[Project]: Big Bro' Prodigy (Extreme BitFenix Prodigy mod)

[nikkokick]

The latest update is 24/09 2013.

Hello and welcome to my project and my build/project log named "Big Bro 'Prodigy ."

In this project, a well-planned and execute modification of computer chassis named "BitFenix ​​Prodigy" will be performed. The modification will be performed in a manner so that the end result is something I've never seen before. I hope you readers will find my project interesting, both the arrangement, modification, the idea and the final product.

The parts that are going to be used for this project:
BitFenix Prodigy
GTX 780 OC (GV-N780OC-3GD)
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP7
Intel Core i7 3770k
BeQuiet! Dark Power Pro 10 750w



"To Do" list:

• [X] Writing the introduction and presentation of the project. - 9/12 2012
• [X] Remove chassis parts and remove some metal pieces. - 12/12 2012
• [X] Show prototypes and the chassis. - 16/12 2012
• [X] Cut holes and mount a plexiglass window on the side panel. - 05/01 2013
• [X] Modify the motherboard tray - 03/2 2013
• [X] Fix the new place for the power supply. - 03/2 2013 + 20/4 2013.
• [X] Unboxing of GIGABYTE z77x-UP7 and test-mounting in the case - 12/03 -2013
• [X] Attaching new motherboard plate and its I / O & PCI-E ports. - - 08/04 -2013
• [X] Replacing the old I / O & PCI-E back on the chassis with aluminum "mesh". - - 30/04 -2013
• [X] Modification of the front panel - [/i]24/05 -2013[/i]
• [X] Modification of the top - 16/06 - 2013
• [X] Even more mesh! - 10/07 - 2013
• [X] Unboxing & Overview of the GIGABYTE GTX 780 OC - 06/08 -2013
• [X] Cut holes for I/O and assembly - 28/08 -2013
• [ ] Paint some parts of the chassis.
• [ ] Test, review and show products.

More things to do may be added.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Introduction - What and why? - 9/12 2012
Welcome to my introduction to my project " Big Bro 'Prodigy "!

I will now present my project and tell you what it will be about.

The idea:
What kind of project will I do?
What kind of modification will I make to the BitFenix ​​Prodigy?
Why?

The reason I wanted to do a project and a modification of this particular chassis is because I, when it was announced, was very interested in this chassis. In my last project I modified one of the prettiest chassis available in my opinion, the PowerMac G5.

When I saw BitFenix ​​Prodigy, it felt like a "little brother" to the PowerMac G5 because of how the front and handles on the top and bottom looked. I felt that this is a chassis I want to deal with.

I looked at acquiring myself a m-ITX motherboard but I found nothing that suited me. I am in need of 4x RAM slots (m-ITX has only 2x) and I love overclocking and general stuff with computers, so m-ITX unfortunately was no choice for me.

Many have wished that this chassis would be released as at least m-ATX chassis and I also wished for that because I've got a mATX board.

That's when I figured I should take matters into my own hands and fix me a Prodigy that fits my needs. But no, I will not modify the chassis to fit a mATX motherboard, sorry guys. Many have guessed at it, and I'll admit, it was actually my first idea for a while. Then, however, I saw that there is already a guy out on the wide internet that has done this.

I felt I want to be unique and do something that nobody else has done, so I decided to not make a m-ATX chassis by Prodigy.
_____________________________________________________________________________

What am I going to do?

Thanks for asking
My modification will become something even greater, something even more extreme and something even more unique. I'm going in my project and in this log modify a BitFenix ​​Prodigy so much so that it fits with a ..

Wait for it ...

m-ATX ...

and ...

ATX ...

and even ...

E-ATX!

You read that right. I'll modify my BitFenix ​​Prodigy so it keeps an almost complete E-ATX motherboards. This is a form factor greater than ATX (which is the motherboard "noramal" size). An m-ITX chassis that will swallow a E-ATX motherboard! >

However, the "standard" for E-ATX is 30.5cm x 33cm, and this will unfortunately not fit physically. I will fit motherboard up to 30.5cm x 28cm, which is larger than the standard "ATX". Many E-ATX motherboards are 30.5cm x 27cm, for example the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7. I can, with even more modification, fit a motherboard that is a full size E-ATX, which is 30.5cm x 33cm. I will however not do this, but it is possible with some extending of the case (I wan't to keep the exterior original).

The reason I will perform this modification is because I want to make room for larger motherboards than the intended m-ITX (17cm x 17cm). This is an aesthetically attractive chassis that is very capable of doing much. With the help of my modification, I will be able to get the motherboard that is almost four times as large as intended. Not bad!

The chassis is very popular among enthusiasts and making a modification as extreme like this of this chassis I will be extremely exciting! My goal is to show what the Prodigy can actually go for and what it is capable of. Hope you do as well and are eager to follow my project log.

Any form of constructive criticism are welcome! Positive and negative.
Thanks in advance
Hope you like it here in my little project log
Best Regards
Nikkop

 

[nikkokick]

The Prodigy and emptying it - 13/12 2012

I have decided to use Gigabyte's top model for socket 1155, by the name of GA-Z77X-UP7 .

This motherboards color theme will suit perfectly to my project as I will use hot colors such as - Yellow, Orange and Red.

The GA-Z77X-UP7 also allows for QUAD SLI/CF (four graphics cards ), has dual 8pin for the CPU and holds the world record for overclocking "Intel Ivy Bridge" processor (7.102GHz).

For more information, unboxing, review, overclocking, photographs and use of the product in my modification will happen when I take delivery of the motherboard. Until then, we must content ourselves with excitement waiting for it!

On to some pictures!
________________________________________________________________________

Plot:
Here I come with an update that will involve:

• A look at the chassis - BitFenix ​​Prodigy.
• Emptying the chassis on its content.

BitFenix ​​Prodigy

Let's take a look at the chassis!

Now that we have seen how the chassis looks like, let's empty it!
__________________________________________________________________________

Emptying the chassis

Let's get down to business!

This is how the chassis looks without the side panels and everything else default.

I begin by removing the upper HDD cage. Very easy to do because of the "clips", small handles are pressed together and then goes on to pull out. Very easy and takes a few seconds, no need for screws and the like. Even cradles where the hard drive are placed are made in the same way, nice!

To remove the lower hard drive cage it is required that we turn the chassis over and remove a couple of screws from the bottom. Not too difficult either.

After two hard drive cages are removed I pick off the front panel of the chassis. This is easily done with a pair of "clips" on the inside of the chassis in the front. Poke at them in the right direction and release it. There are a total of 4 pieces.

I also want to remove the 5.25" mount because I do not use an optical drive (I'm a USB-man!) I also need to remove it because of the modification. Simple done with a number of screws on the outside in the front and a few on the inside. (I'm sure you can fix an optical drive mount in another way if you want to follow this project).
The chassis looks pretty stupid and ridiculous without the front panel, so we'll make sure not to lose it!

I then pick out the two included fans. I guess they are 120mm Spectre.

On top of the chassis there is a "fan grill" where you can attach 2x 120mm fans, or an entire 240 radiator for water cooling. We get rid of this one aswell

There, now is the chassis relatively empty! What remains is the motherboard plate for m-ITX motherboard that sits inside the chassis in a rather unique way. This is a rather massive piece of metal. Let's remove this one too!

This motherboard tray is stuck with quite a few rivets. Rivets can be removed easier by drilling them apart, right through it. Then loosens the "head" and pop rivet releases. This is done as said most easily with a drill, but then I do not have such a tool at the moment so I solve using a dremel/multifunction tools and a drill.
Sometimes it happens that the drill stuck, so a real drill is recommended.

This is what the metal piece when it is removed from the chassis and laid on the desk looks likes. Getting it off was a pain, partly because I had the wrong tools, but also my dog ​​got really angry and barked a lot because of the sound of the tool.

Now the case, BitFenix ​​Prodigy, is completely empty of content, and the "body" and the feet are what is left. This gives me the opportunity to start my modification that will happen.

The chassis felt a lot much easier on the weight after it was emptied, which is quite understandable. As we can see in the picture below, pretty much was taken out, everything from the motherboard plate to hard drive cages, fans, front panel, side panels, etc.

______________________________________________________________

That was my update which was about the chassis and the emptying of the chassis. Henceforth modification start and I hope you look forward to it as much as I do!

I'm going tomorrow to record a video and hopefully make an soon. Here, I will show prototype images of how I thought that this project will look like, while I'm in the video will show it "live" and how I'm going to do. I'll embed the video in this projectlog, of course.
We can then using prototype images imagine how it will look like, and thus know how it will be with the finished product!

I'm extremely psyched and looking forward to this project a lot!

If you have questions or concerns, or just criticism, please write in this thread!
Thank you for reading.

See you soon,
Best Regards
Nikkop

 

[berchti]

[Project]: Big Bro' Prodigy (Extreme BitFenix Prodigy mod) Updated: 13/12

Looks nice, I wonder how you fit this motherboard in this small case

Will definitly follow this thread

 

[nikkokick]

[Project]: Big Bro' Prodigy (Extreme BitFenix Prodigy mod) Updated: 13/12

Looks nice, I wonder how you fit this motherboard in this small case

Will definitly follow this thread

Thanks mate!

In the next update I'll show you how to fit it. I will with pictures and a video show you how I'm going to do it and how it's going to be
I will do that update tomorrow

Stay tuned and you will see a lot of nice updates!

Best Regards
Nikko

 

[boca]

[Project]: Big Bro' Prodigy (Extreme BitFenix Prodigy mod) Updated: 13/12

Cant wait to watch this build.

 

[nikkokick]

[Project]: Big Bro' Prodigy (Extreme BitFenix Prodigy mod) Updated: 13/12

Cant wait to watch this build.

Thanks!

Here's an update for all of you!

Prototype images and Video - 16/12

Hi! Hope you're all good.
Please enjoy my update and comment!

Thanks
___________________________________

To be able to visualize my ideas and how this modification is going to end up like I've decided to make a couple of prototype images and a video clip where I explain what I will do.
I've done these so I can show you what I'm going to do in this project log, but at the same time for myself to be able to see what I want the final product to look like.
As you probably know by now my modification will consist of putting an ATX/E-ATX motherboard into a m-ITX case.
Please have a look at my video and my images and you'll find out how I've planned this modification.

Video:
Please have a look at my video describing the modification!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG-RNH_3m_A

Images:

First I'll show you the orignal pictures for each part and then my prototypes

Front
Original:

Modified:
Let's start by looking at how the case will look from the front.
I will paint the front panel yellow to match my computer speakers (KRK Rokit G2 5").
At the same picture we see the window on the side that will be fixed as well.

Side
Original:

Modified:
Here's a picture of what the case will look like with the side panel removed.
It's also this motherboard, the GA-Z77X-UP7, that I will use in this project.
We see that the motherboard has been angled 90 degress (compared to "standard). This is a must to fit a ATX/E-ATX motherboard.
I'll have a few centimeters/an inch free of the sides.
This also means that the back of the motherboard (I/O, PCI) will be on top of the case.

With the side panel in spot with a modified window a lot of the computer content will be visible from the outside.

Top
Original:

Modified:
As I mentioned the motherboard tray and all it's I/O and PCI-slots must be on top of the case.
This means I must remove the 120x2 fan spots to be able to fit this tray.
The tray will let me use all seven PCI-slots, which is many more than one PCI-slot that m-ITX motherboards offer.
This is seen from above.

Back
Original:

Modified:
Last but not least we have the backside where the I/O, PCI-ports and PSU are placed.
I will remove this part and replace it with an aluminum mesh with a thickness of 1mm, which I will paint dark gray/black.
The mesh will also allow for good airflow and fans will be attached.

Other
Doing this extreme modification with fitting an ATX/E-ATX motherboard into this case brings a few negative stuff.
I will not be able to use as many hard drives as the un-modified Prodigy can hold. This is because of all space the hard drive cages take.
However, I will be able to fit a few and that's more than enough for me. If you have ten hard drives maybe you have to think it over tho.

These were my prototypes of what the final product will look like.
What do you think about it?

Thanks for reading
Best Regards
Nikkop

 

[boca]

[Project]: Big Bro' Prodigy (Extreme BitFenix Prodigy mod) Updated: 13/12

I am wondering where the power supply will be mount or did I miss it?

 

[nikkokick]

[Project]: Big Bro' Prodigy (Extreme BitFenix Prodigy mod) Updated: 13/12

I am wondering where the power supply will be mount or did I miss it?

Hi,

When I recorded the video clip I wasn't sure where I will place the PSU.
I have now however tried different options and I've come to a solution that will hide the PSU perfect.

I'm going to keep it a secret until I show it off!

But yeah, I will make it look really good

Best Regards
Nikkop

 

[kiwisincebirth]

I will fit motherboard up to 30.5cm x 28cm, which is larger than the standard "ATX".

I am assuming from these measurements (28cm) that it wouldn't be possible to mount an ATX motherboard with the ports exiting more traditionally at the rear of the case. It is an interesting design which I will follow. What made you decide to go for the upwardly facing ports? was it just a matter of getting a full ATX motherboard in the case?

 

[nikkokick]

I am assuming from these measurements (28cm) that it wouldn't be possible to mount an ATX motherboard with the ports exiting more traditionally at the rear of the case. It is an interesting design which I will follow. What made you decide to go for the upwardly facing ports? was it just a matter of getting a full ATX motherboard in the case?

Hi,

No sorry that is not possible physically. The maximum which may fit is a m-ATX due to it being a square (244x244mm).

Thanks, hope you find the content interesting as well.
I decided to go with the upwardly facing ports for a couple of reasons, but mainly to fit an ATX/E-ATX motherboard. Also, by putting vertically I can see the motherboard thru the case once a window is placed on the side panel, if it would be like to standard Prodigy motherboard orientation, you wouldn't be able to see anything basically.

So yeah, for the matter of fitting a ATX/E-ATX motherboard and for it to be aesthetically nice looking. Also, by doing it this way I can completely hide the PSU!
More about that once I'm there

Stay tuned! An update will hopefully be done this week.
Best Regards
Nikkop