[Project]: Big Bro' Prodigy (BitFenix Prodigy E-ATX mod)

[nikkop]

Seeing this in the recent threads section just literally put a grin on my face!

You've been busy I see, I like the window mod and the rad grill isn't bad either. Decided to go with the white case after all, eh?

And yeah, I am. Honestly though, the OP doesn't really need to be edited with with every update and I think there's a limit on images anyway so you won't be able to fit everything in.

Gah, I'm terribly sorry for not replying, I feel like a jerk. I always read but mostly on my smartphone hence I don't have time to answer it. Also I've been in my toughest study-period ever so I haven't been able to surf the net at all, literally

Thanks! Yep, white case it was! I felt it was standing out a bit more than the black one and would look great with the components

About the OP of this thread. The reason I want to edit it is not to include more pictures but to update the information, for example what steps I've done in my "to-do-list" and stuff a like. The OP is always being updated with the latest, right now it looks like I haven't done anything since in May as it says "The latest update is 24/05 2013." :/

By the way! A new update coming up today! Finally got the time to write it!

Thanks

 

[UkGouki]

oh nice cant wait for the update

 

[Wraith]

Big holes in the mesh... but what are they for?..... tease! Looking forward to the next update.

 

[nikkop]

UPDATE 24/01 2014 - Installation of the Water cooling from AquaTuning.

oh nice cant wait for the update

Big holes in the mesh... but what are they for?..... tease! Looking forward to the next update.

Here's the update guys!

UPDATE 24/01 2014 - Installation of the Water cooling from AquaTuning.
​

Hiya all!

Finally I've had time to make another update! I'm sorry for the time taken since last time. I've had the toughest time in my studies so far so my spare time do work on this project has been minimal, if not non-existing. Anyways, I'm now back on track and I will finish this project log before January 31st!

Let's get down to business!

Below will be a update containing pictures of the products I'm being supplied with by AquaTuning and how I then install them all. There's however one thing with the pictures. Since I was super stressed before the exhibition I attended to I didn't have time to take any photos back then. That said, I had to take all these pictures in reverse, when I was taking the parts off. Therefore it might look a little weird out of a chronological order but I guess you understand

The first part will be about which water cooling components I will use and the second part how I install them all

I want to thank AquaTuning a lot once again for the products provided. Without you this project and the outcome wouldn't be possible.

____________________________________________________________

The second package I receive from AquaTuning with a lot of good stuff!

Clear/transparent tubing from Masterkleer with a diameter of 16/10! Nice, thick edges that will look amazing with the coolant.
Masterkleer Slang PVC 16/10mm (3/8"ID) Klar 3,3m (10ft) "Retail Package"

Fittings, to attach the tubing to the different parts, with the diameter of 16/10 in different shapes.

8x 16/10mm compression fitting 90° revolvable G1/4 - knurled - matte black

3x 16/10mm compression fitting 45° revolvable G1/4 - knurled - matte black

2x 16/10mm compression fitting G1/4 - knurled - matte black

To be able to connect some things I had to get my hands on a pair of special fittings, with the same connector in both ends.
2x Alphacool HF L-connector 90° - G1/4 revolvable - 2x outer threads - Deep Black

This on as well to be able to connect to different parts.
Alphacool double nipple G1/4 outer thread to G1/4'' outer thread with O-ring - deep black

Fillports that's going to be used for something very special. Interesting!
6x Fillport black nickel - knurled - Universal

______________________________________________________________

Enough about fittings! Here's some more fun stuff.

High-performance CPU-block to cool the CPU. Package with the block, installation parts, thermal paste and instructions/manual.
Alphacool NexXxoS XP³ Light - Black Chrome - Edition

Reservoir/tank for the loop. I ordered a extra tube since of 15cm the one of 25cm was a little too long I realised.
Alphacool HF 38 Cape Cyclen 250 + Alphacool Plexi Tube 60x150mm

Thin and great performing radiators. Only 30mm thick which will be perfect for this compact build.
2x Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm

Powerful and surprisingly quiet pump.. The size and orientation will be perfect for this build.
Laing DDC-pump 12V DDC-1T

"Top" for the pump that enables installation of fittings. It also improves the flow and sound-level, a nice extra thing
Alphacool Laing DDC Acetal top

Coolant of high quality. Looks like milk and I love it!
Mayhems Pastel - Ice White 1000ml

Mounting for a 240 radiator. I'll need it for one of the radiators and it will fit perfectly.
Phobya radiatorstöd - svart - Dual - 2x120mm

___________________________________________

Those were the products that I will use, supplied by AquaTuning.

Shall we take a look of how I installed it all?

The cPU-block in place.
Very clean and stylish and it fits great with the looks since the copper-sticker blends well with the orange color of the motherboard
Alphacool NexXxoS XP³ Light - Black Chrome

The pump, Laing DDC with Alphacool's top installted with fittings, a double-sided G1/4 in the top and a 90c fitting as output.
Also attached on a self-adhesive vibration-absorbing mat.
Laing DDC-pump 12V DDC-1T

This is the reason I needed that special fitting in the top of the pump!
I built a pump/res-combo myself where the pump will suck water from the reservoir.
I think it looks great and is practical at the same time since it takes up less space than if installed separately and I can fit a big reservoir.
http://www.aquatuning.se/product_info.php/info/p6155_Alphacool-HF-38-Cape-Cyclen-150.html

I install the pump with some mounting I made myself, consisting of skrews, nuts and bricks that goes thru the case. A little hard to get on picture but I guess you understand.

The radiators, 2x 240mm which I know is overkill for a CPU but I mostly do it as a challenge to fit them both
Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm

Radiator #1 will be put in the front next to the motherboard.
It may look like the radiator is blocking all the ports of the motherboard but it isn't.
With a little modification of a few contacts from fans the connectors fit without problems. One of the PCI-E ports is unreachable, however since I only use 1x GPU and no other expansion cards it won't be a problem at all

Radiator #2 is attached to the radiator-mount and it's the one to be placed behind the motherboard tray.
The radiator.mount is needed so I can attach it in the front from the inside with help of rivets. It was pretty hard to get it inside but I finally managed.

Picture of the radiators, pump + res and fittings plus all fillports in the case are attached! As you can see there's a couple of fittings in the top of the case.
Have you started to understand what the holes in the mesh and the fillports are used for?

The fillports are used to attach the fittings to the mesh in the top. But why? Let's find out!

On the top of the mesh there's now 6x 90c fittings!

And here you can see it with tubing. Yes, I've chosen to have tubing on the top of the case that will go thru all components!
The reason is first of all because I think it looks great, it suits the industrial feeling that I've given this mod. Second, it's actually practical as the tubes doesn't need to be inside of the case which would have been very narrow. I'm very satisfied with the outcome.

I won't reveal more than this about the water cooling yet! In the next update, which will be the very last where I show the final pictures, is where you will see it all togheter
Below are a few other installations that are essential, of course
___________________________________________________

Installing the enormous GPU - GIGABYTE GTX 780 OC Windforce 3x 450W. It wasn't an easy task to be honest, haha. Took 10 minutes and a lot of brain- and muscle-power. It felt like I was playing Tetris with circles - impossible. However I managed to get it in, but damn it's tight!

The back of the motherboard tray with the radiator, SSD and power supply. A little messy with the cables since I didn't have the time to fix it perfectly before the exhibition, but as it's not seen with the side-panel on I didn't feel it was critical.

Since I've cut a hole for the grill where the original power-/reset buttons were I was in need to get a new button, of course. I did it with the help of this nice looking switch that I made a hole for in the mesh.

White 120mm Spectre Pro PWM-fans from BitFenix that was to be used for the exhibition. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get them in time, but here they are!

Sleeved extenders in different shapes and sizes from BitFenix.
http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/premium-modding/alchemy-cables/

___________________________________________________

At last:

Once again it feels nice to have posted this update! The water cooling from AquaTuning was indeed very fun to install as it was an extreme task to accomplish. The hardest part was to find out how I was going to make it all work and in which order to install it - I didn't have too much spare place to use, haha. As I've said this project has been at least 80% planning and figuring stuff out while the rest has been the modification itself. A lot to think about before making that final cut!

The next update that will be released will be the last one of this project log, containing the final photos of the finished mod/product! That's why I don't want to reveal it all in this update, I want the last one to be a little special!

Thanks for following and supporting my project log. It's you, my readers, that makes me want to continue and finish this even tho there have been some tough times

Thanks for reading and supporting me.
Best regards
Nikkop

 

[MathiasBE]

Omg man really nice!! I have been reading now for over an hour and just can't stop! I'm not even finished ready but wanted to post a comment already. Great job man, if I had the time and money I'd love to start modding too. Keep up the good work!

 

[Remmy]

One of your images is broken because you forgot the at the beginning of the URL. It's the first one in the fillport section. Just here:

[QUOTE]The fillports are used to attach the fittings to the mesh in the top. But why? Let's find out!
]http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/nikkoprojects/21_zps35196da5.jpg[/QUOTE]

I was wondering what those holes were for; it certainly looks interesting with the tubes coming out of the top, let's hope nobody every mistakes them for handles

 

[Feronix]

Gah, I'm terribly sorry for not replying, I feel like a jerk. I always read but mostly on my smartphone hence I don't have time to answer it. Also I've been in my toughest study-period ever so I haven't been able to surf the net at all, literally

:sad:

It's alright mate, it's not like I was crying in the corner over you not replying...


Okay I totally was :lol:

---

Nice update mate! Everything just fits together sooo well! Only thing I'm not too sure about is the external tubing but I can imagine there was not much else you could do either.

I reckon some Cougar fans would go really well with this build, or paint the housings of the Bitfenix fans orange Needs a bit more orange imo! Are those cable extensions even going to fit?

I'm really curious to see what it looks like from the front!

 

[UkGouki]

wicked update looks & works extremely well tbh the cable management in such a small enclosure i can see why you said it wasn't necessary. as long as the back panel went on it didn't matter and it also didn't effect the motherboard side of the case

i love what you did with the watercooling on the roof etc and the fact you got an eatx motherboard a full sized 780 and 2x 240 mm rads inside the prodigy is amazing.

 

[Bartacus]

WOW. Just WOW! I've never seen so much stuff crammed into such a small space! Now get the GPU underwater, since you seem to enjoy challenging yourself.

 

[nikkop]

Omg man really nice!! I have been reading now for over an hour and just can't stop! I'm not even finished ready but wanted to post a comment already. Great job man, if I had the time and money I'd love to start modding too. Keep up the good work!

Haha thanks a lot! I really appreciate that you like it so much as I've always focused on trying to make it enjoyable
Modding is very time-consuming indeed, but about the money you could always search for sponsors. This build is actually 100% sponsored, I haven't bought any of the hardware myself actually, except for all the tools (which I borrowed from my father, hence didn't pay, haha!). But yes, it's time-consuming, especially if you want to write project logs but I bet you can find that time somewhere.
Modding is lots of fun (and frustration), you should definately try it out!

Thanks again.

One of your images is broken because you forgot the at the beginning of the URL. It's the first one in the fillport section. Just here:



I was wondering what those holes were for; it certainly looks interesting with the tubes coming out of the top, let's hope nobody every mistakes them for handles ;)[/QUOTE]

Fixed the image, thanks a bunch for the notice.

Haha yeah, about that. At the exhibition I attended to people actually started to touch and almost pull them so I had to put a small note "Please don't touch" and then they stopped. I was afraid someone would pull it and make it a living hell for me with milk everywhere, yikes!

[QUOTE="Feronix, post: 722170, member: 39165"]:sad:

It's alright mate, it's not like I was crying in the corner over you not replying... :unsure:


Okay I totally was :lol:

---

Nice update mate! Everything just fits together sooo well! Only thing I'm not too sure about is the external tubing but I can imagine there was not much else you could do either.

I reckon some Cougar fans would go really well with this build, or paint the housings of the Bitfenix fans orange :o Needs a bit more orange imo! Are those cable extensions even going to fit?

I'm really curious to see what it looks like from the front! :)[/QUOTE]

Sorry! :x Forgive me!

Thanks mate! Yeah I'm pretty satisfied with the results so far :D
I could have fitted the tubes on the inside but to be honest it would actually be harder to route than having them on the top like this. But the main reason is for the looks but it's a huge plus that it actually made the routing easier.

Cougar fans would go well indeed! I actually thought about getting a few but I then realised that they won't be seen at all since all fans are hidden behind radiators thus I could go with any good performing fans really. The cabel extensions do fit, actually it's a profit having them since they aren't nearly as stiff as the original PSU-cables which are pretty hard to bend the way I want. So it looks better + easier to connect it all = huge profit! :D hehe.

I posted a front picture in the update! Otherwise you'll see some more in the next update which should be coming out soon! ;)

Thanks for your continues support :rolleyes:

[QUOTE="UkGouki, post: 722172, member: 23793"]wicked update looks & works extremely well tbh the cable management in such a small enclosure i can see why you said it wasn't necessary. as long as the back panel went on it didn't matter and it also didn't effect the motherboard side of the case :D

i love what you did with the watercooling on the roof etc and the fact you got an eatx motherboard a full sized 780 and 2x 240 mm rads inside the prodigy is amazing.[/QUOTE]

Thanks a lot for your kind comment!
Yeah the cables are pretty much just bunching up there anyways so routing them in a special way won't really benefit much :o The panel went on without issues and since there isn't any airflow there anyway I guess it works :)

Hehe that was pretty much my main intention with this project - squeezing as much as possible in this m-ITX case and it became what you mentioned. I was however pretty worried that the rubber/plastic feet would brake with the added weight of the mesh but they carried this beast without any issues at all, luckily :)

[QUOTE="Bartacus, post: 722220, member: 49853"]WOW. Just WOW! I've never seen so much stuff crammed into such a small space! Now get the GPU underwater, since you seem to enjoy challenging yourself. :D[/QUOTE]

Thanks a lot for your "WOW"s, they make me happy! :D
I love challenging myself indeed, haha. But about the GPU I won't do that now. Actually I'm not in need of water cooling my GPU as I'm very satisfied with the air cooler. However, as I actually squeezed in 2x 240 radiators "for fun", maybe I should go with a GPU-block as well, haha :) But that's for another time, I'll have to take a brake from this project and focus on school and other stuff :)

[B]Thanks a lot all for your kind comments and replies. I really appreciate them all and you are the reason I continue to do this! :)[/B]

/nikkop

 

[wassupdoc]

:drool: epic!!!

 

[MathiasBE]

Haha thanks a lot! I really appreciate that you like it so much as I've always focused on trying to make it enjoyable
Modding is very time-consuming indeed, but about the money you could always search for sponsors. This build is actually 100% sponsored, I haven't bought any of the hardware myself actually, except for all the tools (which I borrowed from my father, hence didn't pay, haha!). But yes, it's time-consuming, especially if you want to write project logs but I bet you can find that time somewhere.
Modding is lots of fun (and frustration), you should definately try it out!

Thanks again.

/nikkop

But how do you manage to get sponser, I mean I can't do this like a noobie and ask for sponsors if I don't have experience with modding, or can I?

Thanks for your reply

Greetings Mathias

 

[maniac]

To add with what my guy before me said, I know you need a decent portfolio to get sponsors, but do you need to go asking and emailing companies to sponsor you?

 

[Bullmecha]

Great build. Gonna keep my eye on this lil monster!

 

[Gk1ngs]

Awesome build, so much crammed into such a small space and it still looks tidy in the front. I’m very impressed, and really looking forward to the final update

 

[nikkop]

:drool: epic!!!

Thanks :lol:

But how do you manage to get sponser, I mean I can't do this like a noobie and ask for sponsors if I don't have experience with modding, or can I?

Thanks for your reply

Greetings Mathias

Hi Mathias. It always helps to have at least one project that you've done before to show for companies you want hardware from. That way you show them that you are able to make a project and deliver results. There's basically no one that want's to sponsor you "for fun", they need results in return

However, having good writing skills and a business mind helps a lot I've noticed! haha.

Good luck man

To add with what my guy before me said, I know you need a decent portfolio to get sponsors, but do you need to go asking and emailing companies to sponsor you?

What I've done is basically think about what hardware I need and from who I'd like to get it and then I've e-mailed them, yes. It's all about showing who you are, what you've worked with and what your new plans are. Don't go sad over a decline of a request - it may be tough to get sponsors but it's all worth it when you can complete your project thanks to them

Great build. Gonna keep my eye on this lil monster!

Awesome build, so much crammed into such a small space and it still looks tidy in the front. I’m very impressed, and really looking forward to the final update

Thanks a bunch both of you! Will try to get the final pictures out soon enough to show you the final results

Thanks all for your replies;
Best regards
nikkop

 

[MathiasBE]

Thanks for the quick reactions and answers. Keep up to good work and thanks for the advice. I'll keep saving and hopefully will be able to mod for myself and perhaps even net a sponser

 

[nikkop]

Hiya all!

I'd like to ask you, if you like Big Bro' Prodigy, to vote for me at Minimalistic PC's modding contest! http://www.minimalisticpc.com/contests/vote/
Last day to vote is today and I'm sorry I haven't asked you before But if you like this mod, please support me and vote! Thanks

Thanks for the quick reactions and answers. Keep up to good work and thanks for the advice. I'll keep saving and hopefully will be able to mod for myself and perhaps even net a sponser

No problem, thanks for your comments!
Contact those sponsors, now is a good time since it's a new year and their budget is probably full

 

[DeMoB]

Did you forget you left us all hanging for the final pictures over here?!

Voted.

 

[Feronix]

All done! Tough choice between this and the Starcraft Tribute tbh, but since you actually changed the internals of an ITX case to fit an E-ATX (!) motherboard, I voted for you