ATX psu in front. Very interesting improvise on the side mount ATX.

I'm also surprised to see LGA 2011 + two GTX 980 powered by a 600w PSU.

With this case I will probably use an ATX psu, 120mm water block like Corsair H80 mounted on the front for the CPU, and R9 Fury X2 which will likely come with a water block that I can install on the lower bottom front. Would 295x2 tubes fit on the side with this case?
 
So my M1 came in today, and I can't wait to do the build, but this is the build I am really looking forward to. I can't wait to back this.
 
Apologies if this has already been discussed in a previously reply; are there any proposals as to how fan filters can be removed, especially for the intake?

I have a PC-V600F from Lian Li and although it has front filters, they're a pain to get at and remove compared to other cases.
 
jssaylor2007 said:
So my M1 came in today, and I can't wait to do the build, but this is the build I am really looking forward to. I can't wait to back this.
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Thanks! The M1 is great case too though, I love mine.


Phot3k said:
I have a PC-V600F from Lian Li and although it has front filters, they're a pain to get at and remove compared to other cases.
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We'll have to verify with the prototypes but if the new design works out it should be much easier to access any front filters than it was with the first prototype.
 
Aibohphobia said:
We'll have to verify with the prototypes but if the new design works out it should be much easier to access any front filters than it was with the first prototype.
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Good to hear! the problem with the PC-V600F was that the fans were mounted inside the case, and the filters directly onto the fans. So you had to open the case, then remove the fans, and then remove the filters. It didn't help that the fans were squeezed between the drive cage and front panel so it wasn't exactly easy to remove the fans. Other cases like the Antec 250D just had the front panel removable so either magnetic filters or filters that could be slotted in/out made things so much easier for managing dust.

Had another question too about the potential of a 240mm radiator, would one in theory fit if an SFX or SFX-L power supply was used? From the sketches it looked like part of the limiting factor was the size of the power supply.

Personally not a deal breaker if not possible as even a single 120mm radiator is better than none. It's ridiculous that a 34L case like the PC-V600F has no room for an AIO water cooler without modifications.
 
Phot3k said:
Had another question too about the potential of a 240mm radiator, would one in theory fit if an SFX or SFX-L power supply was used? From the sketches it looked like part of the limiting factor was the size of the power supply.
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240mm will fit on the bottom with a single GPU easily. Dual-GPU will heavily depend on rad+fan thickness and tubing.

With the PSU mounted to the rear a 240mm should fit on the front if it isn't excessively long.
 
Just finished building my M1, and holy crap was that difficult. Is this case going to be a little easier to work in? I love the M1, but the pictures don't do it justice on how tiny it actually is.
 
It really depends on what parts you use. Using the stock CPU cooler, reference video card, single SSD, and SFX PSU in the M1 would be pretty easy.

Doing a custom loop with dual 240mm rads, rear-mounted ATX PSU, and SLI in Nova would be very difficult.
 
I hope this also becomes a reality for the case too despite not being very popular in the polls:

"we're looking into a 2x3.5" cage that can go in place of the bottom 3 slots"

The Nova appears to be one of the very few sfx cases with a front intake that can get some airflow over 3.5" drives. Most other sfx cases have to abandon 3.5" drives or allow them, but it's difficult keeping them cool.
 
Phot3k said:
I hope this also becomes a reality for the case too despite not being very popular in the polls:

"we're looking into a 2x3.5" cage that can go in place of the bottom 3 slots"

The Nova appears to be one of the very few sfx cases with a front intake that can get some airflow over 3.5" drives. Most other sfx cases have to abandon 3.5" drives or allow them, but it's difficult keeping them cool.
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We will have a solution (that I actually came up with, if you can believe it!) that will support either one or two 3.5” drives, depending on your storage and PCI device needs ;)
 
PlayfulPhoenix said:
We will have a solution (that I actually came up with, if you can believe it!) that will support either one or two 3.5” drives, depending on your storage and PCI device needs ;)
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Always good news from you guys :cool:

Now we wait! I'll have to tolerate the size of the 250D I have until the Nova is available.
 
Phot3k said:
Always good news from you guys :cool:
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Sounds like a challenge to me!

In completely unrelated news (ahem), we're pleased to announce that people will be able to order Nova in any color they'd like... so long as it's beige :p

Phot3k said:
Now we wait! I'll have to tolerate the size of the 250D I have until the Nova is available.
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That's going to be a pretty huge upgrade:

nMCjAtW.png

(Graph is comparing volume)

And don't forget that while the 250D is m-ITX only, Nova supports mATX ;)
 
... Actually, Beige is kind of tempting. I can't recall the last time I've actually seen a real-life beige-box PC.
 
Oh man, that's making me a little nostalgic. I think I'd be pretty okay with beige, the computer would seem all retro but would secretly be a super powerful gaming rig! Maybe I could put an old timey computer logo on it. The rainbow apple logo seems like it'd go well with that.
 
I remember those! We used to have one with a 2-digit clock speed display on the front too.
 
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I don't think i've ever checked a forum on a daily basis as much i check on this one....lol
 
In anticipation for a Nova dual-GPU build, would you guys agree with this ranking (in order of best cooling-to-noise ratio):

1. 2x AiO liquid cooling (Corsair HG10 or equivalent)
2. 2x Standard-fans (EVGA ACX or equivalent)
3. 2x Blower-style (Reference design)
(4. feasible or utter insanity?) 1x Standard-fans + 1x Blower-style
 
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