Case swap into a Sliger Cerberus (High end full AMD air cooled ITX system)

[vsral]

Specs:

- Sliger Cerberus

- CPU: AMD 5900x

- GPU: 6900xt reference

- PSU: Corsair SF750 (stock cables)

- MOBO: Asus Crosshair 8 Impact

- RAM: 32gb G.Skill Trident Z Neo 3600 C16 (straight timings / B-Die)

- CPU cooler: Noctua C14S

- Fans: 3x Arctic P12 (intake) + 1x Noctua A9 Chromax (outtake)

- 4x 120mm mesh dust filters. 3 on the Noctua rubber mounting plus (on the outside) and 1 magnetic before the PSU

- Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2tb

 

How this build came to be:

Build a system in summer 2020 in a Lian-Li TU150 with placeholders for CPU and GPU: 2700x + 1660Ti. Gallery on PcPartPicker

I came from an old Xeon x58 system, so it already was a serious upgrade.

 

The 5900x: I got it 2 weeks after launch, after ordering at the exact minute of launch.

The 6900XT: In December I got very lucky to be able to order it from AMD directly. I wanted a 6800XT, but those really are impossible to find a decent prices. It was way more than I wanted to spend but I just got lucky and I knew it so I clicked the order button.

Already did a thermal pad mod: 

 

 

In the meantime, I swapped the SF600 for a SF750. For the SF600 and the 1660 Ti I built an extra complete PC. 1) Because I might need it when I'll live at 2 different places in the near future 2) because I'm into distributed computing (BOINC / Folding at Home) and 3) just becaused I wanted to.

At launch of the 3060 Ti, I just tried and was able to order a MSI Gaming X trio (499 euros) and got it 2 days later. Had trouble fitting it into the TU-150, so kept it for the new build.

 

So in november / december I built the following

- CM Nr200p 

- a used 3950x (450 euros)

- Asus B550i-Strix (30 euro cash back)

- G skill Trident Z 3200 C14 (Samsung B die) 2x16gb, used at a great price

- Corsair SF600 Platinum (from other pc)

- Noctua C14s

- Arctic P12 value pack (5 for 26 euros)

 

When the 6900XT arrived, it became very clear that a Lian-Li TU-150 couldn’t handle the heat output of a high-powered GPU. High load on GPU would also raise the CPU temps by a lot. The heat was really stuck below the top panel (above the cpu cooler). You could really feel the difference on the outside of the case The case just needs to be more vented or needs more outtake fans. 

I looked at the Sliger s610 and s620 as well, but went for the Cerberus so I could use full size fans on the bottom (quieter) with some space between the fans and the GPU (no turbulence).

Also, the width of the Cerberus is perfect for a Noctua c14s (S610 is too small: fan needs to be behind heat sink so warm air from gpu gets sucked into the heatsink. S620 is too wide, the fan would be too far from the panel. Plus, I prefer the aesthetic proportions of the Cerberus).

So I also swapped the C14s and U12a between builds.

 

- The case was very light when I took it out of the box. Somehow, I expected more heft to it.

- While building I discovered that I could NOT fit a 15mm fan on top (under the handle). So I bought a P12 Slim for nothing (luckily it was cheap) and now I only got 1x 92mm for exhaust. But I think the current 3 P12’s take in enough air to purge out the warm air through the vents. Also, there is plenty of space behind the C14S for a ‘chimney effect’.

- The arctic p12’s can deliver a lot more fresh air to the GPU than 2x Noctua a12x15’s can, while being quieter. Probably also got to do with the fact that the bottom grill on the TU-150 was way more restrictive.

- The case could (imo) be more vented on the motherboard side (like the S610 / s620).

- The panel behind the motherboard is hotter than the other side under full load. Glad I went vented instead of solid. Also helps the cooling backplate of the mobo.

- The handle feels so much better than the handle on the TU-150. No wiggle, no flex.

- GPU temps are way better than in the TU-150 without sidepanel.

 

For those who don't know the case: a high end, 18L small USA made case with solid powder coated aluminum panels.

[vsral]

The 2 'organ donors'

 

The 3 cases side by side

 

How the NR200P turned out with the Noctua U12A. The side panel fits on without a millimeter to spare. 

[vsral]

The complete setup.

- Dell S2721DGFA ( completely worth the 380 euros)

- Zowie FK2 + Leopold keyboard with cheap but nice wooden wrist rest

- Sound: Adam A5X (bought factory refurbished) with a Resonessence Labs Concero HD dac (bought used).

- Amazon monitor stand: KB + mouse fit under it easily (as dust-'shelter' when I'm not home).

 

 

The cooling backplate of the Asus Crosshair 8 Impact

[vsral]

Small update:

- Changed the bottom fans from Arctic P12 to Thermaltake Tough Fan 14. Yes, ThermalFake I know, but the 'next gen Noctua 140mm fan' still isn't available (and will probably get delayed a couple of times).

- Changed the front fan to Noctua a12x25 (still had it from my previous case, the Lian Li TU 150

- USB 3 front header 90degree adapter. Together with the mobo psu angle adapter it makes cable management a bit easier (difficult in this case).

- GPU sag bracket.

 

Still wondering what I will do with the CPU cooler fan, the nf-a14 is the loudest part now (especially over 1000rpm). Maybe I'll try the a12x25 on it to see what gives.

 

[vsral]

Another update: 

A while back I decided to splurge: Don’t know why exactly, but I just wanted those nice CNC case feet. After receiving the wrong feet first (same feet but different thread hole), MNPCtech was very quick to react and send out the right ones the same day. I could keep the other feet for a future project. Expensive feet? Yes, but service seems top notch as well!

I also added small washers between the feet and the case so the 140mm bottom fan filters just slip in between. Together with 120mm front fan filters the only unfiltered intake is the Noctua C14s.

 

More pics here: https://imgur.com/a/mcluArf

 

[Rich100]

Who makes the filters for the bottom of the case and how do they attach?

Thanks

[thrasher_565]

On 2/13/2021 at 1:41 PM, vsral said:

The complete setup.

- Dell S2721DGFA ( completely worth the 380 euros)

- Zowie FK2 + Leopold keyboard with cheap but nice wooden wrist rest

- Sound: Adam A5X (bought factory refurbished) with a Resonessence Labs Concero HD dac (bought used).

- Amazon monitor stand: KB + mouse fit under it easily (as dust-'shelter' when I'm not home).

 

 

The cooling backplate of the Asus Crosshair 8 Impact

only problem i see is there no side holes for the gpu exhaust...

[vsral]

On 9/23/2021 at 3:56 PM, Rich100 said:

Who makes the filters for the bottom of the case and how do they attach?

Thanks

 

Those are magnetic dust filters with very fine mesh. Silverstone makes them, but Amazon has them as well (cheaper).

 

 

On 9/29/2021 at 7:31 PM, thrasher_565 said:

only problem i see is there no side holes for the gpu exhaust...

I would have prefered fully perforated panels as well. According to Sliger, the panels would warp.
Now the top is very vented, as is a bit on backside (motherboard side).

 2x 140mm bottom fans + 120mm front noctua + 140mm CPU intake vs 1x 90mm outtake -> 'overpressure', which works OK with all the venting on top, a bit like a chimney.

[thrasher_565]

7 hours ago, vsral said:

 

Those are magnetic dust filters with very fine mesh. Silverstone makes them, but Amazon has them as well (cheaper).

 

 

I would have prefered fully perforated panels as well. According to Sliger, the panels would warp.
Now the top is very vented, as is a bit on backside (motherboard side).

 2x 140mm bottom fans + 120mm front noctua + 140mm CPU intake vs 1x 90mm outtake -> 'overpressure', which works OK with all the venting on top, a bit like a chimney.

ya i no itx builders are use to have to sacrifice things but to me there should have bean a holes for the gpu but what do i no... how are the gpu temps? it looks like the gpu air gets pushed in to the cpu cooling...

 

[Mnpctech]

Excellent build details! fyi: expanded the custom riser case feet for all of Sliger cases here, Search: 3 results found for "SLIGER feet" – Mnpctech