Bitfenix Prodigy M compatible power supply units

[mrjohnwatts]

Hi

I'm building my first hackintosh and so far have bought the following parts

Case: Bitfenix Prodigy M
CPU: Inter Core i5 4440
SSD: Samsung 840EVO 128gb
MOBO: Gigabyte H87M-D3H
PSU: Corsair CX500

I would like help with two things.

1. The power supply I've bought isn't the modular version and I'm worried it won't fit the case as after reading several forum posts it seems that the PSU can be a tricky fit in the Prodigy M case. I haven't opened the box yet as I want to be able to exchange it for a compatible PSU if it's not suitable. Can anybody tell me whether this PSU will fit and/or suggest a better one?

2. Can anyone suggest a decent GFX card for under £80? I want to do some video editing but it doesn't need to be super powerful (ie I can afford to buy one costing hundreds of pounds).

 

[adrianjgsmith]

I'm using a Prodigy M with an Antec 900W Gaming PSU (complete overkill, to be honest). It's not modular, and it all fits. Sometimes when I open the case I think it could all look a bit neater with a modular supply, but it's certainly not necessary.

In mine I've got four RAM chips, a big fan, a full sized graphics card, a USB 3.0 expansion and Broadcast card crammed in, along with four hard drives. It's like Narnia in there.

As for a GPU for video editing, what software are you editing with, and what footage are you planning to cut? Some video editing software still won't use a GPU for calculations, and relies on the CPU instead.

 

[mrjohnwatts]

Thanks for the reply, I just went into Maplin this afternoon and they helpfully showed me how to fit a Corsair CS500M into my case, so the final thing to nail is the GPU.

I will be looking to use avid media composer, adobe premiere pro & da vinci resolve. I know that premiere will take advantage of the GPU, and pretty sure resolve will too, not that sure about avid though.

My local pc shop has: [h=1]EVGA GeForce GT 640 2048MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card[/h]
I think this seems like a decent entry level GPU but it would be great if someone can confirm this will work with my setup.

Thanks in advance.

John

 

[adrianjgsmith]

Reading around Avid (which I don't use much), the GPU support doesn't seem up to much. I'd say Premiere is more advanced in that respect. I've had a look at the supported cards for the Mercury Playback Engine in Premiere, and can't find the GT 640 in there. Here's Adobe's list of what works, and as far as I can tell you can use cards from the Windows list as well as Mac:

http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html

Just don't forget to look at the Customac Buyer's Guide to make sure it'll work with your system:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/436-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-june-2014.html#gfx_cards

I'm running a Radeon 6850, which is also not on Adobe's list, but working fine with GPU acceleration in Premiere. It also works with Davinci Resolve Lite.

What you probably will find is that if you don't go with a card directly out of the supported Mac list from Adobe, you'll have to do some (very simple) file editing to get it supported in Premiere.

Hope that all helps.

 

[trs96]

Thanks for the reply, I just went into Maplin this afternoon and they helpfully showed me how to fit a Corsair CS500M into my case, so the final thing to nail is the GPU.

I will be looking to use avid media composer, adobe premiere pro & da vinci resolve. I know that premiere will take advantage of the GPU, and pretty sure resolve will too, not that sure about avid though.

My local pc shop has: EVGA GeForce GT 640 2048MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card


I think this seems like a decent entry level GPU but it would be great if someone can confirm this will work with my setup.

Thanks in advance.

John

I would look at some newer Nvidia cards in the 700 series unless your budget is restricted
to less than 100 USD. Best choice for the software you want to run would be a GTX 770 or a 760 if you
can't spend that much. When the newer 800 series cards come out there will be bigger discounts on the
two 700 series cards just mentioned.

 

[Velhotinho]

I'm using a Prodigy M with an Antec 900W Gaming PSU (complete overkill, to be honest). It's not modular, and it all fits. In mine I've got a full sized graphics card

Hi, dude. How long is your GPU? If it's the Sapphire, for instance, it's 11.5' (more than 290mm)!! And your PSU is 180mm long, isn't it? How did you manage to install these two monsters inside the Prodigy M? Didn't they literally collide? I'm asking you because I have hands on a Prodigy M, a 180mm PSU and a 280mm GPU, but I'm affraid to even unbox the PSU or the case, because I'm almost sure it's gonna be impossible to have them 2 and my GPU.
Thanks in advance for any tip/answer/etc.
Have a good one.

 

[adrianjgsmith]

Looking here, my GPU is only 230mm long:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3630#sp

That fit in PCI slot 1 and 4 no problems, but you're right, a 280/290mm card would hit the PSU if it was in slot 1.

I'm actually running my GPU from slot 4, as it worked out better this way with my Decklink Card installed in slot 1 and its HDMI breakout plate over slot 2 (it wobbled like hell when it was over slot 5), and there's space to expand further there. I'm pretty certain you can remove the tray on the 5.25" bay to make even more room as well. See the pics.

Only thing to bear in mind is that on some motherboards slot 4 only runs at x8, not x16. But from what I've read, that won't create any bottleneck until you're getting up into Titan/290X territory.

Hope that helps!

 

[Velhotinho]

Only thing to bear in mind is that on some motherboards slot 4 only runs at x8, not x16. But from what I've read, that won't create any bottleneck until you're getting up into Titan/290X territory. Hope that helps!

Thanks for fast reply. Really appreciated it!
My GPU is a Zotac 780 OC. And my mobo's 4th slot is just a 4x (Gigabyte GA-Z97M-D3H). How stupid I've been...
I've always double checked anything before pulling the trigger, because I live in the S of the third world wasteland, and here we don't have Amazon or a similar online reliable store. This means it's a nightmare to have a refund or changing an unwanted product, because they simply don't do it, unless you prove you have a defective unit, which is not the case. But I made a major wrong move by not doing so on this case. Bottom line: I have to find someone who is willing to buy the case. I just keep asking myself who, given the fact the words "small form factor" sound like a curse to the primitive people around. PS3 is the ultimate rig here. A smaller PSU? There's just one available: the terrible Corsair CX 750, which is waaaayyyyy behind my Cougar CMX V2 850.
All the luck in your life, pal.
Peace!

 

[adrianjgsmith]

A smaller PSU might well do it. Pics here show others have managed it:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7219/bitfenix-announces-the-prodigy-m-case-a-prodigy-for-matx

Personally I find it difficult to get excited between PSUs, and I had a Corsair CX in the past which was fine. Otherwise I guess eBay is your friend for getting rid of the case.

 

[Velhotinho]

A smaller PSU might well do it. Pics here show others have managed it:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7219/bitfenix-announces-the-prodigy-m-case-a-prodigy-for-matx

Personally I find it difficult to get excited between PSUs, and I had a Corsair CX in the past which was fine. Otherwise I guess eBay is your friend for getting rid of the case.

Thanks again for the reply. I already knew the page your link leads to. In fact, since I've learned about the problem, I've been in every single article/forum/page/video available.
I've decided to look for a smaller PSU no matter what. I simply can't pass this case, given the really tight room I have in my bedroom. Moreover, I love its visual.
Have a perfect one, pal.