m1dg3ts Bitfenix Prodigy

[m1dg3t]

Welcome to my "build log" m1dg3ts m1dg3t!

I am still in the part gathering stage but most of the stuff is here and the rest should hopefully be in by the end of next week or early the following week. Anyways decided i'd get some pics up and maybe get some inputs from the community

I have no sponsors for this build (poor people build their rigz ) but would like to thank Bucky @ FrozenCPU and Gabe @ Swiftech for helping me get the right cooling stuff to put this together The rest of the components were sourced from local/online retailers, CanadaComputers, itxcanada.com and Newegg.ca get some credit here and NCIx.ca gets the big ol

I'm still waiting for the refund of my deposit, it's been 2 months. No case, no refund... No customer!

Part list:

Case: Bitfenix Prodigy
MoBo: Asrock z77e iTX > In transit
CPU: Intel 3570k
RAM: Samsung lo-pro ecos > In transit
GFX: MSi 7950 tf3
PSU: Ocz mxp700w
ODD: I have a spare DVD/BD ROM that i'll plug in when needed
HDD/SSD: Not decided yet. leaning SSD because of space constraints but still kinda iffy. Could use some advice here

Cooling part list:

CPU: Swiftech Apogee Drive2
GFX: Swiftech mcw82-7900 > Waiting for the retrofit kit
RAD 1: Phobya Extreme 200
RAD 2: XSPC slim 240
Tubing: Primochill FlexLRT 7/16"
Phobya Fillport: Never liked the idea of a Res and always used Tlines before
FANS: Bitfenix Spectre Pro's all around

I'll be using 1/2" fittings with 7/16" tubing in black/white. I still need a few 90s and a couple extensions but i have been assured they will be easily had when the time comes, when i finalize the tube routing...

Anyways here is a few pics with what i have mounted/test fitting, just trying to figure out my tubing runs. I'll update as things come in and i get them done Just also wanted to add that surprisingly this case needs VERY little modification to support all this hardware! I will have to mod the MoBo tray/PSU cover in order to fit a full size PSU and the APD2 but other then that it's pretty much Dremmel free

Thanks

[johnnyfiive]

lol, dayum! gl!

[m1dg3t]

Originally Posted by johnnyfiive

lol, dayum! gl!

Thanks! The only luck i need is with the shippers and remembering that i am NOT a total n00b This case is pretty much mod free as BitFenix put a bit of thought into it, i will have to mod the PSU bay to facilitate easier acces to the front of the PSU as i'm using a "full" size modular unit that lil bit extra is just needed It seems as if the MoBo tray will be OK with the APD2 back/mounting plate so i'll prolly skip hacking the tray...

Anyways a small update for anyone interested as i'm still waiting for the RAM, some fittings and the mcw82 upgrade kit. I lost the charger for my cordless drill so had to order another one of those, thanks Amazon for the great price and free next day shipping! Also iTX Canada has awesome service as my MoBo arrived sooner than expected, i had it the day after they were restocked! And what an AW3SOME MoBo it is

I ended up with an SSD, an Adata sx900 256Gb, as the sale price was just excellent IMO @ $165! I don't think i'll be using a spin drive in this build at all. In my haste to mount my fan to my 200mm RAD and test mount/fit it into the case i neglected to double check the included screw length and poked a hole in one of the tubes It's not bad but not sure if i'll try to fix/RMA or get a new 1. I really don't feel like spending another $90 for the RAD

Lesson here: Always, ALWAYS check/DBL check screw lengths. Even if they were the ones included with whatever it is you are mounting! Do NOT assume as i did; but i'm old so i get a free pass

I came into some extra $$$ so i paid some bills and treated myself to a new monitor, a BenQ gw2750hm and so far i gotta say i'm quite pleased with it. Especially for the $$$, sales are w1cked

Anyone care to give their $0.02 about what is a good/decent router/modem to get and i was thinking of going with Win7 Ultimate or W/E it's called so i can run WinXP mode for some older stuff that i can't let go of Is that the wisest choice? I was looking at something like the Netgear n600 WNDR 3700 for $99 but i have absolutely ZERO idea about anything other than what my ISP gave me to use and even then they configured it for me

A few pix for now... I hope to get some time in the next day or 2 to make some room for the PSU...

Thanks for watching







PS: If anyone is interested i have been buisy gardening the last couple days; Transplanting a few plants, potting seedlings and getting my mini composter going for winter. That is part of an Aloe plant/s there. If you choose so you can refer to me as Dr.Greenthumb

[theonedub]

Looking good Jealous of the legit water cooling Maybe later I'll delve into that.

[t_ski]

Originally Posted by m1dg3t

Anyone care to give their $0.02 about what is a good/decent router/modem to get?

You can find some goodies in the FS section here. I have a Linksys E4200 I'm selling

[m1dg3t]

I should have mentioned in my first post that this build can be creditted to our very own BumbleBee! It's all her fault. Every last bit of it! She clubbed me over the head one day with some no name, off brand over - ear headphones and while i was in a daze she slapped me with a link/vid to the BitFenix Prodigy case and the rest is, as they say; History!

Hey BB: I even got an SSD!

Originally Posted by theonedub

Looking good Jealous of the legit water cooling Maybe later I'll delve into that.

Thank you

lol I'm kinda lost bro Bring me up to speed pl0x i R

Originally Posted by t_ski

You can find some goodies in the FS section here. I have a Linksys E4200 I'm selling

Shameless plug Gonna have a look

[cdawall]

Looks good quite a bit larger than my case though!

[mediasorcerer]

Can i ask, what are the chances of modding this case to fit a m-atx mobo?
That asrock board is what i really wanted for my latest build, but didnt have enuf$$$ at the time.

[m1dg3t]

Originally Posted by cdawall

Looks good quite a bit larger than my case though!

Yeah i got spoilt with this 1, pretty easy build overall i'd say. Compared to some others i have seen anyways

Originally Posted by mediasorcerer

Can i ask, what are the chances of modding this case to fit a m-atx mobo?
That asrock board is what i really wanted for my latest build, but didnt have enuf$$$ at the time.

Not sure about a mATX mod but don't think it would fit TBH. The Asrock board seems like it is EXTREMELY well built, i mean it is freakin' HEAVY! Like ATX++ heavy lol Plus when you have it in your hands, in front of your face you can feel the build quality. If you're located in Canada give itxcanada a try, they have the MoBo for like $155 which is like $20 cheaper than anyone else and next day shipping was $12, ask for Vincent

[TRWOV]

Originally Posted by mediasorcerer

Can i ask, what are the chances of modding this case to fit a m-atx mobo?
That asrock board is what i really wanted for my latest build, but didnt have enuf$$$ at the time.

I'd say it's possible if you mount it vertically but you'd have to redo like half of the case to get it right, like this guy did with a Sugo: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...paces-MAX11Lv3

[Solaris17]

nice job build looks smooth. also E4200s are nice grab it.

[m1dg3t]

Thanks Sol

@ TRWOV: I honestly think you'd be better off modding another case than attempting something like that on this case If you got access to a sheet metal brake & tools by all means go ahead and redo the entire back and 1 side. Even then i'm not sure if the case is tall enough but you can try

I'm still waiting for the RAM from Newegg, it left BC on the 20th so should be here soon i think. I ordered an AVR the same time and it arrived already, an OPTI-UPS ss2000. Swiftech should hopefully be squared away by today/tomorrow and should HOPEFULLY have my retrofit kit in the mail this week which will then allow me to mount my block and get sorted with FrozenCPU about exactly which extensions/fittings i'm going to need.

Gonna try and head to the hardware store tomorrow and pick up some screws to replace the rivets on this case and maybe some other things to for my garden...

I'll try and post a couple pix l8r of my new monitor and the CPU that's been collecting dust for about 3 months

I was thinking of going with Win7 Ultimate, i want/need the XP feature. Is it my only choice? Also anyone can suggest a low budget mechanical KB, less than $50 if possible and available in Canada

[m1dg3t]

Ok small "update"... Received my RAM today, FINALLY! Got things sorted with Swiftech so i should have the kit in a week or 2. Still didn't get to the hardware store... Prolly tomorrow as i have some errands to run anyways...

A pic while doing some "calibrating". I don't have any special equipment so it's all by eye



I purchased this monitor [BenQ gw2750hm] based on $$$/Performance and this review i found here http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/benq_gw2750hm.htm They were kind enough to include their calibration settings and i further "tuned" the screen using this site http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/, which you can see one of the calibration slides pictured. I'm quite pleased with it considering it was $240 Hard to beat that price and a 3yr warranty & NO dead pixel policy

Random shot of CPU & RAM and my living room "deskTop"



Apologies for the chitty cameraphone pix but no1 is sending me a DSLr so ya

No1 wants to comment on OS choice/s? I was thinking Win7 Ultimate so i can run my Xp games but i'm uselss with software... And still running Xp/Vista as main OSes

[Delta6326]

Subbed for awesomeness in a Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny computer.

[Wrigleyvillain]

Cool; looking forward to seeing how the T-line ends up/looks (will be doing a build like this myself eventually). Never used one myself and if any type of case calls for no reservoir it's a Mini-ITX one, of course. Even this fairly voluminous one (also the Apogee Drive II; another good choice, for sure...).

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

Originally Posted by m1dg3t

No1 wants to comment on OS choice/s? I was thinking Win7 Ultimate so i can run my Xp games but i'm uselss with software... And still running Xp/Vista as main OSes

Go Windows 7 Pro, 7 is vastly superior to XP in every way!

[m1dg3t]

Thanks guys

Actually gonna be using a Fillport that will run right into the Phobya Extreme, great RAD! Has Fitting bungs on the top & side of the "top" tank... It's the top for me anyways as it has a bleed screw on the opposing tank which i have on the bottom. Reservoirs only make bleeding easier and take up space, some of them look nice as well but that aint my style. I'm a simple kind of man so T lines have been "it" for me

The Apogee is a sweet little piece of kit, definately! My only gripe with it is the ports are rather small on the pump housing itself and the fitting bungs, they look to be 1/4" ports but i'd like to see 3/8" for increased performance. Although they may have left them small on purpose, to keep pressure/head levels up? Without doing any testing it's hard to say exactly...

Ya this build is gonna be touch n' go as i'm still waiting for things to come in and then order a couple more things to work with those things so don't expect it to be completed by the weekend or anything

[m1dg3t]

Got put on hold... Ordering the final stuffs this weekend and hopefully have everything by the end of next week or early next. Decided to go with Win7 OEM and picking up a mechanical spinner since SSDs have gone back UP in price.

Going against my ideals and gonna pick up a 500Gb WD Raptor, was gonna use a Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive but i really never hear good things about the longevity of Seagate products.

[Sinzia]

in4sub.

I've been using two XT's in a raid 0 since they were available, never had an issue. Got one of the newer ones in my notebook, also, no issues. Just something to think about.

[TheMailMan78]

How is the build quility on that case man? The Bitfenix I got a while ago from a contest was pretty damn nice for the money. Whats your take on the Prodigy?

[Wrigleyvillain]

Seems solid to me.

[XL-R8R]

I love that M-ITX ASRock.... but, it does appear to run into a wall with my 3570k at around 4.6GHz.

I suspect its the combo or board and CPU but I may be wrong and just have a bad CPU


Looking forward to this thread progressing.


Subbed.

[HammerON]

Sub'd for interesting results

[m1dg3t]

Originally Posted by Sinzia

in4sub.

I've been using two XT's in a raid 0 since they were available, never had an issue. Got one of the newer ones in my notebook, also, no issues. Just something to think about.

Thanks. I didn't hear enough good things about Seagate so stuck with what I know & hate: WD 2500HHTZ I'm going to keep an eye on them and see how they are life wise, long term. Lots of space for 2.5" drives in this case

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

How is the build quility on that case man? The Bitfenix I got a while ago from a contest was pretty damn nice for the money. Whats your take on the Prodigy?

Thought I included some thoughts in my previous posts? The ones with pix... I mean they weren't nekkid laydeez so...

Case is designed/built quite well. My only gripe is the paint quality and they could have made the flex "feet" a lil' less flexy.

@ XL-R8R: Prolly is the chip, majority seem to be @ 4.4GHz - 4.6Ghz. How much more do you want? lol

Hoping for the fittings to come in this week so I can finish this up

[de.das.dude]

how did i miss it before. ahh, maybe it was too small to see

sub