New and first Mini ITX build

Hey all

I am looking to build myself a new main gaming machine and really fell in love with the look of the Bitfenix Prodigy. If there any reason why a mITX build cannot be a main gaming PC?

Below is what I have selected for the build

1x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz - £179.99
1x ASRock Z77E-ITX Intel Z77 - £123.98
1x Samsung 256GB SSD 830 Desktop Series - £199.99
1x Corsair Professional Series AX650 - £116.99
1x Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 8GB (2x4GB) - £83.99
1x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black - £64.99
1x Corsair Hydro H100 - £85.98
1x LG GP30NB20 8x Slim External DVD-RW Retail Kit (Black) - £26.99

My last choice is to go with EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW or ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU II TOP if i can find one for similar price. Any opinions?

Fans and aesthetics

1x BitFenix Spectre PRO 230mm White LED - Black - £16.99
2x BitFenix Spectre PRO 120mm Fan White LED - Black - £23.98
1x Corsair SP120 Quiet Series High Pressure Low Noise - Dual Pack - £25.99
1x Corsair AF140 Quiet Series Low Noise High Airflow - Single Pack - £14.99
1x Corsair Professional Series Gold AX650 Individually Sleeved Modular Cables - White - £52.99

Peripherals
2x Benq XL2420T 24" TRUE 120Hz 3D Vision 2.0 Widescreen LED Monitor - Black/Red - £599.98

Total without the GPU is £1648.35

Question/Statements

For anyone that has the ASrock board, does the GPU's having a backplate block the RAM slot clips? From pictures it looks mighty close?

I have to have dual monitors now, i cannot go back, but i generally only use 1 for gaming and the other for movies/net/less demanding games such as Football Manager so i dont know if there is a better one for that, but i am a little OCD when it comes to matching, i wouldnt mind a smaller size but none are matching, but I may be considering saving some money here. Or a different model/make if something is similar quality, but i would like at least one 24"

I dont know if i should change the RAM, i really love the RAM but i know i will never see it in this case really, so i may be able to save something there.

Will this all fit on in a Prodigy without modding or any major fiddling (front fan for example)?

I have a moulting Akita puppy in my house so i is there any easy way of dust filtering the mesh panel if it is needed? Something like a magnetic filter? Hoping for a window panel though at some stage

Any help/input will be greatly appreciated. Hope i didnt send you to sleep after reading all that

Thanks for reading
Steven

I remember ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU II TOP is 2.5 slots wide. Probably won't fit in the case.

EDIT I'm probably wrong. 680 is 2.5 slots or 3

As for using it as a main gaminig machine there is no reason not to in fact i'm starting to think its the future, no SLI/Xfire but do you really need that.
There a little more fiddly to put together than standard machines but far from difficult.

The gpu is a rather tight fit as is mate not sure if you can make it out on this as its not a great pic but i really cant be doing with a half hours debuilding to take a better one at this time of night. i would say you have 5-10mm tops between the back of your gpu and the RAM

The H100 may be a little over kill, the board doesn't OC all that well and is well inside the range my H80 knock off could deal with.

PSU seems a little overkill too but if you have the money to spend why not.

Gav_881 said:

As for using it as a main gaminig machine there is no reason not to in fact i'm starting to think its the future, no SLI/Xfire but do you really need that.
There a little more fiddly to put together than standard machines but far from difficult.

The gpu is a rather tight fit as is mate not sure if you can make it out on this as its not a great pic but i really cant be doing with a half hours debuilding to take a better one at this time of night. i would say you have 5-10mm tops between the back of your gpu and the RAM

The H100 may be a little over kill, the board doesn't OC all that well and is well inside the range my H80 knock off could deal with.

PSU seems a little overkill too but if you have the money to spend why not.

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Thanks for the picture buddy, it does look a little tight, i could try and find the dimensions of the back plate, not sure if they will be anywhere as most of the time its irrelevant Might have made my mind up for me to go with the FTW model in that case, still seems a good card.

After looking at some build logs it seemed that people has the most success with the H100 cooler on this board, pretty much why i went with that, and the way it sits in the top.

Yeah the PSU could go down but pre braided cables, and a good manufacturer makes it worth the money for me

Hey ltnmzh, yeah i believe that is the 680

Very nice planned setup.

In regards to the window'd panel, wish Bitfenix would release one for it though, think there's already a few MODs in here with the window cut-out.

np mate enjoy the build

Thanks guys, I have seen the build logs, unfortunately if it isn't flat pack ikea I am lost

Think I'm going to take a look at the Antec 920, see if that will fit

Hey

I have another quick question regarding this build, if i wanted to use the Antec 920 instead of the H100 would a 230 intake and the 120mm exhale through the 920 be ok for temps?

Cheers