Prodigy vs Node 304

[Chou]

I'm building the following config and I'm trying to decide on a case to use, between the Fractal Node 304 and BitFenix Prodigy. I like the relative portability of the node 304 as I could fit it in a gym bag and carry it on the train easily, but I don't think I'll be doing that much travel so I'm not sure how much that matters. I also don't plan to do much upgrading in the future (but you never know). Here is my config:

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-47990K 3.

CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H60 120MM Liquid Cooling Kit

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini-ITX w/ 802.11ac WiFi + BT 4.0, Dual GbLAN, 1 PCIe x16, 4x SATA 6Gb/s

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (4GB x 2) DDR3/1866MHz Dual Channel Memory

Storage: 128GB ADATA SP900 SATA-III 6.0 Gb/s

Storage: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue SATA-III 6.0 Gb/s HDD

Video Card: EVGA Superclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 w/ ACX Cooling PCIe 3.0

Case: Bitfenix Prodigy (Black) or Fractal Design Node 304

Power Supply: Corsair CX600 600W 80 Plus Bronze

 

Given my config, would either case be more ideal over the other to accommodate the components? Also, would anyone know how the two cases compare in terms of airflow, cooling, and noise? I'm getting it from Cyberpower and the difference in price between the cases is just $10 so price difference isn't much of a deciding issue. Thoughts anyone?

[Pärminator]

Prodigy has better airflow, but its very generic

[OrangeFlavoured]

I would say the Prodigy, because it looks cool and it does better with water cooling.

[brownninja97]

I like the node more but if its gonna get move the prodigy is a winner.

[TheSLSAMG]

Node 304.

 

Built better than a Prodigy, actually small and FD has amazing customer support.

 

The Node will have worse cooling, but even with my system in it, it still only loads around 60C.

[Rising]

On the assumption you view the aesthetic of both cases as equal:

If the case is going to be moved around a lot, up stairs, to LAN parties, or other such things requiring it to be carried but NOT requiring an extremely small computer to fit in a large bag, the prodigy wins.

If it is mainly sitting on your desk and you do not plan to move the computer much, and don't mind the loss of watercooling options then the node would win

[razor767]

The Node 304 is smaller and lighter if that's important to you. The prodigy does however have handles. 

 

The Prodigy has better airflow and cooling potential. The Node 304 has a more closed front panel (as opposed to the mesh front panel the black Prodigy has) and a built in fan controller so I would imagine that the Node 304 may be quieter but I can't say for sure. It's worth noting that you can install a fan controller into the optical drive bay of the Prodigy has well. 

 

The Node 304 also has included dust filters which should help reduce the amount of dust in the case. 

[Rising]

The Node 304 also has included dust filters which should help reduce the amount of dust in the case. 

The prodigy also has dust filters on the top and bottom.

[razor767]

The prodigy also has dust filters on the top and bottom.

 

Your correct.

[MourningSouls]

I'd go for the Node, Fractals build quality is above Bitfenix's IMO. Plus, it just looks so much nicer. Just need to replace those stock 92mm fans. Think I'd recommend Gelid Wing 9's.