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[Mod/Build Log] Bitfenix Prodigy- Painted White/i7-3770k/GTX760/CPU and GPU Watercooled

2K views 21 replies 4 participants last post by  Sand3853 
#1 ·
Hello OCN and Welcome to my Build Log

I recently was given a Bitfenix Prodigy, and an ASRock z77 ITX board and decided to forgo the plans from my previous build log, found Here and move things into a more compact space.

My plans for the build are as follows:

1. Mod the Case: I was given a Black Bitfenix case, and I am on a bit of a white case kick, so I will try my hand at painting, and go for a monochromatic look. I am also planning on adding windows into both side panels and moving the power/reset buttons

2. Cram what watercooling goodness into the case that I can (and can afford); From my previous build I have 2 x Swiftech 240mm radiators from the H220 kits, the H220 heatsink and pump, as well as white tubing. My plan is to add to that collection
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3. Attempt some Sleeving...

4. Pair the z77 board that I have with an i7 and higher end GPU. Currently I have an r9 270x, while nice it doesn't provide much opportunity to watercool
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5. Drink Beer and Profit
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Current Parts ListParts List Changed

Case: Bitfenix Prodigy - To be modded
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 ITX-E - Already Own
CPU: i5-3570ki7 3770k - Arrived
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury- White Edition - Already Own
GPU: Powercolor PCS+ R9 270x Zotac GTX760 AMP+ Swiftech Komodo Waterblock
SSD: OCZ Agility 3- Already Own
PSU: NZXT HaleV2 700w - Already Own

Cooling:
Swiftech 240mm Radiator- Already Own
Swiftech H220 pump/heatsink Swiftech MCP35X with White Acrylic top
Swiftech Apogee HD - Arrived
Phobya 200MM Radiator- Arrived
2x Bitfenix Spectre Pro 120mm White Fans- Arrived
1x Bitfenix Spectre Pro 140mm White Fan- Arrived
1x BitFenix Spectre Pro 200mm White Fan- Arrived Fan Blade and outer casing switched with a Blue LED Spectre Fan
NZXT Grid + Fan controler- Arrived - Lamptron Fan Controller- Painted Black and White

Here are a few pics of the parts I have currently...taken from my previous build log:


Current State:...
 
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#2 ·
Here are pics of the Prodigy and Motherboard as I received them:




The one bummer that I do run into is that the H220 pump/heatsink doesn't play nice with the ASRock board:



As you can see, the built in barbs cover up either one of the RAM slots, or the GPU slot. I was worried this might happen, but was prepared for it...cuz it just means I 'have' to buy more watercooling stuffs
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Right now my plan is to get a more compatible waterblock...either an EK or Swiftech Block, a Raystorm is also a possibility.

Anyways, I hope to have some pics up later tonight of some of the actual modding and painting of the case. I think I should have the front panel done, and one of the windows cut out of the side panel.
 
#4 ·
Alright! So, Since I actually was able to start on things before I started the build log, I have some updates as to what I have accomplished yesterday and today....

The first order of business was to modify the top of the case to allow for the Swiftech radiator to fit without mounting it upside down. I am wanting to have a radiator on the top and the front, which means i will be mounting the fans on the outside of the case and making a shroud to cover them up.. Anyways here is a shot of the cut, and the radiator mounted



So I ended up cutting away the tab for the stock shroud that sits on top of the case, and this allowed for the micro res that is incorporated in the radiator to fit properly. This will be really nice when filling and bleeding the loop as I have easy access. It also saves a bunch of room in the case as well
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Feeling a little in the groove with using the Dremel (first time cutting metal with this thing
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) I decided cutting the window out of the left panel needed to happen too.

All taped up
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Ready to cut
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And we have a window!
 
#5 ·
If there is one thing I have learned so far, its that I hate waiting for paint to dry... I get to anxious and want to see the finished result... Anyways, I decided to work on the front panel and switch the color scheme from Silver Border with Black Mesh, to Black Border with White Mesh...

Separated all the pieces, and painted the mesh white..front and back (even started on the feet/handles as seen in the pic):

Front Plastic cover that the mesh connects to received a primer coat and then I covered up the middle hex portion and gave the border a few coats of gloss black... Also in the pic is the bitfenix logo, also getting a gloss black treatment
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Once the border dried I taped it off, and started to paint the hex grill white
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Tape off once the paint dried....the yellow on the border is actually a reflection, and not something stuck, or the absence of paint...


Grill on..and logo on... One of the challenges I had was for paint to not clog the mesh. I got a little heavy on the paint in some areas, and while I have poked holes into most of them, I did end up keeping some as It created a neat Hex Pattern that I'm considering incorporating into the build in the form of a decal or something...

Thats it for now... still trying to figure out what CPU to drop into this thing, as well a find a good waterblock. I've decided I am going to use the swiftech pump/block I have as the pump, and find a creative way to mount it. Im also going to be ordering the new NZXT Grid+ to control the fans...and speaking of fans... Just ordered 2 of these:

Thanks for viewing.. please leave comments/suggestions, Id love feedback through this process
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#6 ·
Update

After much painting...and waiting...and more painting the case is (for now) done
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.... and here are the pics (the times I remembered to take a pic) of the progress....

All nice and primered...



And then the White Coat...




And finally.... All put together
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The plan is to put another window on the other side panel... I'm just trying to decide if I am going to move the power button or not, but I probably wont get to that for a little while.

Also... While I was waiting for paint to dry, I decided to attempt some sleeving for the first time. I figured I should get some practice, and I had a little bit of paracord that I had ordered earlier in the year... Anyways, I sleeved the wires to the Swiftech pump/block.... took me a few tries, but I think it turned out alright...



Well thats it for now... not a huge update or anything....but I should have a bit come this weekend when my funds come in for the rest of the build
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Thanks for taking a look... please feel free to offer any suggestions/comments
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#7 ·
Updated Parts List....

Money came in today
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So I went a shopping...

CPU: i5-3570k ...caught a deal on tigerdirect that has this chip at 189.99 (after rebate) I originally was looking at a used i7...but the price was really good, and allowed me to get a few other things (boo budgets...lol)
CPU Block: Swiftech Apogee HD (black and white)
Phobia 200MM Radiator
Bitfenix Spectre Pro 200mm Fan

I also picked up some sleeving materials...grabbed some White and Silver Paracord from Lutro0 which should go well with the Paracord i already have
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Now I guess its just a matter of sitting back and waiting for the stuff to arrive...
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#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by textpassgots View Post

good info,i like it very much,This will be really nice when filling and bleeding the loop as I have easy access. It also saves a bunch of room in the case as well .thanks
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Thanks for the kind words
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... Those micro reservoirs on the Swiftech radiators do help make things easy...granted, they are a little more difficult to mount since the fill port should be facing upwards.
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Should be starting to get everything put into the case sometime later next week
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#10 ·
Updated Parts List

So, the deal I thought I was getting on the i5 turned out to be smoke and mirrors, and TigerDirect has been an absolute nightmare to deal with. Long story short I wont be getting an i5... but will be getting an i7 3770k that I picked up from someone here on OCN. looks to be here on Monday
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#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by SFF-Tek View Post

Very cool so far, im a huge fan of the Prodigy
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I will be watching!
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Why thank you
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I should, if all goes well, have some nice updates in the next couple of days... everything has been shipped and now it's a waiting game...
 
#13 ·
Updates

Alright... I got a few things in the mail the past couple days
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first off, I got my 120mm Bitfenix Fans




Sadly, I got a little too zealous with trying to sleeve and ended up separating the cables from one of the fans
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.. All is well though, I have a replacement on the way, and will be getting the broken fan fixed when I visit my folks in July.

Along with the fans came some fittings.. I snagged some Barrow compression fittings and barbs of ebay... heard some really good things about them here on OCN, and with them in hand, they feel and look great...almost like Bitspower without the price tag.. Why barbs you might be wondering? Price for one, andpretty much everything I have from the H220 kit came with barbs, so I figured to use them on the Rad. Compression fittings for the waterblock (arriving Thursday)...






 
#15 ·
Alright!.. So in the frozencpu package was my 200mm Phobya radiator and the Swiftech Apogee HD waterblock in white
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... and now some pics
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Sadly, I didn't get too many pictures of the radiator before I installed it into the case (as well as befoer or after it got flushed)... I was just to excited to get things going... However, here is the shot I got of it with the Spectre Pro fan
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I do have to say that it was a bit of a challenge getting the Phobya radiator in the case, not because of the size, as there is quite a bit of room between it and the top, but rather because of the screws. It uses a smaller diameter screw, that also was just a tad too long for the BitFenix fan, so I had to find some washers that would work.
 
#16 ·
More Pics
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Phobya Radiator installed
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I really like how it looks in the case... total overkill right now for just the CPU, but will be nice to have once I get the GPU underwater. Oh! and if I haven't mentioned it yet, I will be trading my cousin for his Powercolor PCS+ HD7970, and should have it early July..he is getting my 270x and my FX 8320, so Im now trying to figure out what block to get for the 7970... anyways...back to the pics..



I'm working on making a nice midplate out of acrylic... this is my first attempt, and while functional (as you will see in some later pics)...just doesn't look all that great. My redo plate I think will at least extend to the radiator and possibly to the front making it look like 1 complete piece. I am also debating whether it will be painted white, or frosted with white LED lighting...I'm currently leaning towards the lighting
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Anywhoo...here are some more pics of my attempts to figure out the loop... (I appologise for the fuzziness of some of the pics...my camera is my phone sadly, and one of my kids smudged the lens, which i didnt realize til much later..)







A you can see I have a few holes cut out (and markings for more), and my original idea was to have both tubes come through the acrylic..but I found I didn't need to use the middle cutout, as it was easier to rout the tubing underneath...like so...



I also was able to get my PCI-E cable sleeved (as seen above)...for a first time attempt, I am ok with it, granted I am still waiting on more sleeving, and I have another cable that could be sleeved, so there is a good chance I may end up redoing it... Once my Lutro0 Customs order comes in, I will have more pics of sleeving and all that jazz
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#17 ·
I have 1 last little update for the night... I pre-ordered the new NZXT Grid+ fan controller a little bit ago, and had figured that it wouldn't arrive until July since its listed as shipping June 30th... much to my surprise it shipped last week, and arrived Friday
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. It is a pretty neat little contraption, and I figure will work great for a SFF build like this
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It is powered via molex conector, and also has a mini USB port that connects to one of the USB headers on your motherboard, which will allow it to be used by NZXT's CAM software. It also comes with 2 extensions which have the ability to connect to a 3 pin and 4 pin fan. The Grid itself only has ports for 3 pin connections. There is also some tie downs and some velcro in the package as well. Once I get things going, and play with the software I will let you know how it does
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#20 ·
Alright...build is not dead or done....had a few snags as well as changed my mind on some things along the way. I am hoping to have some good pictures up this weekend with my progress. Anyways, here is what has happened since I last posted:

1: Stripped down and re-painted the whole case... I wasn't happy with the finish (still not completely satsified). Now everything is white minus the black trim on the front.

2. Cut window into other side panel

3. Attempted sleeving with paracord... not happy with the result and will be redoing it all with Telios sleeving (with heatshrinkless method)

4. replaced swiftech H220 pump/heatsink with a Swiftech MCP35X with White Acrylic Top

5. Replaced HD7970 for a Zotac GTX760 AMP + Swiftech Komodo full cover waterblock

6. Replaced the NZXT Grid with a Lamptron fan controller that I had lying around. The fan controller just fits in front, and is not interfered with by either of the radiators. I painted the fan controller front gloss black and white to match the case.

I have updated the parts list on the first page, and uploaded a sample/teaser of the current state of the machine.... more (and better) pics to come
 
#21 ·
A couple of pics of the progress I was able to make while away for work... I wish I had more, but I was limited in what I could take, and was usually a little pressed for time
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First two pics are of the painting...the 3rd is of the new pump, and was taken while I was filling/bleeding the loop
 
#22 ·
I had hoped to be able to use a 7970 (that i traded for...and had custom painted the shroud to match the black and white theme)... but the card was just a tad too long, and wasnt able to fit with the 200mm fan on the radiator. I had considered letting the radiator be passive...but I liked the airflow it gave over the motherboard, and decided to go another rout. Ultimately I decided upon a GTX 760...and while a step down in terms of performance, it was smaller, used less energy and could be watercooled
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(my 7970 was not a reference board)...

Pics of the new card...




Pics of the Swiftech Komodo... this 760 has the same reference board as the older GTX670...hence the 670 Komodo









I had considered going with an EK block, but since the majority of my watercooling parts are Swiftech..and the Komodo came with a back plate at the same price as just an EK block, it wasn't much of a choice... I may eventually paint the block white to match...but for now, I'm liking the contrast it brings









Up next for this weekend is draining the loop, and adding the card to it, I am waiting for some Barrow compression fittings that are due to arrive tomorrow. I also have new sleeving on the way, and should be here on Saturday at the earliest, Monday at the latest.

Thanks for checking in on my log... please let me know what you think, provide feedback, or offer suggestions
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