My Bitfenix Prodigy Build (Contains Images)

[comarcus93]

Hey guys,

I haven't really been on the Skyline Forums for a long time. I've been a bit financially crippled concerning car stuff.

And this is one of the reasons why.

This is my first PC build, although I don't think I've felt confused or worried at any stage, which I guess is a good sign. I've done my research, and I think it will pay off.

I'm currently studying IT at University externally, which is a massive challenge for me, but hey, bring it on.

Anyway, I felt I needed something to build this year, which I knew I could manage and most importantly afford. I also felt I needed something to reinforce my coursework, by giving me the confidence in successfully completing an intricate PC build.

I've been purchasing parts over several pays, one chunk at a time, so I've never had a set list of parts. I've kind of just winged it, with the help of PC Part Picker to confirm it will all fit.

Anyway, so far, I have the following installed:

• BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Case - Black
• Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX Mobo
• Corsair CX-600 PSU 80+ Bronze
• Intel Core i7 4770k (Over-clockable)
• BitFenix Spectre 230mm Blue LED Fan Intake
• BitFenix Alchemy Blue LED strip
• Antec Kuhler 650 H2O Liquid CPU cooler (Barely fit - Extremely painful to install in my setup)
• G.Skill Ares 16GB (2 x 8GB) RAM DDR3 1866MHz
• Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition Fans for a custom exhaust I modified for the roof of the case (See Images)

I have bought a Gigabyte GTX-770 OC 4GB, which should arrive in the next few days, and should give me a beast of a gaming experience. Managed to pick a new one up on eBay, during their 10% off discount thing for a reasonable price.

At this point, I've spent like $1700. I might be just over $2000 by the end of the build, not including a new monitor, keyboard and mouse.

All I need now is an SSD, and a HDD, which I plan on being a Samsung 250GB and a WD Black 1 TB respectively.

I also want a disk drive. Because I'm old skool yo.

Now, pictures! (Sorry if some are blurry. Haven't taken photos with my DSLR in months)

As this is my first PC build, I'd like your opinion.

What do you guys think?

[Bennis]

Looks good, much better than my first build!

Some advice, I see you have it on carpet. DONT BUILD ON CARPET!

Carpet can cause a static charge to build up in you. If you touch your mobo or any other circuitry part inside you will wreck it if you give it a static shock. Seen it happen twice now. thankfully not to me. I always work on a hard floor and ground myself before going inside the case.

[niZmO_Man]

I don't see carpet. I see a kitchen top/bench.

[comarcus93]

Whoa, it's been a while since I've been online.

Yeah this was on a bench. Twas all safe.

Finished the PC not too long after that post with all the parts described, and a Samsung S27D590P monitor.

Pretty stoked with it.

P.S. Anyone regularly on Steam here?

[T-Rex]

Hey Cory,

I have built a system very similar to yours. Not my first PC build but my first mini-ITX.

Bitfenix Prodigy

MSI Z97I Gaming motherboard

Corsair AX760i power supply

Core i7 4790K

Corsair H100i cpu cooler

Gigabyte GTX 780Ti Windforce OC

Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133MHz

Samsung 850 PRO 512Gb

Biggest problem I have encountered is heat buildup from the windforce GPU even though my case has the perforated side panel.

I have replaced every fan (except GPU) with Noctua fans and it is very quiet now, 5x 120mm fans total.

I will get some photos up in a day or two.

[BigDirtyJase]

Man I have built plenty of machines on carpet (well PC on a study table) I just make sure that

A) I'm wearing my anti-static wrist strap on my ankle

and

B) just touch the case just in case to ensure that I have really grounded myself

comarcus93 - Very nice build you have there...You might want to check for clearance for a optical drive since you have your radiator up top (it's hard to tell from the pics)...

Edited January 29, 2015 by BigDirtyJase

[niZmO_Man]

I'm almost always touching the case when handing PC insides. A habit I developed a while back .

Try running a GTX 760 ITX version, only one fan and condensed PCB/small heatsink. My card hits 80°C and throttles (even at fans running full blast).

[PranK]

Machine looks awesome!

P.S. Anyone regularly on Steam here?

There is a Steam thread here. Looks old though, you should try to revive it.

[comarcus93]

Thanks guys.

I actually had a system revamp recently and upgraded to a full ATX system running the following new components:

ASUS Sabretooth Mark 1 ATX Motherboard

Corsair C70 Military Green Case

Corsair RM-850 PSU

Corsair H100i CPU cooler

Corsair AF 120mm fans

Corsair white LED fans

+Custom sleeved PSU extensions from PC Case Gear (Military themed)

I need to change the RAM. Looks completely out of place.

Edited January 29, 2015 by comarcus93