Change Current Build To Smaller or Keep It?

[Erodedpretzel]

So I built my first computer around the end of August 2012 and love it. I recently upgraded my case to the Corsair 600t which looks awesome and has sweet cable management. The only problem is I do not have a lot of room around my desk so it is sitting on top of a piece of my old desk which is about 20" long and 15" wide. It just barely fits and I am a little nervous about having it up there. I watched a video from tested.com where they build a mini itx computer using the BitFenix Prodigy case which looks amazing. I was thinking of taking my current build and adapting it to fit into that case. I currently have:

*Corsair 600t Case
*CORSAIR HX Series HX750 PSU
*Radeon HD7850 GPU
*Samsung 128gb ssd
*1TB western digital HDD
*8GB sniper Gskill RAMM
*ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA Motherboard
*Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz CPU

I know I would have to buy a mini itx board but would I also need a smaller power supply or would mine fit? Also would heating be an issue to warrant purchasing a better cooler or would the intel stock cooler do just fine?

 

[C12Friedman]

Your PSU will not fit in the Prodigy which according to BitFenix will accept up to 160mm PSU's, the Corsair HX750 is 200mm deep. This video by BitFenix is good for answering some questions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKIsrwS3fX4 you'll notice one of the PSU's they install is a Corsair AX750 but it is quite a bit smaller than the HX750 (160mm vs 200mm) I don't think heat would be an issue in that case personally so I think you would be fine with the stock cooler until wanting to overclcok

 

[Erodedpretzel]

If I do not plan to overclock and I use what I mentioned above, what would be the best and cheapest psu I could get. The ax 750 is great but 150$ and I would like to not have to spend a lot of money since I am already buying the case and a new mobo.

 

[C12Friedman]

If not looking to add another HD7850 in X-Fire, then I might suggest a 500W PSU (modular would be best in a prodigy IMO) Here are four inexpensive yet quality PSU's that'll work for the prodigy set up
1) CORSAIR CX500M
2) Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-650
3) PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 500W
4) SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM
NewEgg links used for descriptive value shopping around may yield lower prices - there are other quality PSU's, my list is not by any means all inclusive but these are PSU's I would personally consider for the build you show
Hope it helps

 

[Erodedpretzel]

Awesome you are a ton of help! I think I will go with the third one since it is quiet and fits the theme of the case. I have one last question. I was looking around at the mini itx boards and I have a concern if I would have enough connectors for the cpu,front and rear fans. Is there a good board out there with this?

 

[C12Friedman]

It looks like that could be an issue. A quick check of mini-ITX mobos doesn't look promising as far as fan headers, I might suggest something like this (I have one for my rad fans - I love it) FrozenCPU Deluxe Multi Power Port - 12V / 7V / 5V there are other fan solutions, I just happen to like that one.

 

[Erodedpretzel]

Wow that was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much for your help. You have been really helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to help me.

 

[Erodedpretzel]

Sorry to bring back this thread but I have a question about the power port above. I have two fans which use 12v so I assumed they would fit into the 12v pin slot but they only fit into the 7v area. Would this be ok or should I use a little more pressure to see if they will fit. Also would I just connect a 4pin connector from the mobo to the power port and it would still control the fans correctly?

 

[C12Friedman]

I'll try to get you set up with that... If you orient it so that the molex connector and 4pin power in is on your left, the 3 pin 12V out are at the bottom, the 3 pin 7V is on the right (on the end) and the 5V out is on the top. My suggestion is to plug in a molex as your power in, when you do that, the other three connectors in that area become pass-throughs (power out also). There is a picture at the FrozenCPU link that shows which is what.
Hope it helps

 

[Erodedpretzel]

I was able to get it to work but will my mobo be able to control the fan or should I get a fan controller?

 

[C12Friedman]

I was able to get it to work but will my mobo be able to control the fan or should I get a fan controller?

You would need a fan controller for that but unless your CD bay is empty, I don't know where you would mount one - there are externals but I don't think they would compliment your system - you would need to do some shopping there I would think. Alternatively, you can plug the fans into the 7V headers on the card which will make them quieter by running slower - or even the 5V headers but I think you would have to test the 5V to see if it'll power your fans (some brushless motors don't like to start at that low of voltage) but the drawback there is no 'on-the-fly' control

 

[manofchalk]

Modding a fan controller into the case has been done before fairly well.

Get a manual fan controller like a Lamptron FC8, drill holes in the top of the case to let the dials stick out and superglue or otherwise mount the controller to the ceiling of the case. Gets you a range of dials to control the fans with, and doesnt use up a 5.25" bay, just the case warranty :lol:.