Pukka

So, I just got off the phone with NewEgg support, and their advice is to just pop it open and go for it. If it turns out to be DoA, then they'll honor their 30-day RMA period and replace it outright for me. So, yay?

Well, I'm waiting in NewEgg's call-queue thing, so I'll be sure to update this with whatever NewEgg tells me to do with the thing.

FedEx really beat the crap out of this box. I don't know if I could even manage damage like this myself! What do you say, should I keep it closed and send it back to NewEgg? Or should I open it up and see if it works?

@venturizhou Sorry, I think my post was long enough to be pretty confusing. I'm intending to chop up my case so that it's a little prettier, and much smaller. Basically, making myself a Prodigy with a Node 304 esque internal layout, using the material from the old MacPro case.

Hey all, I was hoping to get some help from the LinusTechTips forums on an idea that I've had bouncing around in my head. So here goes: I'm sort of fascinated by SFF builds, especially ones that don't compromise on power in the form factor that they have. So I'd been looking around, and my top choices for a case boiled down to the Corsair 250D, ye olde Bitfenix Prodigy, and the Fractal Design Node 304. My issue is that I'm not particularly wild about any of these cases. So, I stumbled across a build log that was putting water cooling and modern hardware in an old Mac Pro chassis (one of the ones from around '06). So, my next though: Why couldn't I do something like that? It's thick enough aluminum that I could cut it up without being super-worried. So my main issue: the space between the two aluminum side-panels is only 20cm. My question for you guys: Is that enough space to squeeze a dual-slot graphics card in with an mITX board? Horizontally, of course, like the cases I mentioned above. When I get home I'll hash out the plan for it a little more, maybe even sketch a diagram. Is this something that you guys would be interested Is seeing a build log of as well?

Hmmh, Suika, it seems as though the easiest thing to do is to put a 230mm or 200mm fan in the bottom as exhaust, and run the rest as intakes. If I had it my way, I'd be buying a BitFenix Spectre Pro 230mm for the bottom. In addition to that, two 120mm Noctua S12A FLX fans on the top, as intake, to get the graphics cards as much air as possible. No sense in trying to right the intake of the GPU cooler with an exhaust, right? (Well, maybe not, I'm no expert!). Finally, feeding the CPU cooler, which could point downwards the exhaust towards the 230mm fan, sucking that hot air right out of the case. It is always worrisome, exhausting hot air out the bottom of a case, because it has nowhere to go. The 230mm BitFenix Spectre Pro fan pushes about 156 CFM, so I wouldn't expect that it'd be a huge issue... hopefully. That being said, I'm pretty sure that it isn't the most efficient way to cool this case, but that's what I think would give the best cooling. Just an idea though, hopefully I helped. EDIT: Having just taken a look to see if I could find internal pictures of the mATX Colossus, or even pictures of how far the feet are off the ground... I can't seem to find anything on the mATX version at all. The BitFenix press-release on the Colossus cases, both mATX and mITX seem like they're pictures of the mITX version of the case. Right now, you're asking a question about a product that may or may not exist! The way that BitFenix has been releasing cases though, I think it's safe to assume that the mATX version will be the same insides as the Prodigy and Phenom, which this layout would work well for.

@Suika, once you've lived with it for a little bit, can you post results? I'm very interested building in one of these cases, but it seems like cooling would be their weakest point.

@shirokado, I know that you've already said that you have a cooler and the mobo, but I thought that it'd be worth considering an Intel NUC. Those things are really, really small. Plus, they come with a i5-4250U, which, given the uses that you've described, sounds like it'd be enough. Anandtech has an great review of the NUC here: http://anandtech.com/show/7566/intels-haswell-nuc-d54250wyk-ucff-pc-review The only thing to keep in mind is that it /is/ are barebones PC. The biggest NUC that you can buy supports *gasp* a 2.5" drive! Realistically though, you'll be buying (expensive) SO-DIMM RAM, a 1.8" SSD drive, and what will likely be a wireless card as well, in order to complete the build. Not that the wireless card is necessary at all, but it seems like a no-brainer. Just my two cents, best of luck in your hunt for a case!

In my mind, the basic trade-off between the Prodigy and the 350D is design, layout, and size. I'm typing fron my phone though, and I don't have any numbers in front of me, so take all this with a grain of salt. Design, for me, all boils down to traditional versus kinda-wonky. The Prodigy M is obviously on the wonky side, as is demonstrated by the picture above. To cable-manage in that case, you'll probably need to get a bit creative with zip-ties. As someone who likes building things and the challenge that entails, this appeals to me, but eh, your choice. The 350D is definitely easier to put together a system in Size! You're building an mATX system, so this is naturaly on your mind. The Prodigy Series and the 350D are actually pretty similar in terms of size (I think, don't quote me on that please D:). The reason for this are those handles on the Prodigy. Because of this, the Prodigy is much more cramped than the 350D, internally. Personally, I prefer having the handles, but again, your mileage may vary. Layout is ultimately what sets the two cases apart from eachother. The handles and sizeof the Prodigy necessitates some pretty imaginative assembly in it, and thermals might suffer slightly. Then again, unless you're planning on overclocking or running an unusually hot GPU (e.g. the 290(x)), I wouldn't imagine that the thermals in either case would be deal-breaking. In terms of ease-of-use, the Corsair 350D probably wins out with it's more spacious interior and traditional layout. Personally, I vote for the Prodigy M, just because I'm a total sucker for how cool and unusual it is. X3 Hopefully I helped! <3 Pukka

My pleasure @TheArchitect, I'm glad that I was able to help you a bit! I'm thinking of picking up that case for a build that's been tumbling around in my head. Do you have any thoughts on the way that the PSU is managed, in terms of length? I'm very much interested in it.

Hah, makes sense I suppose. Also, if I'm only running one graphics card in those cases, I think that the extra space between the card and the side panel would make it easier for the GPU to actually get air, rather than being smushed against the side in a Phenom. Ah, I didn't think of that at all! I was thinking about it the other way around, with the bottom as an intake. Actually, the design does make a ton more sense now, though I would be a little worried about using a bottom exhaust on the Phenom, because it's so close to the ground. That does make a ton more sense in the Prodigy though. Danke!

Hmm, that's an interesting thought. Do you know how difficult modifying the tubing on an AIO cooler would be? Or would I just be better off going for something like a Coolermaster Prestige, where the tubing is made to be disconnected? Hmm, I would tend to agree there, but those cases both have solid side-panels over where the GPU would intake air... Hmm, maybe with the added width for an mATX board, then the GPU would have more breathing room. Thanks very much, @airdeano!

Heya all! A quick background on myself: Well, I'm brand-new to the forums, and I'm thinking (or fantasizing) about a build that I'd like to try. Being only a junior in high school, most of this depends on money that's going to be earned in the summer, and who knows where parts are going to be then. The case though, I may or may not be picking up, depending on if there's a post-holidays sale on it. Anyways, onto the real question. My intention is to build an mITX system in a Bitfenix Phenom M, with a single AIO cooler for the CPU and one of the new 290 or 290x cards. Hopefully they will have aftermarket designs for them by the time I'm building (Maybe even a Direct CUII card!). "Why a Phenom M?" I've been asked. Well, my rationale is fairly simple (I think). While I do really like the design for the Phenom cases, much more than that of Bitfenix's Prodigy line, I just can't understand how Bitfenix thought that a completely blank side panel was going to give a graphics card air. Looking at the Phenom M, however, I see that the card draws air from the top of the case, just below the 5.25" drive bay. Now that all that's out of the way, my question is, would a 120mm fan in that intake, blowing into the graphics card, be the best solution? That's the only thing that I can think of that would provide direct airflow to the card, unfortunately. Right off the bat this doesn't seem to be a real problem, but if I were to also use the 230mm fan at the bottom as an intake, wouldn't that be an absurd about of positive pressure? Given how the only other outlet for the system would be a 140mm AIO cooler (much like the Corsair H90), it seems like a problem. TL;DR: I'm trying to use a mATX case for an mITX build, and I'm worried about keeping components cool while maintaining a reasonable balance in pressure. Let me know if there's a much better case for the kind of thing that I'm thinking about doing, or if I'm being outrageously stupid, please! ^^ Best, Pukka P.S. Sorry for all that text! D: EDIT: Any opinions on the Xigmatek Aquila?

@Th3Architect, I joined the fourms just to chime in on this, actually. ^^ I don't know how useful I'm going to be, given how this thread is a bit old, In terms of airflow, especially if your graphics card suffers from heat, then the perforated side panel on the Prodigy should help with that problem. That having been said, I'd say that you might want to check out the Phenom M. The 230mm intake has been moved to the bottom of the case, freeing it of the restrictive front pannel intake (though this is the same in the Prodigy M). This intake blows air right over the CPU , which, with a H100i, would provide a direct line for fresh air onto your GPU. Using an mITX mobo with this case is probably desirable anyway, given how the top expansion slot blocks off the 2x120mm intake. Ultimately though, using either -M case isn't optimal if you have to use 3.5" drives. The Phenom M has one space for them, in the unused 5.25" bay, but it is a potential deal breaker. Hopefully I was at least a little helpful! Best, Pukka