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Case Mod - In Progress BitFenix Prodigy MOD Log

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by WaRn00b™, 8 Jun 2013.

  1. WaRn00b™

    WaRn00b™ bit-tech addict

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    Hey guys,

    So I posted my little 600T project here, and after I found a brand new white prodigy at a bargain price, I decided to give the M-ITX thing a go and here is my progress thus far...

    Like I mentioned in some other posts, this isn't a crazy mod in bit-tech standards, but I've put quite a bit of time into it to make it my own, so hope you enjoy. :thumb:

    Parts list:

    BitFenix Prodigy White
    ASRock Z77E-ITX
    Intel Core i7 3770k
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 8GB 1866
    EVGA GTX680 SC Signature
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SSD
    Seagate 3.5" 2TB HDD
    Samsung 2.5" 500GB HDD

    Cooling:

    Corsair H100i with 2x Swiftech Helix fans
    Corsair 200mm customized to fit the black and white theme
    BitFenix 140mm exhaust fan, customized

    Peripherals:

    SteelSeries APEX [RAW] Keyboard
    Steelseries Sensei [RAW] Mouse
    Steelseries QcK Mouse Mat

    I'm actually itching to do a custom loop again, but alas, don't have the funds, but quite possibly with my next upgrade, I'll think about throwing some proper water at it as well - unless I get a sponsor or two, but I doubt this mod is sponsor-worthy. :(

    I've been busy with this build for quite some time, so you'll notice it going through phases - it takes shape more towards the end. ;)

    Without further ado:

    All parts together, ready for the build:

    [​IMG]

    Drives in drive rack + cabling and fans ready to go, our helper kitty (Nunu) on standby to assist where she can: :p

    [​IMG]

    Stock fans removed, top HDD cage removed:

    [​IMG]

    Corsair 200mm fitted:

    [​IMG]

    Swiftech Helix 120mm Fitted:

    [​IMG]

    Old board vs the new:

    [​IMG]

    PSU fitted, HDD rack fitted, board fitted:

    [​IMG]

    Corsair H100i ready to go in:

    [​IMG]

    H100i fitted and CPU block mounted:

    [​IMG]

    EVGA GTX680 SC Signature in:

    [​IMG]

    Cables all up and running for 1st boot:

    [​IMG]

    I then received my windowed panel a couple of days later:

    [​IMG]

    Now at this stage, I just wanted to get my machine up and running, hence it isn't all that neat, and I've still got a million things planned and I was waiting for my Recon controller to come, so I was planning on rebuilding in any case - so don't mind the mess. :p

    [​IMG]

    I suffer from PC OCD, and the fact that the solid white panel of the Prodigy doesn't allow for that much airflow, and considering I replaced the meshed panel with a windowed one, I opted for changing the 120mm exhaust fan to a 140mm BitFenix fan - but they didn't come in black and white, only black or white, I also wanted to break the "all white" extended cables I had, so I ordered some black ones and this is what I came up with...

    The parts:

    [​IMG]

    Fans done:

    [​IMG]

    Cables:

    [​IMG]

    24pins done:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    All done:

    [​IMG]

    Thanks to my Sunbeamtech PSU Modding Tool Kit:

    [​IMG]

    Phone was dying, so no flash, ust a quick shot of the new fan and cabling:

    [​IMG]

    At this stage, I was still running all Razer Peripherals, with blue lighting... Imperator, BlackWidow Ultimate & Goliathus Fragged Mouse mat, and seeing that the power and hdd LEDs on the case were blue, I got these BitFenix Alchemy blue LED strips to tie everything together, as well as the Recon:

    [​IMG]

    Recon Controller:

    [​IMG]

    I was worried about the Recon and the H100i radiator not working together, so I saw quite a few guys invert the front panel, and seeing that I was going to be adding a plexi cover to the inside, this was going to work perfectly, so I came up with this design:

    [​IMG]

    So I then started ripping the whole machine apart and drilled out the rivets holding the front panel in place and inverted the panel:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I then proceeded to put everything back together, and I wasn't happy with how tightly the AX750 fits in the PSU section, so I took some "longer" Mobo Standoffs to give it some extra room:

    [​IMG]

    All assembled and working:

    [​IMG]

    I had a plexi cover made, note this is only the prototype, I will be replacing this one with a perfect laser cut version as there are quite a few mishaps that took place with this one:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I was also not happy with the airflow restriction of the default white panel, so I bought a black meshed panel which will be used later:

    [​IMG]

    With the panel's height, and Recon, I couldn't use the drive tray to hold my 2TB and 500GB 3.5" Drives, so I had to make a plan...

    I thankfully had a 2.5" 500GB drive to replace the 3.5" drive with, but the 2TB drive was an issue, so with some fiddling, I managed to fit it next to the PSU, and the 2x 2.5" drives were nicely mounted using one of my Media PC's CM 120 Advanced's dual 2.5" trays.

    Here you can see the prototype plexi panel also fitted to give it a "clean" look from the outside, and the 3.5" 2TB HDD nicely fitted next to the PSU:

    [​IMG]

    I screwed up the 24pin's individual holes completely, but the GPU and ATX 8pin came out okay, like I said, this is a prototype:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    So as I mentioned before, I have PC OCD - and the blue lighting wasn't doing it for me, so I sold all the razer peripherals and got the following...

    SteelSeries Sensei [RAW] with white LED lighting:

    [​IMG]

    SteelSeries Apex [RAW]:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    SteelSeries QcK Mouse Mat:

    [​IMG]

    I then also sanded down the silver sides of the black and silver mesh panel, cut out the honeycomb plastic behind the mesh and colour coded everything, then fitted to the case:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Temperatures came down quite a bit by doing this.

    At this stage, I had the design for custom front panel and side panels ready, so I ordered a nice black with white LED anti-vandal switch, coz hey, what's a mod without these buttons?! :p

    Soldered up and testing:

    [​IMG]

    I received the front panel:

    [​IMG]

    Testing the fit and effect:

    [​IMG]

    Ready for some spraying: :p

    [​IMG]

    Ready to be glued and fitted:

    [​IMG]

    Up and running:

    [​IMG]

    I also HATED, absolutely HATED the fact that each time I had to take the side panel off, I had to struggle with the I/O cables each time, so I cut up the long PCB and since I don't use the front USB, and dislike the FUGLY USB3 connector in the case, I discarded those, the power LED and HDD LED, and went for the following:

    Drilled out all the rivets keeping the top panel in place and drilled out the holes for the 3.5" Headphone and MIC jacks + the Power button:

    [​IMG]

    Assembled back together:

    [​IMG]

    All up and running again:

    [​IMG]

    I received my custom side panels as well, but like a complete idiot, I screwed up the measurements somehow by 5mm in turn botching the entire panel: :wallbash: :sigh:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I have however, remeasured everything and have requested new panels to be made up, this time they WILL fit. :p

    So that's it for now... I'm going to be taking some measurements of the plexi panel for the inside and have that lasercut and bend as well.

    Will update as soon as I can.

    Hope you like. :)
     
    Last edited: 8 Jun 2013
  2. Azariel

    Azariel Minimodder

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    Love how that large logo on the front looks! Did you get that lasered/machined or did you make it by hand?
     
  3. WaRn00b™

    WaRn00b™ bit-tech addict

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    Thanks very much Azariel - I had the panel laser cut - I unfortunately don't have the tools nor skill to attempt something like that. :worried:
     
  4. WaRn00b™

    WaRn00b™ bit-tech addict

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    I made a quick mock up of the interior panel:

    [​IMG]

    Final measurements of all holes to be made, then sent off to fabricators and hopefully I'll have it ready by next week. :)

    Thinking of maybe having some design laser cut in the panels as well, then have some plexi behind that, but not too sure.... :rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: 8 Jun 2013
  5. dipzy

    dipzy Minimodder

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    loving the inverted front and how you used the mobo stand offs for the psu. Cant wait to see the interior panel fitted :)
     
  6. WaRn00b™

    WaRn00b™ bit-tech addict

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    Thanks for the comments dipzy. :)

    A quick update, picked up my panels today, they seem to be right, need some fine tuning though, so will get cracking with this and update as soon as I can.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. suragh

    suragh Derp

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    Looks awesome! I get super excited when people Mod the bitfenix prodigy.
     
  8. WaRn00b™

    WaRn00b™ bit-tech addict

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    Thanks. :) Glad you like it.

    I wish I had the funds to do a crazy acrylic tubing loop, but alas, for now this will have to do. Trying my best with what I've got. :p
     
  9. WaRn00b™

    WaRn00b™ bit-tech addict

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    A small update:

    I fiddled with the panels, and got everything fitting nicely, the thumb screw holes are perfect, etc. but since the original bitfenix panels are 1mm and then folded double in the front, I will have to add another 1.2mm plate to fill the gap nicey, I will have these "filler plates" made up along with the interior panel.

    But for a quick preview of what it looks like (apologies for the pics, but my phone's battery was low, so no flash, but you get the just of it) :

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Ripitup121

    Ripitup121 MMMMMMm watercooling....

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    Super Mod WaRn00b™, nice attention to detail and those custom panals came out epic. Good job :thumb:
     
  11. WaRn00b™

    WaRn00b™ bit-tech addict

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    Thanks Ripitup121!! I sent off the measurements for the custom interior panel today, so hopefully I'll have it sorted by next week, then I can start the final assembly.

    I'm reaaaaaaaalllllllly thinking about doing a custom loop in here now as well, so let's see.. :p
     
  12. WaRn00b™

    WaRn00b™ bit-tech addict

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    Hey guys... my photobucket account ran out of bandwidth, will have to upgrade - will try sort it out asap.

    *EDIT - All sorted again. :p
     
    Last edited: 14 Jun 2013
  13. WaRn00b™

    WaRn00b™ bit-tech addict

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    Hey guys... I finally got the interior panel from the steel place, test fitted last night and it's not bad... think once it's sprayed and everything is put back together it will look really nice. :)

    Here is a pic of the test fit:

    [​IMG]

    I should have some time this weekend to paint and hopefully get all the parts ready - then I just need to have the side panel plexi made up and fitted. :)

    Will update as soon as I can. :)
     
  14. WaRn00b™

    WaRn00b™ bit-tech addict

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    Hey guys, it's been a while, I've actually been done with the build for quite some time.

    Here is a final update for those interested:

    Painted the interior panel:

    [​IMG]

    This project was a real pain with the interior panel, as I had to squeeze everything in there and make sure everything is correctly connected before I could fasten the motherboard, but it came out quite nice I think.

    Everything back together and test fitting the custom side panels:

    [​IMG]

    I then had some plexi cut - I had normal clear and some smoked/tinted ones:

    [​IMG]

    I decided to go with the smoked/tinted windows as it gives a nice effect and ties in with the rest of the look and feel of the case pretty well:

    PC powered down:

    [​IMG]

    PC powered up with flash on:

    [​IMG]

    PC powered up with flash off (effect is quite a bit nicer in real life):

    [​IMG]

    So that's it... done for now with this case - I've got my eye on the Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 - I'll see once it becomes available in South Africa what they cost and see if I can afford a platform upgrade and then going with a custom loop again as well.

    Hope you guys like my prodigy though.
     
  15. CdnGhost

    CdnGhost What's a Dremel?

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    would you mind sharing the dimensions used for this panel? for some reason i have messed up my measurements twice and am getting frustrated...

    I love how clean the interior looks and want to do something fairly similar only differances will be hoping to put a water cooling loop in this case...

    Thanks in advance!
     
  16. uplink

    uplink What's a Dremel?

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    I too would love those dimensions, but how did you mount the recon at the bottom, in the pics it looks like its just sitting there not mounted at all?
     

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