BitFenix announces the Prodigy M case - a Prodigy for mATX
by Ian Cutress on August 14, 2013 5:41 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- bitfenix
- Prodigy
- Prodigy M
One of my most used cases of last year is the Bitfenix Prodigy (my family own three between us), and Dustin gave it an Editor's Choice award back in June last year. It offered a slightly larger mini-ITX case with space for several storage drives and a large GPU. The Prodigy got enough of a following that requests were funnelled back to BitFenix to release a version, either the same size or slightly bigger for micro-ATX motherboards and dual GPU functionality. I saw some of the design factors that Bitfenix were working on during Computex, but today they are officially announcing the BitFenix Prodigy M, the same size as the Prodigy but enough to fit a micro-ATX motherboard inside.
As you can see, it is all a tight squeeze to fit a 5-bay mATX board inside. The Power Supply insert requires a unique cable (provided) to route the PSU to the front of the case, and both 120mm and slim 240mm water cooling radiators are supported. The Prodigy M comes with the same SofTouch surface treatment as the Prodigy as well as FyberFlex handles. By fitting the storage into the side panels and on the bottom of the case, BitFenix are claiming support for four 3.5" bays or five 2.5" bays, though I'd imagine that comes at the expense of certain other features. For example, it would seem that users have the choice of a second long GPU or an ODD.
We are told that the Prodigy M will be available in October, and UK retailers currently have it on pre-order for just under £70 (inc. tax), which would put it at the US$90 mark (without tax), although official pricing from BitFenix is an MSRP of $99. It would seem that intially the case will be available in white or black, although I would imagine we will see a more diverse color range as the orginial Prodigy has today.
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Death666Angel - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link
So, you want a cube case design? I've had a Lian Li PC-V351B and was thoroughly disappointed. While I rarely have trouble with vertical height (the only limit there is my desktop height which is significant), the footprint of a PC case is much more important in order to save space and increase either the free space on top of my desktop or below it. I'm much more happy with the tower design, it also allows for more versatility in my experience.I'll be looking forward to the review! :)
1Angelreloaded - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link
Footprint is an interesting issue, you can buy a console/HTPC these days if that is your concern. The majority of PC users prefer functionality, these days a processor and GPU card performance are paced to deal more performance per cooling, and in that area a cube case is the best option, BTW if you live in a smaller apartment or have little cubic feet of air movement a cube case offers better cooling than any tower could due to the higher internal air flow that allows the heat sinks to breath and gives a more direct cooling option similar to what corsair tried to do with Air 540, The Prodigy M is a worse option with little to no internal air space thus defeating the purpose. An above post was right a larger cube would have done the trick part of the problem with Lian Li and Silverstone MATX solutions is they mistake SFF cube format for something that should be the size of an ITX cube. This is where cases like Mountain Mods does triumph over prefabbed cases, If you want a SFF Cube form stylized case with proper airflow for the size the H2Go and the BoB Slay V2 are the best options although a little pricey, and beyond them the 540 Air is perfect for an Atx solution case albeit larger.1Angelreloaded - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link
Yeah same thoughts, the footprint would have been perfect for an ITX, but just seems way to crammed to allow semi decent internal airflow for MATX.Which is what cube FF is all about, I would rather recommend a Xigmatek Gigas, H2go, Bob Slay V2, for the sizes they provide better airflow. This case wont be able to house an Asus Maximus board with the combo card due to the fan placements.mikepegg - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link
"The Power Supply insert requires a unique cable (provided) to route the PSU to the front of the case" thats my only worry really. more info in review please :)DanNeely - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link
I'm guessing it's a longer version of the one in my NASes case which has an ATX PSU installed vertically on the back instead of the front; and is only unique in the sense that it's new to Ian. Basically a short extension cord that plugs into the cases wall plug socket on one and and to the PSU's AC in on the other.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Termie - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link
Based on experience with my TJ-08E, I can say with complete certainty that the Prodigy M will overheat - there's simply no way you could keep that level of components cool without a front intake fan. A definite pass...InterClaw - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link
You can put 3 x 120mm or 1 x 200mm or 1 x 230mm at the bottom of the cage (or drives I guess).1Angelreloaded - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link
No he is right on top of that you can clearly see the parts will hinder the airflow due to the cramped quarters, Cube cases are superior due to the volume of air they can push in and out of a case, MATX and higher should never see anything less than 2 intake and 2 exhaust 120mm fans with a clear direct flow path to the main board and gpu, otherwise the thermals will rise rapidly causing throttling, the Gigas is better than this.voodoobunny - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link
oooOOOOOOOoooooo :)Dentons - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link
I never really got the point of the Prodigy ITX. I was actually going to buy one until I saw it in the shops, I was stunned at the size. The case is massive for ITX. And why? So it can hold a bunch of mechanical hard drives? So it can use a standard PSU?This shows that BitFenix is lagging a year or two behind the times, but so are most case manufacturers. A lot of cases still don't have USB 3.0.
Even for those that want a large ITX case, there are better cases for less money. The Fractal Design Node 304 is one. A great case that's great looking, but still overly large for the ITX specification.
The Prodigy in a mATX configuration seems to make more sense, but I have to wonder as to the ongoing need for lots of mechanical hard drives and standard PSU's. Many if not most non-gaming use cases could be adequately handled by a very tiny ITX case with an SSD and external PSU.
Unfortunately, there are a real lack of high quality "book sized" cases, a size that seems perfectly designed for the ITX spec.