Node 304 or Bitfenix Prodigy

[kingkai112]

Got a server hosted in the Array R2 however it is very loud and hard to clean the filter. I don't currently do water cooling. Should I get a Node 304 or Bitfenix Prodigy?

[everything count to life]

bitfenix prodigy is pretty much the small case in the market its a great case.

my brother's case is a bitfenix prodigy its quiter than my pc

[derlaudtraut]

To be honest in your shoes i'd go for the Node 304.

Am i biased because i like Fractal design Cases ? Probably, however the Node 304 holds 6 Drives stock and they are rubber mounted too. It also looks slightly more fitting as a server case IMO.

That said I think it might be a better idea to simply move your server to another location of the house less used as storage servers are generally fairly noisy. You can't avoid that too well because they are full of hard drives :P but that's just my two cents.

[Eric1024]

Node 304 for sure. If you're hosting a server then 6 drive cages will be useful.

[_The_Petes]

Got a server hosted in the Array R2 however it is very loud and hard to clean the filter. I don't currently do water cooling. Should I get a Node 304 or Bitfenix Prodigy?

Im using the Node 304 as we speak and its great! Get the Node!!!!!

[Beausiph]

I love my prodigy - it's very versatile. If you decide to get a prodigy, I'd skip the white one though - as the white soft touch yellows over time.

[DavePC]

Node 304, better airflow and for server purposes will make a huge difference.

[mgsstar]

Node 304 would be a good case to get for your server.

[That Norwegian Guy]

For your purpouses I would get a Define Mini. I love the Prodigy, but it's only 5 HDD cages. The Node is alright, but not as silent as the Define or Prodigy (the latter by virtue of fitting a 230mm fan, the prior from sound deadening)

Edit: Once you remove the 5.25" holder from the Prodigy, you can actually screw a 6th HDD into the top of the top HDD box, didn't think of that.

[Animus]

I have worked with the Prodigy and i loved it. Go for the Prodigy

[LimeDk]

can i ask what is noisy about the case is it the case fans or perhaps its you harddrives or what?

[Animus]

For your purpouses I would get a Define Mini. I love the Prodigy, but it's only 5 HDD cages. The Node is alright, but not as silent as the Define or Prodigy (the latter by virtue of fitting a 230mm fan, the prior from sound deadening)

Edit: Once you remove the 5.25" holder from the Prodigy, you can actually screw a 6th HDD into the top of the top HDD box, didn't think of that.

There is also 2 spots for SSD on the side panel. Also 2 spots on the PSU Cage.

[Carter]

I believe the node 304 has one more 5.25 bay, however, you can mount 5 ssd's in the prodigy as well as the 5.25 inch drives. It depends on what drives you have. The node is smaller, also.

[amas]

I built two computers fairly recently with those cases.

Some Pros and cons:

Prodigy Pros:

• Spacious
  
• Has room for lots of cooling
  
• Has handles
  
• Could hold 5 plenty of HDDs
  

Prodigy Cons:

• No built-in dust filtering
  
• A bit bulky for what it's holding inside.
  

Node 304 Pros:

• Small form factor
  
• Built-in dust filters
  
• Can hold 6 HDD's and some SSD's if you screw them in correctly.
  

Node 304 Cons:

• Very limited space for cooling. (has 2 80mm intakes on the front and 1 140mm exhaust on the back) (I personally had absolutely no problems with heat but filling all 6 bays with drives could limit airflow)
  
• Cramped insides. Modular PSU is reccomended
  

Unless size is an issue, just get the Prodigy and buy some dust filters for it.

[Enigmatic Runner]

Having done builds using the Node 304 and Prodigy, I've got a few things to mention:

The handles on the Prodigy were uncomfortable...which was an issue some people complained about - it might have been fixed since its release. If you're using it as a server, I'm assuming you wouldn't need to move it around often so the handles aren't much of a benefit. It has more room - i.e. you'd pretty much buy this if you want to watercool. The Node 304 is much more truer to the mITX form factor whereas the Prodigy is a bit too large for my liking.

Also, modular PSUs may cause clearance issues with the Node 304 depending if you are using a video card (e.g. you're probably not going to fit a 160mm in there); I should really make a list of the PSUs that can fit it given how many 304 builds I've done for people and the variety of PSUs people requested.

[iCon]

Honestly I dont think either of those cases will be a significant enough upgrade from the Array R2, if I were you I would try to work on the problems that are bothering you with the Array R2 currently.

You say that it is "loud", while that is not my experience with that case you can easily swap out the fan if you find it loud or try to combat any rattling noises from the vibrating hard-drives with rubber seal around screws and other easy measures.

The air filtering I honestly don't think seems like a huge problem since that is something usually done about once a month anyways, and keep in mind it doesn't really get any easier with any of the two cases you suggested.

With that said out of the two I would definitely go with the Node 304.

[Liam-Wabbit]

Honestly I dont think either of those cases will be a significant enough upgrade from the Array R2, if I were you I would try to work on the problems that are bothering you with the Array R2 currently.

You say that it is "loud", while that is not my experience with that case you can easily swap out the fan if you find it loud or try to combat any rattling noises from the vibrating hard-drives with rubber seal around screws and other easy measures.

The air filtering I honestly don't think seems like a huge problem since that is something usually done about once a month anyways, and keep in mind it doesn't really get any easier with any of the two cases you suggested.

With that said out of the two I would definitely go with the Node 304.

I'd second that

[lamadoje]

I have a prodigy and I 100% wish that I had picked the Node instead.