SFF Build No WC :(

[Chann3l]

There is a sad face in the title because not watercooling does suck but I am actually quite excited about this build. I wanted to cram as much performance as I could into a small space. I will be using a Kimera Cerberus for the case and while there is room for an AIO, I am stubborn and decided to go with an air cooler.


Case : Kimera Cerberus
CPU : 8700k
MOBO : MSI Z370M Gaming Pro AC
GPU : MSI Reference 1080 Ti
Memory : 64GB DDR4 Corsair Dominator Platinum or 32GB Gskill TridentZ (not sure which I will stick with yet)
PSU : Silverstone SX650-G Gold Rated SFX
Cooler : Noctua NH-C14S
Storage : 256GB 850 Evo, Samsung 960 Evo NVME
Fans: 3x Noctua NF-A14 140mm pwm 1x NF-A9 92mm pwm

Definitely not as exciting as most builds around here but it's small form factor so it's a bit interesting.

I will also be making custom PSU cables over the next couple weeks or when my supplies arrive.

[Hooded]

Sounds like a nice bit of kit.

[Chann3l]

PSU Box size is deceiving.



Next to the board for size reference.



Top flow cooler is massive

That's it for now.

[Chann3l]

Sounds like a nice bit of kit.

Ya it should perform quite well haha. Most excited to run 64GB of ram. Doing a lot of 8k texturing and it chews through memory.

[Cyclops]

If I can fit a GTX 980 with two radiators in a Node 304, you can watercool anything.

[gdesmo]

If I can fit a GTX 980 with two radiators in a Node 304, you can watercool anything.

[Chann3l]

12.57" x 6.78" x 14.09" Cerberus

8.27" x 9.84" x 14.72" Node 304

I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't possible. I could buy a really short reservoir and a thin 240 and make it work. I just don't want to for time and additional cost.

PSU mounting location would make it very difficult. The rear exhaust mount is only 92mm. There is room up front for a 140mm fan with sfx psu mounted. 2x140 in the bottom but a real short res would be required to not be blocked by the gpu.

[wattermain]

That Cerberus is a sweet case. Remember when they had that Indiegogo fundraiser for the Ncase and they said that it would take an
NH-C14. Who would have believed it. Looking at the photo, the fan is mounted under the fins. Do they give you an option of mounting
one above the fins or I guess there's not enough room.

[Chann3l]

That Cerberus is a sweet case. Remember when they had that Indiegogo fundraiser for the Ncase and they said that it would take an
NH-C14. Who would have believed it. Looking at the photo, the fan is mounted under the fins. Do they give you an option of mounting
one above the fins or I guess there's not enough room.

Yes actually you can mount a second fan and noctua is nice enough to include the mounting clips. I bought a second fan but I will have to see if there is enough room when I get my ram. The dominator heatsinks are tall I may have run single fan on the top. There is just enough clearance for that configuration. The total height with fan is 130mm and total CPU cooler clearance in the Cerberus is 145mm. If I can't run 2 fans I'll just mount the second fan on the front of the case for intake. Then two 140mm fans at the bottom and one 92mm noctua fan for the exhaust. The side of the case is ventilated which works perfect as the CPU cooler fans will act as exhaust. Just got shipping notification, should have the case on the 28th. Stoked!

[wattermain]

Good stuff. Can't wait to see it all go together.

[10e]

You go, Chann3l!

The Kimera Cerberus is awesome, and I'm glad they got off the ground after their Kickstarter campaign failed.

I have been eyeing the Cerberus X since they announced it, but that seems to have a fair bit more room for WC than the regular Cerberus. I think the only thing that I can think of improving is them putting their "infinity vents" on the top as well as the bottom and front. Otherwise it's pretty nice, and nicely modular.

I don't think I can ever go back to fully air cooled at this time, but I would take fully air cooled over AiOs with failing $4.95 pumps.

[Chann3l]

You go, Chann3l!

The Kimera Cerberus is awesome, and I'm glad they got off the ground after their Kickstarter campaign failed.

I have been eyeing the Cerberus X since they announced it, but that seems to have a fair bit more room for WC than the regular Cerberus. I think the only thing that I can think of improving is them putting their "infinity vents" on the top as well as the bottom and front. Otherwise it's pretty nice, and nicely modular.

I don't think I can ever go back to fully air cooled at this time, but I would take fully air cooled over AiOs with failing $4.95 pumps.

Haha thanks, it should be quite the adventure. I picked up my 8700k yesterday and got the cooler mounted. Just waiting on ram and the case. The Cerberus x definitely has more room for proper Watercooling. The regular Cerberus doesn't have room for a pump and reservoir unless you use a rear mounted atx PSU. Then it would be possible to mount a pump/res combo on the front vent above the GPU. The case was really meant for sfx units though and it looks pretty ugly with a massive PSU covering the motherboard. I remember seeing the Kickstarter and thinking it looked pretty cool then I forgot it existed until this month haha.

[kennah]

Cool little case, has the exact same layout as the Splash. So tiny for mATX. Love it, can't wait to see your final results.

[Chann3l]

Cool little case, has the exact same layout as the Splash. So tiny for mATX. Love it, can't wait to see your final results.

Thanks a lot. Should have a couple photos of the CPU cooler mounted later today. Just ordered a Samsung 960 pro nvme drive which should make for a nice fast boot drive. Waiting on the case, ram and a couple fans in the mail haha. Currently dismantling my previous build. I didn't bother adding a proper drain ports so that's fun...

[Chann3l]

Big photo dump incoming



Cooler Installed





lol, artsy b&w photo with 960 installed



Cerberus compared to Thermaltake V21



Beautiful blank workspace



All the panels look this nice. Not one imperfection



Mobo installed



Zero issues with the IO shield fitting



Just enough clearance for the side bracket in this configuration



PSU mounting was very simple. The mounting bracket also has a hole for the front panel cables




couldn't wait for other ram, bought tridentZ 16GB just to get everything setup





Shorter ram allows second fan. Might just buy another 16GB of this stuff



not the final look, waiting for my materials to make custom cables

Stay tuned!

Also, excuse the grainy photos, iso was set too high on my camera

Also bought 960 evo NVME