BitFenix Prodigy Matx Build quieries

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Smarticuss

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Feb 22, 2014
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So I wanted to build a Bitfenix Prodigy Matx PC - for a high performance, all round PC. Here's some things I'd like to include:

Asus RAIDR 240GB - SSD
Asus Xonar D2X 7.1 - Sound Card
MSI GeForce GTX 750Ti - GPU
TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 - Network Card

My question is, will all of these fit? And any recommendations for a suitable motherboard or general advice for this build. I'm not super technical but I sort of know enough. Thanks in advance
 
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Rammy

Rammy

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Sep 3, 2012
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Basically - no. I'm sure that some single slot GTX750Tis will arrive but to the best of my knowledge, they don't exist yet. That means you need five slots, and while a Bitfenix Prodigy M does have five expansion slots, it's likely that they aren't located in the right places (most motherboards use slot 1 or 2 for the main PCIe slot).


There's a few questions to ask yourself though -
Do you need a soundcard? (it's a reasonably niche device these days)
Do you need a PCIe SSD? Why not SATA?
Are you set on the Bitfenix Prodigy M? It's a bit of a mess in terms of layout, and not a great case for most builds. You are usually better off with a standard Prodigy if you want one, or looking at alternative mATX/ATX cases otherwise.
 
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Smarticuss

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Feb 22, 2014
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I didn't think it would be possible, it just would of been really cool and convenient. The reasons I went for them is because I will be doing a lot of different things with my PC and wanted it to be fast, good quality and able to handle multiple tasks well.


  • The Asus Xonar is a must though, as I watch a lot of movies/ produce music.
    The SSD was just for speed, reliability and just plain awesomeness!
    And I don't know if there are better or faster wireless options for PC's?
    I actually prefer the standard Prodigy, it just doesn't have enough expansion slots for me
 
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Rammy

Rammy

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I don't really know why you would use a PCIe SSD when it's going to cause you problems. Standard SATA SSDs solve the problem instantly.

The other stuff is really up to you. There should be no major issues finding a motherboard which will support a Wifi card, soundcard and 2slot graphics card, though a lot of mATX boards will have at least one legacy PCI slot (often at the bottom) which you can use for a Wifi card, though not the one you listed.
Now, you haven't listed your other preferences on components (or budget) so I'm kinda playing guesswork here. I'll assume that A) you are going Intel, either i5 or i7, and B) you are going with the most modern socket 1150 (4000-series Intel CPUs).
Few motherboards which will fit sound card and network card you listed plus a 2slot graphics card -
ASRock Z87Extreme4M
Asus H81M-PLUS, H87M-E, H87M-Pro, Z87M-PLUS, GRYPHON Z87, Maximus VI GENE
Like I say, if you change the Wifi card to PCI, there are loads, but you do need to be careful here. Which chipset you need will depend on the rest of your specs/needs really.

The mATX Prodigy will cause you a lot of issues, some minor, some more annoying. There is quite a lot of "you can't fit X if you have Y type of scenarios which can be problematic. I'd suggest sticking with a popular compact tower like an Arc Mini or Corsair 350D, but once you hit those sort of dimensions you do have to ask yourself whether it's worth bothering with mATX at all (the footprint is going to be very similar after all). If you really want a mATX Prodigy, then have a look at the Aerocool Dead Silence, it's more like a standard Prodigy in layout than a Prodigy-M and looks fairly similar.
 
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Smarticuss

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Feb 22, 2014
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Oh really, what problems would you face with a PCIe SSD? I most likely wouldn't go with it, I just liked the idea of it. In theory, is a PCIe SSD not faster then a sata SSD?

Other than a wireless card, is there another way of having permanent wireless on a PC? (internally, I have a usb stick now and that thing is just useless). And (weirdly) the graphics card isn't the most important feature, I'd still like a good performing GPU but a single slot one would be more preferable. If I could get a single slot GPU and somehow have good wireless internet, that's not PCI, I could go for the smaller Prodigy ITX, which would be much better for me as its the one I prefer.

And as budget/components go, I haven't thought too far ahead, I wanted to see if a motherboard that could fit what I wanted actually existed first. But most likely Intel as (I believe) they are more well rounded, which is what I need. But still something fast, which do you think is better for performance : price i5 or i7? And I'm sorry, I don't understand the difference in socket. And my budget is around £1000ish - I'll be gradually buying the 'extra' parts (sound card, graphics card etc) so performance is high on my mind. Also, is it possible to have an external SATA input to connect hard drives? Its probably not worth the effort vs USB.

Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions, I just want to know what I'm getting into and explore possible options. Thanks a bunch for the replies, its really helpfull
 
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Rammy

Rammy

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Nope, PCIe is no faster than SATA, it's just a potentially more convenient place to have drives I guess, depending on your case setup and the limitations of your motherboard. There's extra potential bandwidth there, but it's not really used.

Some ITX motherboards have integrated Wifi (as add-in cards aren't an option) but it's a relatively premium feature.
Also, some motherboards (notably a lot of ASRock ones) come with an eSATA port (external SATA). You'd need a suitable external drive/NAS to use this though.

i5 vs i7 is tricky as I don't know the software you use (and even if I did I probably wouldn't know). They are both quad cores, but the i7 has an increased L3 cache and Hyperthreading which can boost performance in certain tasks. In something like gaming, there is very little difference between them.

You have a couple of options really.
Go with ITX. It means sacrificing any add-in cards, and it might not be cheap, but you'd probably be surprised at what you can actually get. Integrated Wifi is fairly easy to find, and there are a few motherboards which have enhanced sound features too. It's not cheap (it's really not) but the Maximus Impact has basically everything you've mentioned (mini sound card, integrated Wifi, eSATA) in an ITX form and gives you access to the Prodigy case as well as a lot of other compact cases.
Just go with a standard ATX board. If you want flexibility, this is definitely the way to go. You can find mATX/ITX boards which will do what you want them to, but if you want to make changes at some point you might find that you are limited due to the way things are positioned. There are ATX cases which have a similar volume to a Prodigy but a lot less limitations.
 
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I am in the same situation as Smarticuss. Leaning towards ITX and Prodigy especially. But the limitations of itx-mobo is an issue. Rammy got my attention here. Where can I find those ATX cases that have a similar volume to Prodigy? Would solve so many problems. Could use ATX mobo and PSU. I want to have the case on my desk, not on the floor. So footprint is important. Actually that is the only reason why I even consider ITX.

I have been looking through hundreds of cases, but haven't spotted a small footprint ATX case.
 
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