Project Frankenstein - It's Alive! BitFenix Prodigy, custom liquidcooled mash-up

[Random_her0]

 

This one should hopefully be interesting, and a little different.

I've done enough PC builds in my life that I've accumulated a metric sh!t-tonne of spare bits and bobs which were jettisoned from a build for one reason or another (upgrades, mostly). Because of this, I've come to realise that I easily have enough components lying around to put something together hence the name - Frankenstein.

 

Now, I have no intentions of making this build ugly, in fact quite the opposite. I plan to spend a lot of time and effort into making some really nice. If you are interested in seeing another build of mine, I recommend you check out Vulpes or my website Metamorphosis-Computers and you should see that I really like to embrace the more artistic side of PC building, rather than pure function.

 

I'll put the full list of components here at a later date when I have some more time, but scroll down to see what I'm starting with. Should be fun!

 

 

Chapters

A Motley Crew of Components

Tubing Up

The PSU

[Random_her0]

*Reserved for Final Build*

[Random_her0]

Here are some of the parts I'll be working with. A true motley crew of components!

 

The case! A battered BitFenix Prodigy

 

GPU: AMD R9 290 with an EKWB full block.

 

Some more internals:

 

Rads Will be EKWB Coolstreams. 2x240

 

Not entirely sure on which res I'll go with, but it'll be one of these on top a DDC pump.

 

Fans? Probably these Corsair SP120 Performance

 

Reasonable selection of Mayhem's tho choose from. The Frankenstein logo should hint towards what I'll end up choosing

 

And finally, the fittings. I'll be going for hard-tubing in this build

 

Lots more to come soon!

[Timopomer]

looks cool as of now interested where this is going

subbed

[SuperPug]

Why you be puttin dat baller system in dat busted ass case? Also, I wanna steal your box of fittings.

[Random_her0]

Why you be puttin dat baller system in dat busted ass case? Also, I wanna steal your box of fittings.

 

Fittings are so damned expensive they're probably worth more than the other components. Always cry a bit when making an order for Bitspower stuff.

As for the case: I have some ideas, no way in hell I'm leaving it like that. Front panel is gone FOR SURE. Custom acrylic work will need to be done I suspect.

[nchilds98]

I'm trying to imagine how you're going to do cable management in this case, not a fan after I helped my friend build in an orange Prodigy AKA "The Pumpkin"

[Random_her0]

I'm trying to imagine how you're going to do cable management in this case, not a fan after I helped my friend build in an orange Prodigy AKA "The Pumpkin"

It's a bit of a pain, but cutting cables to the correct length will help. Will probably also grab a shorter Silverstone PSU for the additional space

[Random_her0]

Update 1- Tubing Up

 

Had some spare time today and messed around with some fittings and tubing orientations. 

I initially started with a fitting heavy aesthetic but quickly decided it looked a bit too clunky and mish-mashy. This build may be named Frankenstein, but that's more of a concept than a design goal!... sorry big guy, nothing personal but you're UGLY.

 

Instead I've settled on a tubing heavy look, with some bends. Bending hard tubing can be a bit daunting at first, but you get the hang of it pretty quickly. I still make the occasional mistake so it's always good to have plenty at hand.

 

I'm happy with the result and expect I'll keep it like this:

 

Next thing I'll need to work on will be the PSU and ... cable management

As far as m-itx cases go the prodigy is reasonable to cable manage, but there are some things that can make it much easier. 1) extra short PSU 2) custom cables cut to length. 

 

Until next time!

[asusfan]

looking very nice so far, a lot of hard work gone into this.

[Random_her0]

looking very nice so far, a lot of hard work gone into this.

Thanks! But a lot more work to go.

[thekeemo]

what is the CPU?

[Random_her0]

what is the CPU?

 

There's a 3570k I had lying around inside.

[Random_her0]

 

Update 2 - The PSU

 

Just a quick update. The PSU has arrived, and it's a beaut. I went for the the SilverStone Strider Plus 700W. Few reasons that this particular model was chosen.

1. SilverStone is an incredibly reliable brand, and cheaping out on a PSU is something you must NEVER do. You need something that will deliver sufficient, controlled, clean power to all your components, or else you're putting them in jeopardy and suddenly the $30 you saved on the PSU is costing hundreds.
2. The PSU alcove in the Prodigy is a bit of a squeeze, but this PSU has a depth of only 140mm which means I should have ample space for cable management, even with custom sleeved cables which are much less flexible on average.
3. It's fully modular - a must for most m-itx cases. You simply don't have enough room in a lot of them to deal with a huge mass of unnecessary cables.
4. It's very reasonably priced. For a build which is supposed to be made entirely of spare parts, I was never going to spend a lot of $$$ to pad it out. This PSU cost me under $100 USD.

A couple of pictures have been attached below. Not many as you know what a PSU looks like. Chances are I'm going to do a little paint work on the side, but I also have some other ideas with custom stickers and possible acrylic work, so we'll see.

 

[Random_her0]

 

Sorry I haven't updated in a while! Been busy on other projects and just chipping away at this when time permitted. 

Progress has been made, however. 

 

Here's a little update pic. Cat + PC = good times

 

Also completely rearranged the internals and began some new tubing routing. There's some custom acrylic work done on the inside, but LOADS more to be done on the exterior, particularly the front panel and to cover the externally mounted fans.

I've actually become really happy with how it's turned out, so I'll probably end up bumping up the graphics to something beefier. 980Ti or AMD Fury. I'll probably put it to a vote on here, so stay tuned for that