So I've been eyeing up a Bitfenix Prodigy build for a very long time now, and I finally managed to sell my Asus N56VZ-DS71 laptop for cash so have embarked this week on the first steps for my Prodigy Build!!
Disclaimer: I'm new to this forum so apologies in advance for any faux pas.
I thought the new OcUK Prodigy colours were really cool so I went ahead and picked up the Tempest colourway and set to work building my rig.
The Prodigy has been a joy to work with and certainly lives up to the hype of being an excellent, modular case - although the SFF claim is touch and go as its not a lot smaller than an ATX tower when factoring in the 'handles'. One of the main complaints about the Prodigy is that the tower isn't stable due to the flexy material on the handles/standles. However, this doesn't bother me at all as it gives it excellent shock absorption when moving it around - and let's be honest, you don't buy a Prodigy to tuck it out of sight! To be sure, its never at risk of tipping over.
My build as it stands;
- BitFenix Prodigy in Tempest (Blue sides and handles, black front and back)
- Gigabyte Z87N-WiFi Mobo
- i5 4670K Haswell chip
- Avexir 2x4GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM with pulsating blue LEDs to match the case
- Samsung 840 Series 120GB SSD
- DVDRW, may swap out for a fan controller
- Corsair CX600M modular PSU
- Zalman keyboard (obviously not part of the build but incl in the price).
Total cost delivered £567, coincedentally almost exactly how much I sold my laptop for. And I already have a 27" IPS panel and Razer DeathAdder to complete the package.
To come:
- GPU, obviously. Probably a 760 which seems like good bang for buck to complete this value gaming rig.
- CPU Cooler, this is the hard part as I don't know what will fit and allow me to get to 4.5GHz (or slightly less given I'm not sure if this mobo allows overvolting). Very open to recommendations. The RAM is fairly low profile although could be a factor for an air cooler as is the proximity to the PCI-E slot. The Asus mITX board mitigates this but is 50% more expensive.
- A better fan setup/fan controller. As you can see there is currently ample room for airflow but only one of the 2 provided BitFenix 120mm fans plugs into the MoBo.
- I'll hook up an HDD, although with my unlimited central London high-speed broadband I can easily delete/reinstall Steam games in a jiffy which is the main use of my drive space (I have an external HDD for movies, music etc).
Anyway I hope this helps any Prodigy hopefuls and let me know if you have any questions about the build or any of the components
Pics. You will notice what a tiny area the PSU/MoBo/CPU/RAM/SSD takes up - I could have used a case a 1/4 of the size! But of course I am going to insert a full sized GPU and a tall air cooler/SCWC. If you are wondering where the SSD is - there is actually a cage in the door for 2.5" drives, you can see it just below the ODD. Of course, I removed all of the hard drive cages.
Disclaimer: I'm new to this forum so apologies in advance for any faux pas.
I thought the new OcUK Prodigy colours were really cool so I went ahead and picked up the Tempest colourway and set to work building my rig.
The Prodigy has been a joy to work with and certainly lives up to the hype of being an excellent, modular case - although the SFF claim is touch and go as its not a lot smaller than an ATX tower when factoring in the 'handles'. One of the main complaints about the Prodigy is that the tower isn't stable due to the flexy material on the handles/standles. However, this doesn't bother me at all as it gives it excellent shock absorption when moving it around - and let's be honest, you don't buy a Prodigy to tuck it out of sight! To be sure, its never at risk of tipping over.
My build as it stands;
- BitFenix Prodigy in Tempest (Blue sides and handles, black front and back)
- Gigabyte Z87N-WiFi Mobo
- i5 4670K Haswell chip
- Avexir 2x4GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM with pulsating blue LEDs to match the case
- Samsung 840 Series 120GB SSD
- DVDRW, may swap out for a fan controller
- Corsair CX600M modular PSU
- Zalman keyboard (obviously not part of the build but incl in the price).
Total cost delivered £567, coincedentally almost exactly how much I sold my laptop for. And I already have a 27" IPS panel and Razer DeathAdder to complete the package.
To come:
- GPU, obviously. Probably a 760 which seems like good bang for buck to complete this value gaming rig.
- CPU Cooler, this is the hard part as I don't know what will fit and allow me to get to 4.5GHz (or slightly less given I'm not sure if this mobo allows overvolting). Very open to recommendations. The RAM is fairly low profile although could be a factor for an air cooler as is the proximity to the PCI-E slot. The Asus mITX board mitigates this but is 50% more expensive.
- A better fan setup/fan controller. As you can see there is currently ample room for airflow but only one of the 2 provided BitFenix 120mm fans plugs into the MoBo.
- I'll hook up an HDD, although with my unlimited central London high-speed broadband I can easily delete/reinstall Steam games in a jiffy which is the main use of my drive space (I have an external HDD for movies, music etc).
Anyway I hope this helps any Prodigy hopefuls and let me know if you have any questions about the build or any of the components
Pics. You will notice what a tiny area the PSU/MoBo/CPU/RAM/SSD takes up - I could have used a case a 1/4 of the size! But of course I am going to insert a full sized GPU and a tall air cooler/SCWC. If you are wondering where the SSD is - there is actually a cage in the door for 2.5" drives, you can see it just below the ODD. Of course, I removed all of the hard drive cages.
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(patience is not one of my strong points lol)
