Yet Another Prodigy Spec

arty

arty

arty

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Wow, this case really seems to be flavour of the month! :p

I'm looking into putting together a small second PC principally for gaming but potentially also a bit of development and minor server stuff (VMware). I would need a whole system except for Windows, a keyboard and a mouse.

My full requirements are essentially as follows:

1. Total budget of £1200, though ideally closer to £1100
2. Decent 2-3 year future-proofing in the CPU and graphics
3. As mentioned, as compact as possible
4. Would also prefer something fairly quiet when idle; noise when 3D gaming is less of a concern
5. Decent monitor; I currently have a 27" iMac which I am selling, so ideally something at least on a par with its 2560x1440 IPS screen would be good
6. I need a DVD drive only really for audio CD ripping
7. Must have an SSD but currently don't need more than 250GB
8. Not really bothered about overclocking but stability is essential
9. Keyboard and mouse not required
10. Monitor needs to have at least 2 inputs - ideally at least one Displayport - and preferably also a USB3.0 hub
11. Not intending to overclock :)

I was thinking of roughly the following:

- Prodigy
- Corsair Builder Series 500W PSU (modular)
- Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 Motherboard
- Intel i5-3470 (retail including cooler)
- Corsair 2x4GB DDR3 PC3-12800C9 RAM (low profile)
- HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB graphics
- Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD
- Dell UltraSharp U2713HM
- A DVDRW drive

I'm a bit out of touch with builds so I'm not sure how space-constrained the Prodigy is, whether that monitor is just too unreliable and whether that graphics card will drive 2560x1440 with a bit of future-proofing.

Input very welcome, thanks :)
 
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This is my bash at it l am sure a better build will be incoming soon(tm)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Hazro HZ27WB 10-Bit 27" Widescreen Professional Monitor - Black £399.95
1 x ASUS GeForce GTX 660TI Direct CU II 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Assassin's Creed III & FTP Currency £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3330 3.00GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £149.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD250BW) ** Cash Back Promo ** £131.99
1 x ASRock B75M-ITX Intel B75 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ITX Motherboard £71.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Embers' Mini-ITX Cube Case - Red/Black £64.98
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £40
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,187.35 (includes shipping : £13.75).



Or

YOUR BASKET
1 x Hazro HZ27WB 10-Bit 27" Widescreen Professional Monitor - Black £399.95
1 x **B Grade** Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660TI OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express G (GX-107-GI) £199.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3330 3.00GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £149.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD250BW) ** Cash Back Promo ** £131.99
1 x ASRock B75M-ITX Intel B75 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ITX Motherboard £71.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Embers' Mini-ITX Cube Case - Red/Black £64.98
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £40
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £1,147.36 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
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Thanks a lot, I quite like the look of the 660Ti and the B-grade stuff is a good idea I hadn't considered :)

Not sure about the Hazro monitor as it doesn't appear to have either a USB hub (which I would very much like) or more than one input (which is a must - amended my original post to reflect this). I'll have more of a play about with the spec and see what I can get to - thanks again.
 
Currently got this in Excel:

BitFenix Prodigy 'Yin' Mini-ITX Cube Case - White/Black
Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 (Socket 1155)
Intel Core i5-3470 3.20GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail
Avexir MPower Yellow Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit
**B Grade** Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660TI OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express G (GX-107-GI)
Samsung 500GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TD500BW) ** Cash Back Promo **
Dell UltraSharp U2713HM 27"" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey
OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

This comes out at just over £1200 (with some parts sourced from other suppliers). I know this has a bigger SSD but otherwise seems about right for what I want. As always, feedback welcome! Thanks :)
 
I haven't used this case so I may be completely wrong but I remember seeing a video where a bitfenix employee actually recommends a non-modular power supply for the prodigy. Someone with the case can probably swing the hatchet either way as to whether that's completely wrong or not. I think it was because the hole in the psu cage is to one side like the cables on a non-modular psu which makes routing easier for non-modular and the extra cables mess can just be hidden down the side of the psu.
Had a quick check on youtube and pretty sure it was this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txMj_WYLzPA
 
Non-modular is fine, my media center has the XFX 550W non-modular fitted, plenty of space in PSU slot for the extra cables.
 
In the same boat as you, considering building myself a rig in this case to as its really grown on me since I've looked at it on youtube. Just wondering how neat you can get it inside with such a small case with regards to cable management. That and the need for an external soundcard.
 
Knightinator said:
I haven't used this case so I may be completely wrong but I remember seeing a video where a bitfenix employee actually recommends a non-modular power supply for the prodigy. Someone with the case can probably swing the hatchet either way as to whether that's completely wrong or not. I think it was because the hole in the psu cage is to one side like the cables on a non-modular psu which makes routing easier for non-modular and the extra cables mess can just be hidden down the side of the psu.
Had a quick check on youtube and pretty sure it was this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txMj_WYLzPA
Click to expand...

That's very helpful, thanks - I'll amend my spec accordingly :)
 
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