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The Dark Prodigy - A Batman themed HTPC Build (VIDEO UPDATE)

UPDATES: POST 14 - CLICK HERE

UPDATES #2: POST 18 - CLICK HERE

UPDATES #4 - Youtube Video of the complete build!

 




Hey guys,

Here's another one of my current builds... This one is my HTPC. (you can check out my main rig here)

Specs:
Case: Bitfenix Prodigy
Mobo: Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI mITX
CPU: Intel i3 3220
Ram: HyperX 2X4GB 1600mhz (low Profile)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 120GB
PSU: Corsiar HX520
GPU: XFX 7950 Core Edmition
CPU Cooler: EKWB Supremacy DAZMODE Edition  

Res/Pump combo: EKWB 5.25" 

Radiator: EKWB 240mm
Case Fans:Corsair AF120 Performance Edition (Back - Exhaust)

Rad Fans: Corsiar SP120 Performance Edition (top - Intake)

First think I did was pop the rivets and rotated the front panel.. I donno why I think it looks bat ass that way lol

Took out the plain metal side panel and put in a full plexi side panel instead :) using magnets to hold it in place. I Threw on a little tint on the glass since I couldn't get my hands on a smoked piece of plexi

DSC01162_zps635f911c.jpg


DSC01179_zps247b01fd.jpgDSC01196_zps9487fb82.jpg

XFX 7950 Core Edition (for a little light gaming :)
DSC01178_zps341b4c91.jpgDSC01173_zps6b0fb14b.jpgDSC01205_zps11f70edb.jpg

Check out my Rigs: Obi-Wan Shinobi & HTPC: The Dark Prodigy

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Could you please explain what exactly an HTPC is? I have seen it now and again, but I never got it. Why is there no storage drive?

 

Looks nice anyway :)

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Could you please explain what exactly an HTPC is? I have seen it now and again, but I never got it. Why is there no storage drive?

 

Looks nice anyway :)

Home theater pc which is basically a small form factor pc that you put in your living room

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Home theater pc which is basically a small form factor pc that you put in your living room

Ah, yes. And you stream form an external storage solution?

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Ah, yes. And you stream form an external storage solution?

I think some people do but you don't have to it just saves space in really small for factor builds

| 3570k @ 4.4.ghz | Hyper 212 evo | 8GB (2x4GB) 1600mhz Corsair Vengeance | Gigabyte Z77X UD3H | Corsair CX750M | Corsair 300R | OCZ 240GB SSD | Seagate 1TB 7200rpm HDD | Asus DCUII 7950 @1150mhz core 1600mhz mem

| BenQ XL2411T | Corsair Vengeance K60 | Logitech G700 | steelseries Qck+ | Fiio E10 | Zalman clip on mic | HD 598 | ATH-M50 |

 

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With that "window" side panel aint your card starving for air?

<p>Eryi's Action Rule#2 - "Dont jump on the green mushroom"

Ministry of StopIt!

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Home theater pc which is basically a small form factor pc that you put in your living room

 

This. :) I have a 2TB HDD drive hooked up to my router and I just feed media off of that.. plus netflix, youtube etc.

 

With that "window" side panel aint your card starving for air?

 

Not at all. I originally bought the windowed side panel which also doesn't have any opening :) 

 

E.G

 

bitfenix_prodigy_side_windows.jpg

 

 

Plus the side panel is not up right against the card

Check out my Rigs: Obi-Wan Shinobi & HTPC: The Dark Prodigy

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looks really good man!

 

can you give me some feedback about that videocard ? what do you think of xfx models...

 

i've heard some ppl complaining about alot of coil noise on xfx.. and i did bought a xfx 7850 for my nephew and in some games, when the card goes abova 60fps like in menus and ingame cutscenes it does alot of coil noise.

 

Do you have any experience of that with your gpu or heard anything about that ?

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That looks really great, very nice and clean for a prodigy build.

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Nice pictures :)

6600K  |  16GB HYPERX  |  GTX1070 FE  |  Z170X-UD3  |  AIR540

Respect the past, Embrace the future.

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This. :) I have a 2TB HDD drive hooked up to my router and I just feed media off of that.. plus netflix, youtube etc.

 

 

Not at all. I originally bought the windowed side panel which also doesn't have any opening :)

 

E.G

 

 

 

 

Plus the side panel is not up right against the card

Still its limited to getting the air. I till i wont go with watercooled card i dont even think of window panel for my Prodigy. Those "stock" cutouts are one of the best designs ive seen in cases.

<p>Eryi's Action Rule#2 - "Dont jump on the green mushroom"

Ministry of StopIt!

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Still its limited to getting the air. I till i wont go with watercooled card i dont even think of window panel for my Prodigy. Those "stock" cutouts are one of the best designs ive seen in cases.

 

Well I orginally wanted to watercool that card but I can't because this is a revised PCB (still based on 7950 PCB) but they moved some caps around and a waterblock wont fit

 

Plus that "GHOST Thermal Design"  helps a bit with the air flow of that card. It's getting plenty of air... like I said, the side panel is not right up against the card and you have a 230mm fan pushing a good amount of air into the case.

 

If I notice the card getting hot I can always add 2x120mm fans into the top of the case.... or simply remove the side panel since its only held on by magnets ;)

 

sc_b007a44t42-01ghostlg.jpg

Check out my Rigs: Obi-Wan Shinobi & HTPC: The Dark Prodigy

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looks really good man!

 

can you give me some feedback about that videocard ? what do you think of xfx models...

 

i've heard some ppl complaining about alot of coil noise on xfx.. and i did bought a xfx 7850 for my nephew and in some games, when the card goes abova 60fps like in menus and ingame cutscenes it does alot of coil noise.

 

Do you have any experience of that with your gpu or heard anything about that ?

 

I was a bit worried about ordering the card at first.. because after reading some feedback about the card, A LOT of people were saying it was a bad card and had to RMA them... but after they had RMA'd them, the new cards were simply awesome.. The card was on sale for $200 after rebate so I couldn't resist! Great price. 

 

When I got the card I realized it was a revised card (like a 2nd gen version of the card) and Ive had it for 2 weeks with no issue with it. I honestly Cant hear any coil noise but again I haven't really pushed the card to the limits yet and I really haven't paid attention to any noise but I cant hear any :)

Check out my Rigs: Obi-Wan Shinobi & HTPC: The Dark Prodigy

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  • 6 months later...

Hey guys... 

 

When I upgraded my water cooling components for main rig (Obi-Wan-Shinobi) I figured what the hell... I have a 2x5.25" res/pump combo laying around, an old rad and tubing... why not water cool the CPU in my HTPC....

 

So I took it down to the lab and ripped it apart :D Plan was to use my primochill tubing I had laying around with the compression fittings i also have... but I thinking about it...............i'm just going to order some acrylic tubing and fittings instead since I gotta order a CPU block anyway LOL

 

While I was working... I have a batman bubble head staring at me shaking his head...so that gave me another idea.... to make it a Batman themed colors LOL So the color scheme is going to be mostly black, some grey and a hint of yellow :)

 

Pics of progress :)

 

First things first...Rip out the power supply and sleeve 24-pin cables

 

20140405_132956_zps4a7468f3.jpg 20140405_164114_zps5e69ab1c.jpg

 

Than I shortened the SATA and molex cables (Because everyone knows when you have a Prodigy case... you have NO ROOM for cable management (PS.. Ignore the PCI-E power cable.. that's gone, I have proper cables)

 

20140405_192103_zpse5924dd2.jpg

 

To give me more room behind the PSU, I used motherboard tray standoffs to give me a little more room... so people buy spacers... but this gave me enough room... annnd they are actually aligned now so it looks better :) This picture was more of a test fit.

 

I also cut out the plastic mesh part out for better airflow 

 

20140405_200101_zps27cc5fa9.jpg 20140405_203627_zpsf216648a.jpg

 

Decided to paint a logo on the top mesh of the case

 

20140406_134849_zpsc390943c.jpg 20140406_135555_zps1edbc845.jpg

 

A little over spray over the top right wing..but I'll clean it up eventually :)

 

                                  20140406_205426_zpscc8232b7.jpg

 

As I said before... Hint of yellow here and here (The red strip mounts on top of the card)

 

20140406_140642_zps1376cfce.jpg 20140406_140653_zpsef4f1160.jpg

 

like so.... 

 

20140406_204700_zps11f8167a.jpg

 

For the 2x5.25" Res/Pump combo I have the EKWB with the 2.2 DCP Pump but I HHAATTTTEEEE the haze on the glass..... So I began to polish :)

 

ek-bay_dcp_2.2_combo_reservoir_01.jpg 20140406_181032_zps4f649947.jpg

 

I polished my EK Supremacy CPU Block on my main rig (If you haven't seen my rig yet... go check it out :) It was 'Build of the week'.. #JustSay :)

 

 

 

I know what you're thinking..."But Elias... The Bitfenix Prodigy doesn't have dual 5.25" bays... it only has a single... How on earth is it going to fit?" 

 

 

 

Stay by for that.... (Noo I'm not cutting the front of my case incase you're wondering haha)

 

Hope you guys Like what I've done thus far!

Check out my Rigs: Obi-Wan Shinobi & HTPC: The Dark Prodigy

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Awesome!

  i5 4440, 8GB 1600 mhz, Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H, SX900 128gb SSD, 850w 80+ Gold, FD R4, 270

 

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Sorry if you already explained this, but what type of magnets did you use to hold the acrylic? I've ordered the parts for my acrylic tubing prodigy build and a full acrylic panel would be ideal. Cheers

i7 4770k  ¬ MSI Z87-M Gaming ¬ Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1866Mhz ¬ R9 290x Crossfire ¬ Corsair 350D ¬ Corsair RM 1000

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Sorry if you already explained this, but what type of magnets did you use to hold the acrylic? I've ordered the parts for my acrylic tubing prodigy build and a full acrylic panel would be ideal. Cheers

Honestly I just used fridge magnets... like those 'domino's' business card ones... cut them up and used very slim 2 way tape to mount them..

 

you can buy magnets strips at hardware stores which would be a better idea because they are a stronger hold

 

I know I've seen a few guys get this tiny circle magnets that work wonders too

Check out my Rigs: Obi-Wan Shinobi & HTPC: The Dark Prodigy

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Here's a few more updates

 

Painted my Corsair SP120 fan rings painted 

 

20140409_172834_zps29862c8a.jpg

 

Mounted my Recon fan controller in the PSU bay area. Held up by 2 screws on the top of the fan controller through the mobo tray

 

20140409_133005_zpse1fdf24c.jpg

 

EKWB Res/Pump mounted next to it :) Nice & Flush fit

 

20140409_172342_zpsdc89b478.jpg

 

some temples I used for painting the logo's / Piece of Acrylic as a cover underneath the fan controller

 

20140409_150540_zpsc69426ec.jpg  20140409_150556_zpsb8f2177c.jpg 

 

BAMM!!!!!! / Picture of it in place...

 

20140409_161911_zps889015ae.jpg 20140409_162034_zps0d6d21f0.jpg

 

Better picture with a flash light... 

 

20140409_162055_zpsb7dac158.jpg

 

and finally I painted the I/O shield with Plasti-dip

 

20140409_165421_zpsfbb268bd.jpg  20140409_172547_zps1d7a9ee6.jpg

Check out my Rigs: Obi-Wan Shinobi & HTPC: The Dark Prodigy

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Here's a few more updates

 

Painted my Corsair SP120 fan rings painted 

 

20140409_172834_zps29862c8a.jpg

What sort of paint did you use? when i hopefully get a Corsair 750D i might paint the SP/AF fans either green or orange.

 

Our Grace. The Feathered One. He shows us the way. His bob is majestic and shows us the path. Follow unto his guidance and His example. He knows the one true path. Our Saviour. Our Grace. Our Father Birb has taught us with His humble heart and gentle wing the way of the bob. Let us show Him our reverence and follow in His example. The True Path of the Feathered One. ~ Dimboble-dubabob III

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I used krylon Fusion because it says it bonds to plastic without priming or sanding..... It doesn't bond to plastic lol I had to sand them down, prime them and than paint

Check out my Rigs: Obi-Wan Shinobi & HTPC: The Dark Prodigy

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I used krylon Fusion because it says it bonds to plastic without priming or sanding..... It doesn't bond to plastic lol I had to sand them down, prime them and than paint

man it looks very vibrant which is good

Our Grace. The Feathered One. He shows us the way. His bob is majestic and shows us the path. Follow unto his guidance and His example. He knows the one true path. Our Saviour. Our Grace. Our Father Birb has taught us with His humble heart and gentle wing the way of the bob. Let us show Him our reverence and follow in His example. The True Path of the Feathered One. ~ Dimboble-dubabob III

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Looking very nice! Is the Prodigy easy to work with so far? Would you have changed cases if giving the choice now?

 

Nice sleeving btw

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Looking very nice! Is the Prodigy easy to work with so far? Would you have changed cases if giving the choice now?

Nice sleeving btw

Naahhh i love the prodigy! Its a bit challenging at times to do cable management because its pretty tight but there is always a work around... Actually a fun case to work on

Check out my Rigs: Obi-Wan Shinobi & HTPC: The Dark Prodigy

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  • 5 months later...

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