Mediocre Terrors: Y.A.P.B.L. (Yet Another Prodigy Build Log) UPDATE: Complete

[James.]

UPDATE: The Build is now Complete (for now at least)

 

My case is dark, and full of somewhat terrifying terrors.

I know butchered the quote, but I had to include it somehow...

 

Anyway, So I know I should probably finish my last computer build (this one), but It's currently on hold until I finish the computer I am building for my father, which is using the same parts, but is in a motorcycle engine instead of the PS1. I hope to eventually post a build log of it, however I'd like to see if it would actually work before posting it, unlike what I did with my last Build Log. On to the Current build, about 2 months ago, I decided I actually wanted to upgrade and get a smaller, more compact, and more easy to carry around pc for when I head off to University. So with that in mind, I decided on this build:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($239.75 @ Vuugo)

CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.79 @ DirectCanada)

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($99.99 @ NCIX)

Memory:  Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($79.99 @ Memory Express)

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($108.15 @ DirectCanada)

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)

Video Card:  EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($259.99 @ Newegg Canada)

Case:  BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($49.99 @ NCIX)

Case Fan:  Scythe Gentle Typhoon 57.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($19.99 @ NCIX)

Case Fan:  Scythe Gentle Typhoon 57.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($19.99 @ NCIX)

Power Supply:  Silverstone Strider Essential 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($56.41 @ DirectCanada)

Total: $1034.03

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-04 13:34 EST-0500)

 

Only with one small change. Originally, I had wanted to go with the Node 304, however the prodigy was on sale, and so I decided to save $40 and go with it. Also, the fans, cooler, power supply, hard drive and ram were from the pc I am upgrading from. 

 

With that out of the way, on to the pictures.

 

Part I : The Components

 

Lets Start with the Motherboard,

 

 

It may not be the best Mini-itx motherboard in the world, but it works, can overclock, and has WiFi as well as Bluetooth connectivity so it works for me. Can't say I really like the placement of the cpu socket though. Its seems like it will make my plan of having a hyper 212 with gentle typhoons in push/pull an impossibility though. Maybe I should end up getting myself something like a h100i or a h80i for Christmas? 

 

Next up is the 760.

 

 

Its a nice enough looking card, however i was expecting something a little smaller, based off of the size of my friend's DirectCU II 760. As for how the two look together, 

I'd say they look pretty good.

 

Everyone knows what the Prodigy is, so I won't waste my time typing about it, but here are some pictures. I have to say though, I would have though it would have been a bit bigger.

 

 

 

I couldn't really get any good pictures of the ssd on its own, so here it is with my cat. Personally I think the cat looks better, but the ssd looks pretty good itself.

 

 

Unfortunately, no good pictures of the CPU, and the rest of the parts are in the computer I'm typing this on, so they can't really have their pictures taken. Now, its time to build this computer, I'll update this when I'm done building it.

[Youbetternot]

Why is the light yellow, anyways can't wait to see it built

 

This picture is awesome. a cat showing off a product. It's like buy it before I kill you.

[nkucz]

Looks good, kind of like my build! 

My Build: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/80261-shangri-la-itx-r9-290-prodigy-build-nkucz/

[Analog]

This looks promising. Can't wait to see more pictures!

[James.]

Why is the light yellow, anyways can't wait to see it built

 

 

This picture is awesome. a cat showing off a product. It's like buy it before I kill you.

 

The light's yellow due to a combination of the Florescent lighting in the room, and some strange white balance settings on my camera. I tried to reduce it as much as I could, since it was really bad before I made some edits to those photos. 

 

Looks good, kind of like my build! 

My Build: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/80261-shangri-la-itx-r9-290-prodigy-build-nkucz/

 

I does, only your build will be much more high end.

[nkucz]

I does, only your build will be much more high end.

Eh, only the Video Card is different for the most part. How does the black PCB on the motherboard look? Mine should be here very soon Also, not sure if that cooler will fit do to the fact that the CPU socket is so close to the PCI slot, I would recommend the H80i although expensive.

[James.]

Eh, only the Video Card is different for the most part. How does the black PCB on the motherboard look? Mine should be here very soon Also, not sure if that cooler will fit do to the fact that the CPU socket is so close to the PCI slot, I would recommend the H80i although expensive.

 

I personally love the look of the black PCB. Also, I guessed as much would happen with the CPU cooler, but there's no real harm in trying to see if it fits.

[nkucz]

I personally love the look of the black PCB. Also, I guessed as much would happen with the CPU cooler, but there's no real harm in trying to see if it fits.

This is true! Let me know how it goes!

[Mightybaal]

I have the board and the hyper 212 does not fit as the GPU is to close to the CPU. Spin it around and the ram is in the way.  I went with a seidon 120 until i can afford a custom cooling solution.

[James.]

UPDATE: The Build is now Complete (for now at least)
 
To start off, I was going to post an update last night, but the computer I was going to use to upload it was kinda in pieces...
 
Part II: Mid Build
 
Also, due to me being really tired while building the computer, since I worked on it from basically 9-12:30 last night there is not many pictures of the computer mid-build. There is this though.

(ITS ALIVE!)
 
Part III: The Computer is Finally Complete
 
Now for the part which most people look for (or at the very least which I do), pictures of the completed build. Also for these, I found a better lit location to take some pictures, so hopefully no more yellow lighting. Let's start with the front of the case shall we?
 

 
I like it personally. Also, as for that EVGA badge,
 

 
I think it looks amazing with the Bitfenix logo. Additionally, it's probably the only sticker I would ever put on my case. Flipping the case to the back,
 

 
Nothing really special is there. Mainly it's just included for completeness. Time to open it up shall we?
 
\
 
Starting with the video card side, I'd say it looks nice, and the cable management isn't that bad. Unfortunately that will not last, but those pictures will come later. Time to take a closer look at the parts on this side first.
 

 
Starting with the video card. Though it's bigger than I thought it would be, I like it. It's fairly quiet, runs cool (idles at around 28 degrees Celsius), and it looks good. Next up is the storage,
 

 
I never though a SSD would make the difference it would, but wow, the difference in boot times between it and the hard drive is really impressive.
 

 
I feel a little bad for putting a gentle typhoon there, but it had no where else to go, and I figured a pressure oriented fan would be good for blowing air over the cramped space of the drive cages. Now on to the back, and the terror of my cable management...
 

 
Another picture of all the cables.
 

 
I can't really say much about this, besides the fact that I should really get a modular power supply. Looking more closely at the back,
 

 
One can see that I obviously do not have the hyper 212 installed. The main reason for this was simply that after I tested to see if the computer would post, I was tired and decided to just stick with the stock cooler for now, and then buy a liquid cooler for my cpu sometime in the future. Another thing of interest at the back in my mind would my terribly placed fan controllers, so why not have a photo?
 

 
Anyone have any suggestions on what to replace these with? they are not that bad, just really bulky, once the cables are tied up. One last thing, installing Windows.
 

 
All that work of getting the cables somewhat organized, all gone out the window.
 
If anyone wants to see an album of the photos, they can be found here.
 
Part IV: Conclusions.
 
Did I learn anything building this? I'd say I learned a couple of things. For example, I learned that Mini-ITX board are a bit of a pain to work with, and I learned just how much I wished I had a modular power supply. Speaking of which, anyone know any good sub $100 mudular power supplies, along with any good fan controllers, and good, but also somewhat cheap liquid coolers? Thanks.

[TicTac]

wow the cables look like my spaghetti party

[James.]

wow the cables look like my spaghetti party

 

Well I can definitely see how you can make that connection, as they do look really messy.

[superducky94]

Part IV: Conclusions.

 

Did I learn anything building this? I'd say I learned a couple of things. For example, I learned that Mini-ITX board are a bit of a pain to work with, and I learned just how much I wished I had a modular power supply. Speaking of which, anyone know any good sub $100 mudular power supplies, along with any good fan controllers, and good, but also somewhat cheap liquid coolers? Thanks.

 

You could take a look at the Corsair CX series of psu's, they're pretty inexpensive and they have modular iterations. As for the AIO, the ThermalTake Water series have been pretty inexpensive lately. I have a Corsair PSU and ThermalTake cooler and both serve me quite well.

[James.]

You could take a look at the Corsair CX series of psu's, they're pretty inexpensive and they have modular iterations. As for the AIO, the ThermalTake Water series have been pretty inexpensive lately. I have a Corsair PSU and ThermalTake cooler and both serve me quite well.

 

To be honest, I was actually looking into the CX600M and Thermaltake's water 2.0 coolers today. Though it does worry me that the reviews of the either the 2.0 perormance, or the 2.0 pro make it seem like the pump will fail after a year. Ragardless, they will probably be the parts I end up getting.

[superducky94]

I've had my water 2.0 over a year now and it's still working great!

[James.]

I've had my water 2.0 over a year now and it's still working great!

 

Thanks for the info, and that reassuring to hear. I'll probably get the water 2.0 extreme instead of the pro though, simply because the extreme is on sale to be $10 more than the pro and has a $20 rebate.