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

[Feronix]

I don't know man, I really like the mesh colour! Doesn't matter much what colour chassis is under that, I suppose? Can always give one to me

Fair enough that you're not putting the 780 under water. It's a good thing that you decided to put the rads inside the case in the end anyway!

Always waiting for more updates!

 

[nikkop]

I don't know man, I really like the mesh colour! Doesn't matter much what colour chassis is under that, I suppose? Can always give one to me

Fair enough that you're not putting the 780 under water. It's a good thing that you decided to put the rads inside the case in the end anyway!

Always waiting for more updates!

Haha, yeah the mesh is awesome! Mesh on black is more of a contrast while mesh on white will probably blend in a little better. I'll have to think about it, I'll maybe end up using the white one for another case mod! (already got something planned in case, haha!)

Yes and I will try to get some photos taken soon to show you how I've thought about the rads. Just placement and such so you can see how I've been thinking and perhaps come with some critisism, positive or negative!

Thanks a bunch mate, you guys here at OC3D really make my motivated to work harder and finishing this project

/nikkop

 

[Feronix]

Well, I'm assuming that the black case will go well with the other components (motherboard, GPU, rads) and the white doesn't really fit in with anything?

If you use white, you'll have a bit of white, bit of black, bit of grey mesh. Oh, and orange. Not sure how well that would look if I'm completely honest, seems a bit 'all-over-the-place'.

Yay rad placement pics! Can't wait

I see that you have also started posting in other threads last night? Good to have you on OC3D mate!

 

[nikkop]

Well, I'm assuming that the black case will go well with the other components (motherboard, GPU, rads) and the white doesn't really fit in with anything?

If you use white, you'll have a bit of white, bit of black, bit of grey mesh. Oh, and orange. Not sure how well that would look if I'm completely honest, seems a bit 'all-over-the-place'.

Yay rad placement pics! Can't wait

I see that you have also started posting in other threads last night? Good to have you on OC3D mate!

What you say about the colors is true, but white is so fresh overall! :lol:
I believe that if you find a balance it can turn out pretty nice. The thing is that black, white and silver/gray are all monochrome colors, so it shouldn't matter too much if you have all of them as they are "colorless".
The reason I thought of white case and white tubes for watercooling was because I saw this photo:

It looks bloody amazing if you ask me! Same motherboard as I've got as well And to be honest, it doesn't look too wrong even tho there's that orange color. What if the fans would be orange as well, example the Cougar fans? haha.

About posting in other threads and such:
I love this community, I really do. However my life is super-busy at the moment and unfortunately I don't always have time to lurk around and post. It's barely that I have time for my own project. Even in a Swedish PC-community where I have almost 4k posts I have a hard time posting posts nowadays
However, I do look around, read and such but I don't always post, haha. But when I get more free time in the near future I'm sure you will see me being pretty active here! I really do like this community a lot, so friendly!

/nikkop

 

[Feronix]

That does look amazing and I definitely have a soft spot for white stuff (No, no, don't go there <_<)! But in this picture there's about an equal amount of black and white and then there are the red accents.

What you want to do doesn't necessarily create but kind of contrast but more of an overall grayscale look. Not saying that's a bad thing either though

What you say about them being monochrome is also very true and I guess you can always do a little mock-up and decide what you think looks best?
Cougar fans would look nice, as long as they're the same colour orange as the motherboard accents!

Wow, I never knew Sweden had such a big PC community. We barely have any over here in the Netherlands, though Sweden is a tad bigger :lol: I've been there once and it was beautiful!

No worries mate, just don't forget to take some time for yourself sometime. Hope to see you more active in the future

 

[nikkop]

That does look amazing and I definitely have a soft spot for white stuff (No, no, don't go there <_<)! But in this picture there's about an equal amount of black and white and then there are the red accents.

What you want to do doesn't necessarily create but kind of contrast but more of an overall grayscale look. Not saying that's a bad thing either though

What you say about them being monochrome is also very true and I guess you can always do a little mock-up and decide what you think looks best?
Cougar fans would look nice, as long as they're the same colour orange as the motherboard accents!

Wow, I never knew Sweden had such a big PC community. We barely have any over here in the Netherlands, though Sweden is a tad bigger :lol: I've been there once and it was beautiful!

No worries mate, just don't forget to take some time for yourself sometime. Hope to see you more active in the future

Haha, indeed it does! Ohh, I wonder why you have developed a liking for white stuff

It may also be that I've worked with the black Prodigy for about 8 months, so I'm "tired" of the color of it, haha.
As I have won the white Prodigy and will get it home eventually I can try out all the components (including the mesh) in both the cases and then see what would suit the best! I guess that's the best way to find out, compare them next to eachother.

Sweden has a huge community called "Sweclockers.com". It's the PC-community in Sweden.
Where in Sweden have you been?

Oh so you're from the Netherlands? I wouldn't guess, your English is flawless
OFF TOPIC: Lol speaking of the Netherlands the only thing I think of when I hear "Netherlands/Holland" is the movies "New Kids Turbo" and "New Kids Nitro", haha. Maaskantje!!!! (if you've seen them, haha).

Thanks for understanding! I have promised myself to take a little pause from projects after "Big Bro' Prodigy", but I have sooo many ideas I want to come true so I'll see for how long that pause will last

I'll see if I can get some pictures out very soon about the radiator placement! Would be fun to show and get feedback upon.

Thanks!
nikkop

 

[Feronix]

Haha, indeed it does! Ohh, I wonder why you have developed a liking for white stuff

Yeah, I wonder....

It may also be that I've worked with the black Prodigy for about 8 months, so I'm "tired" of the color of it, haha.
As I have won the white Prodigy and will get it home eventually I can try out all the components (including the mesh) in both the cases and then see what would suit the best! I guess that's the best way to find out, compare them next to eachother.

I guess so. I also get bored with certain colours/colour schemes really quickly. Especially when you see them every day. Good luck, I'm curious which one it's going to be

Sweden has a huge community called "Sweclockers.com". It's the PC-community in Sweden.
Where in Sweden have you been?

Biggest community we have is Tweakers, but honestly, it's mainly full of people that have no clue what they're doing. I have disabled my account there to restrain myself from replying to the many cringeworthy comments and posts. I just visit that site for the news items now and I use OC3D as my main forum and source of information

Is Sweclockers like a Swedish spin-off from Overclockers (UK) or is is completely unrelated to that?

I spent 2 weeks in the middle of nowhere (absolutely beautiful place in nature, but honestly got a tad boring after 2 weeks in the same spot) and then a weekend in Stockholm, which I really liked!

Oh so you're from the Netherlands? I wouldn't guess, your English is flawless

Why thank you! It's far from flawless but I learn a bit every day and visiting English websites and forums certainly helps out a lot. Your English is quite good as well!

OFF TOPIC: Lol speaking of the Netherlands the only thing I think of when I hear "Netherlands/Holland" is the movies "New Kids Turbo" and "New Kids Nitro", haha. Maaskantje!!!! (if you've seen them, haha).

I am not proud of that, please never speak of this again! :lol:
Luckily, most of the Netherlands is actually nothing like that. I don't like the country very much if I'm completely honest though. Would love to move to England some day when I'm a bit older and have my life figured out

Thanks for understanding! I have promised myself to take a little pause from projects after "Big Bro' Prodigy", but I have sooo many ideas I want to come true so I'll see for how long that pause will last

Must say that Big Bro is huge project. 8 Months you say? That amazing! Longest it ever took me to build a PC was 4 days :lol:
Got some proper modding projects planned, but I need to sell my current rig or otherwise I won't have the funds. Yes, when I do, I will post a build log here

Just take some time off when you feel you need to mate!

I'll see if I can get some pictures out very soon about the radiator placement! Would be fun to show and get feedback upon.

Thanks!
nikkop

Can't wait to see how you're going to do it! Ehh, well... Actually I can. Or at least I have to! :lol: Either way, I'll be here when you post them!

Take care,

 

[Gk1ngs]

Congrats on winning the other case, wish I was lucky enough to win something like that. Perhaps if I was more active in entering competitions I would stand a better chance though.

I think the build suits the black case and the industrial look you have created. I just don't know if it would suit the white as much.

Really looking forward to seeing the rad placements. I have a few ideas how you might have done it but it would be pretty tight with everything in such a small case. The whole project has been amazing so far so I'm really excited about how it will all turn out.

 

[nikkop]

Biggest community we have is Tweakers, but honestly, it's mainly full of people that have no clue what they're doing. I have disabled my account there to restrain myself from replying to the many cringeworthy comments and posts. I just visit that site for the news items now and I use OC3D as my main forum and source of information

Ahhh, I know exactly what you mean. That tends to happen when a community (or anything really) becomes popular enough to invite the wrong target group or people that are too new with the theme

Is Sweclockers like a Swedish spin-off from Overclockers (UK) or is is completely unrelated to that?

I don't know much about Overclockers to be honest.
Sweclockers is a community with professionall news, articles, contets, reviews, forum and much more. It's a complete community and there are a couple of employees that do all the work with the articles/news and such.
Also the theme isn't only overclocking as it may seem, it's basically everything around computers overall. It's like a complete portal

I spent 2 weeks in the middle of nowhere (absolutely beautiful place in nature, but honestly got a tad boring after 2 weeks in the same spot) and then a weekend in Stockholm, which I really liked!

Ahh, nice! I've only been to Stockholm once, and that during a day only. Otherwise I've live in the south of Sweden (Helsingborg) and now I'm currently living close to Gothenburg. Gothenburg is a beautiful city and the second largest. Go there if you have the chance!

I am not proud of that, please never speak of this again! :lol:
Luckily, most of the Netherlands is actually nothing like that. I don't like the country very much if I'm completely honest though. Would love to move to England some day when I'm a bit older and have my life figured out

Hahahah. I loved the movies in a strange way. They were just so random and I was like "Wtf" all the way thru the movie. Gotta love their hair cuts.
Why England? I'd love to go to Asia, but only for a brief period of perhaps 2-3 years, don't wanna live there all my life. I've been to HongKong and it was the trip of my life so far.

Must say that Big Bro is huge project. 8 Months you say? That amazing! Longest it ever took me to build a PC was 4 days :lol:
Got some proper modding projects planned, but I need to sell my current rig or otherwise I won't have the funds. Yes, when I do, I will post a build log here

Just take some time off when you feel you need to mate!

Hahah. Well modding takes a bit longer I like to take my time and not stress my projects, this way they turn out exactly how I want them as I have time to plan and to it all in my own pace.
I'm planning on finishing it in October perhaps, let's hope for that!

I've taken the time to place the components inside the case for some prototype photos. Check below and let me know what you think!

Congrats on winning the other case, wish I was lucky enough to win something like that. Perhaps if I was more active in entering competitions I would stand a better chance though.

I think the build suits the black case and the industrial look you have created. I just don't know if it would suit the white as much.

Really looking forward to seeing the rad placements. I have a few ideas how you might have done it but it would be pretty tight with everything in such a small case. The whole project has been amazing so far so I'm really excited about how it will all turn out.

Thanks a bunch!
Somehow I always manage to win things in competitions. Not so lucky in random draws but rather when I have to do something. At concerts I always catch the drum sticks as I scream like a retard going berzerk hence they throw the drum sticks on me (probably to shut me up, haha).
I will however try the white one out aswell before deciding!

Thanks for your kind words. I'm always trying to make my projects entertaining for others as well, glad you like it.

Check below and you'll see the rad placements!
In case you've got any better idea, please let me know!

Let's go with the watercooling placement!

As I revealed that I will place the radiators inside the case and not outside I thought I could show off what I have planned!
Everything is just placed inside the case without being mounted as the case isn't done - so this will be some sort of prototype of what I'm thinking about doing.

If you happen to have any other examples or thought that may turn out better, please let me know!

So this is what I've beeing trying out and hopefully what it will look like in case it works good.

Here's the reservoir placed to the left and will be visible with the side-panel mounted. The reason I chose a reservoir that big (25cm) was because I think it will look nice when it takes upp all that vertical place
The first radiator is placed all the way to the right. I will be able to use the radiator + fans without blocking the connectors for fans, frontpanel and all those. However, it may happen that the last PCI-E port will be blocked (not that it matters, I won't run 4x SLI anyways). I don't know about this yet, it depends on how I manage to mount it
I know the radiator will blow "hot" air on the GPU, but as I have 2x 240 rads on only the CPU the air won't be particulary hot so I don't think the GPU will suffer, or am I wrong?

Here's the back, behind the motherboard. This side won't be visible and that's why I will place all components here that doesn't need to be shown in the window
To the far left we do see the second radiator. I will of course make hole for the intake in the side panel and then mount a radiator grill so it will look nice. Also, I've managed to put a mechanical HDD (3.5") underneath the radiator. Nice as I had trouble finding a spot for it.
Next we see the pump (Laing DDC). I'd like to mount it like this as it would be best for the space in the case. However I'm unsure if the pump works good being rotated like this. Do anyone happen to know anything about this? I will be using another top as well.
If it's not good for the health of the pump to place it like this I know another place where it will lay down as it should.

So all in all I've managed to find place to mount both 240 radiators, the 25cm reservoir and the pump. The question is if it will work out practically.
Can the pump be rotated like that and still work as it should? Looks like Laing says it can!

I'm planning on using 2 fans per radiator as PnP won't give any benefits as the radiators are only 30mm thick.

Soo, what do you guys think?
I'm completely new to water cooling so if I've missed something critical or done some terribly wrong please let me know! Also if you happen to have suggestions, shout!

Thanks in advance
Best Regards
nikkop

 

[Feronix]

Sorry, cba with the quoting on that huge post

Nah, it's just that the people over here tend to be cocky and when they have an opinion on something you can't prove them wrong. And they only recommend you to buy shit that they have themselves... Oh, and one dude offered €400,- voor my system! :lol:
(Specs + gallery in sig)


Sweclockers sounds like a nice place. I'm assuming it's all in Swedish? Otherwise I'll check them out some time!

Stockholm was really nice! There were also a lot of pretty girls walking around there I don't see myself returning to Sweden anytime soon but if I do; I'll keep Gothenburg in mind.

I honestly thought the movie was a tad cringeworthy, but then again, the Dutch usually don't make very good ones anyway :lol: They're too proud to admit it though.
'Oorlogswinter' was a very good movie though and if you can find it with English subs somewhere, definitely check it out! It's about a kid in WW2 so it's not a very humorous movie though

I don't know what it is about England, I've been there a few times now and it just felt more like home than... home. I love the language, especially with a proper accent and the people are usually really nice! Asia would be cool to visit as well, though I agree that I wouldn't want to live there

I understand that modding takes long, but a year for one project is madness! Good thing that you take your time though, rushing it often results in poor mods


I'm liking that radiator placement! I didn't expect it to fit at the bottom of the board there. I'm also liking that res and the placement! The size helps to prove even more of a point (can fit huge components + proper watercooling in the case).

The rad is pretty thin and like you said you have a lot of rad space just for the CPU. You can expect your card to run a bit warmer but nothing to worry about I'd say. You can always add an intake fan on the bottom, between the rad and the card if it turns out that it gets way too hot?

You could also use it in pull and set it as an exhaust though. You won't have to worry about your GPU, but you'll have to fix your intakes in case of negative air pressure inside of the case. You don't want it to get too dusty.

To fix that I guess you could use the second rad as an intake and does there fit another fan above the PSU? That would fix it all at once

I wouldn't rotate the pump if I were you. I'm no watercooling expert but I'm assuming that there's a reason it was built the way it is. Can you put it on top of the PSU?

Nice job on fitting the mechanical HDD! Will there be any SSDs as well? A build like this needs at least one SSD.

Good work so far, I'm always waiting for more!

 

[mehere]

Oh, and one dude offered €400,- voor my system! :lol:
(Specs + gallery in sig)

400? give you 250 for it

 

[nikkop]

Mega huge imba extreeemee big wall of text (lol kidding).

Haha no problem! I'll quote you on short as well!

Sweclocker's is all in Swedish yes! But perhaps with translation it might be interesting? The articles and reviews are very nice! If moving to England is a dream of yours, make it happen! Better regret that you did something than regretting you never did it! - life motto, haha

On-topic:
Thanks! I like the reservoir placement a lot too! I like the fact that you won't be able to see the top or the bottom of thus it feels even longer than what it is - unlimited lenght!

And I thought about something. If I would add a water block on the GPU, that means that the "hot" air coming from the radiator won't make any big difference on the GPU since the GPU will in that case be under water, right? No fans and the hot air then shouldn't have any big impact on that.
A fan would fit on the PSU in terms of space, but since the PSU's cables are there it won't fit

About the pump! I will probably have next to the reservoir It actually looks good with the custom-top and it blends in very well.
I measured things a little wrong on the pictures - I probably won't be able to fit the HDD under the radiator as it is too wide. I have a few things I need to try out about the placement.
There will be SSD of course! Actually I had one until recently when I lost it in my latest trip to where I am now. That has also led to that I have no computer running now - R.I.P my SSD However I have a spare one at home that will take place instead!

I'm now off to my balcony or some modding!
Let's see what I can pull off

/nikkop

 

[kaney]

Hey Nikkop,

How you doing mate !?! Just read back through your blog from the start trying to get back upto speed !! clearly I have missed a lot and you are still building !

looks absolutely fantastic !!

 

[Feronix]

(Off-topic)

Translating entire forums might be quite the challenging job I'll stick to Tweakers for news and OC3D for reviews and forums.

I hope I'll have the money to make this dream come true in the not too distant future. Maybe find myself a sweet English girl with a lovely accent... ;D


(On-topic)

*Giggles* I get that about length a lot... :lol:

(And now really on-topic)

Do I smell plans to watercool that GPU? Also judging from the topic that you created earlier today By all means go for it, however if you can't, I don't think the rad will cause too much of a problem. As already mentioned, you could always set it to exhaust.

Can you mount the HDD vertically next to the rad? Making an HDD stand up straight should be possible and I've seen it done multiple times. R.I.P your SSD Good to hear that you have a back-up though!

The balcony, ehh? Don't drop stuff!

Looking forward to updates

 

[nikkop]

Hey Nikkop,

How you doing mate !?! Just read back through your blog from the start trying to get back upto speed !! clearly I have missed a lot and you are still building !

looks absolutely fantastic !!

Hiya! I'm doing great, you?

Haha yeah I'm still building. Actually I've done quite much these past days, however I still have some to do before releasing a huge update! Things are really coming togheter now!

I'll check your log out!

(Off-topic)

Translating entire forums might be quite the challenging job I'll stick to Tweakers for news and OC3D for reviews and forums.

I hope I'll have the money to make this dream come true in the not too distant future. Maybe find myself a sweet English girl with a lovely accent... ;D


(On-topic)

*Giggles* I get that about length a lot... :lol:

(And now really on-topic)

Do I smell plans to watercool that GPU? Also judging from the topic that you created earlier today By all means go for it, however if you can't, I don't think the rad will cause too much of a problem. As already mentioned, you could always set it to exhaust.

Can you mount the HDD vertically next to the rad? Making an HDD stand up straight should be possible and I've seen it done multiple times. R.I.P your SSD Good to hear that you have a back-up though!

The balcony, ehh? Don't drop stuff!

Looking forward to updates

Haha, I meant you could translate the reviews only, they're actually really good

Oh I love the british accent as well, even more when they get angry or even rap, haha. British girls rapping is like orgasm to my ears lol (even tho I don't listen to rap, but the thing about the accent + aggressive behavior lol).

I have no plans to watercool the GPU for the moment, to be honest. However, it's always nice to have the possibility to do so in case I change my mind I might do it in the future just for the awesome-factor even tho I'm very satisfied with the temperatures and noise when I tried it out

About the HDD; I've found a place that works out, not optimal but it may work out. I'm also thinking about getting myself a type of HDD-system outside of the case. That way there won't be any noise from the computer at least

As I mentioned to Kaney above; I've done quite much these past days regarding this project. I just need to do some more things before I can release a complete and hopefully huge update. It's all coming togheter and I'm satisfied *giggles*

/nikkop

 

[Feronix]

Haha, I meant you could translate the reviews only, they're actually really good

Oh I love the british accent as well, even more when they get angry or even rap, haha. British girls rapping is like orgasm to my ears lol (even tho I don't listen to rap, but the thing about the accent + aggressive behavior lol).

I have no plans to watercool the GPU for the moment, to be honest. However, it's always nice to have the possibility to do so in case I change my mind I might do it in the future just for the awesome-factor even tho I'm very satisfied with the temperatures and noise when I tried it out

About the HDD; I've found a place that works out, not optimal but it may work out. I'm also thinking about getting myself a type of HDD-system outside of the case. That way there won't be any noise from the computer at least

As I mentioned to Kaney above; I've done quite much these past days regarding this project. I just need to do some more things before I can release a complete and hopefully huge update. It's all coming togheter and I'm satisfied *giggles*

/nikkop

Hmm, I'll have a look if I ever need information on something then

English accents are one of the sexiest things in the world! Personally not a fan of rap though, am more of a metalcore/ post-hardcore guy. Which still sounds absolutely amazing from Brittish bands like Asking Alexandria

Do you have an example of an English girl rapping?

That's fair enough! Watercooling is pretty awesome but if you don't need it then I guess it's not really worth the hassle. There's always that future though and you might change your mind later so it's nice to have the option!

Where is that not-so-optimal-but-it-works place? Also, do you mean external, like a NAS? It does offer for a lot of storage and they are handy but I'm not a fan of running stuff externally if I'm honest. Kind of beats the purpose of a small form factor

Looking forward to updates, I'll get the tissues! *giggle*

 

[nikkop]

Hmm, I'll have a look if I ever need information on something then

English accents are one of the sexiest things in the world! Personally not a fan of rap though, am more of a metalcore/ post-hardcore guy. Which still sounds absolutely amazing from Brittish bands like Asking Alexandria

Do you have an example of an English girl rapping?

Ahh, I used to listen to quite some of metal-/deathcore. However that was a just short period for about 2-3 years, I'm now back to the original me which is diverse electronical music. I did however go to some concerts during that time - Lamb of God and Slipknot were probably the best performers I've ever seen.

Here you go! It's dope, except for the chorus but the verses are sick haha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBwRMoc6UQg

Where is that not-so-optimal-but-it-works place? Also, do you mean external, like a NAS? It does offer for a lot of storage and they are handy but I'm not a fan of running stuff externally if I'm honest. Kind of beats the purpose of a small form factor

Looking forward to updates, I'll get the tissues! *giggle*

The place I've found may cause massive amount of vibrations in the case. However I can't be sure until I try it out so I'll probably try it out
Not a NAS, more of a small station with, let's say, 2x hard drives that are plugged via the USB.
Since I do quite some graphics work storage is essential and them being portable (hot-swap) may be needed as well as I have a laptop too if I need to go anywhere ^_^

About the update that should be out soon, here's a sneak peak!

Tata!

 

[Feronix]

Ahh, I used to listen to quite some of metal-/deathcore. However that was a just short period for about 2-3 years, I'm now back to the original me which is diverse electronical music. I did however go to some concerts during that time - Lamb of God and Slipknot were probably the best performers I've ever seen.

Here you go! It's dope, except for the chorus but the verses are sick haha.

That's not really my kind of thing, if I'm honest
I'll stick to tattoo'd guys screaming good lyrics from the top of their lungs :lol:

The place I've found may cause massive amount of vibrations in the case. However I can't be sure until I try it out so I'll probably try it out
Not a NAS, more of a small station with, let's say, 2x hard drives that are plugged via the USB.
Since I do quite some graphics work storage is essential and them being portable (hot-swap) may be needed as well as I have a laptop too if I need to go anywhere ^_^

About the update that should be out soon, here's a sneak peak!

Tata!

Can't you get some anti vibration mounts? Like the Nexus ones.
http://www.nxstek.com/NXS-doubletwin_hdd_vibration_killer_black_and_white.htm
Pretty sure some other brands also do them, but I'm a big Nexus fanboy

That's fair enough then. What about 2.5" HDDs though? Would probably be easier to put into such a small enclosure. Guess there's nothing wrong with external storage though, especially with that laptop.

And ooooh, I love sneak peeks! Can't wait for the update!

 

[MiNi NiNjA]

Hey Nikkop

What do you use to bend the metal so well? I am doing a project of my own and Ive been trying to figure out what sort of metal brake I should get to do some rather precise bending!

Cheers
Ninja

 

[Kleptobot]

Hey Nikkop

What do you use to bend the metal so well? I am doing a project of my own and Ive been trying to figure out what sort of metal brake I should get to do some rather precise bending!

Cheers
Ninja

+1 to that, noticed the nice metal work a while ago. But now the questions been asked, I'm curious too. Sweet build by the way man, I love the way you are managing to squeeze so much into that case