The first thing I did with the mini machine was boot into the BIOS and do a simple multiplier overclock on the CPU. I left the stock voltages and bclock the same but cranked up the turbo multipliers on all the cores to 44 for a single core, 43 for two cores, and 42 for more. This gave me a nice, stable conservative overclock of up to 4.4GHz for single-threaded tasks. The MSI GTX 670 is factory‑overclocked, so I resisted further overclocking in an attempt to keep the noise from its fans down.
Against our zero-point, the mini-rig loses in every benchmark save ProShow Producer, where its high clock speeds are more important than the zero-point’s 12 threads. But our zero-point has a hexa-core CPU , a dual GPU, and costs a lot more money—and it’s not nearly as portable. For the price, we get a hell of a lot of rig in a small footprint, and we even get carrying handles. Besides, the fast CPU and GPU on this baby mean that it’s still blisteringly good.
The downside of Mini-ITX is that you only get one PCIe slot and two RAM slots, so you’ve got to be judicious with your build. The good news is that this machine still has room for all the essentials and no wasted space, while still being upgradeable. We’d gladly build into the Prodigy again, and we’re pleased we can build a kick-ass (and luggable) rig in such a small package.
Comments are closed on this article
Mediziner
October 29, 2012 at 9:24am
Actually, most mATX cases are smaller than the mini-itx Bitfenix. lol :3
mrbofus
October 26, 2012 at 11:01am
Perhaps I missed it, but is there any mention of cost? I couldn't find anything except how much the PC two years ago cost to build.
morgo_mpx
October 24, 2012 at 2:27pm
I like it.
I recently did a similar build using a Lian Li PC-TU200 asrock Z77 Wifi M-ITX board, core i5 but my main differences were a Corsair H60 cooling kit and a Silverstone Strider Plus ST50F-P. The reasoning for this is the h60's really low profile cpu block and the psu being 140mm deep and fully modular. You guys may have opted for the non-modular, but being fully modular helps alot.
pic = http://i.imgur.com/l0D17.jpg
Alfaa
October 24, 2012 at 1:20pm
You guys could have done much better with this PC. The parts are meh, but what are you gonna do?
The real problem here is the wiring though. What really stands out to me is the 8-pin CPU power going OVER the GPU. Come'on, really?
My friend and I recently built him a Prodigy rig, and we found that one of the best solutions for wiring was to route the cables from the other side of the case. Now, I'm not expecting yours to look like ours, but that CPU power cable really stands out to me as lazy.
Check out our work here: http://imgur.com/a/Roia4
tmattrobinson
October 22, 2012 at 5:38pm
Bought this case a little while back and I have to say, I haven't regretted the purchase at all. There are lots of little quirks with the motherboard being mounted the way it is, but they're all fairly easy enough to work around.
I will say that the case does wobble - A LOT. But once I installed all of my components and removed the top hard drive cage, it balanced itself out very nicely.
Most casual builders really don't need anymore than one PCI-e slot. I've got a 670 in mine and couldn't ask for more. The only real issue I have is with the motherboard companies themselves. I've got an ASUS P8H77-I and while I love it, I hate the placement of the CPU socket. I've got the stock cooler on it right now since I'm not overclocking but if I wanted to add an aftermarket cooler, it would have to be a liquid cooler. The socket is so close to the PCI-e slot that no heat sink would fit. And that's really a shame since the case has ample room to fit a beastly aftermarket heatsink in it.
Keith E. Whisman
October 22, 2012 at 5:34pm
Hey guys, they weren't asking for what you would do, they were showing you what they think is an awesome small gaming PC. It's their article and their opinion. It's their build and it may differ from yours. I'm sure they didn't make this article with the intention of drawing so much derision and other peoples build ideas. I would build a different computer entirely because I have a different budget and different tastes but I won't put up a lame build in some dumbshit attempt to prove the world rotates around only you. Take your build ideas and leave them as dream builds on newegg.com
D4rkr4in
October 21, 2012 at 10:47pm
$1600? Really?
First off, your motherboard doesn't need to be Z77, H77 is ample. A 3570K with a liquid cooler? why? From my perspective, you don't need to overclock your CPU when all you're going to be doing is just bringing this around as a LAN machine. Just get an i5 3330 and use le stock cooler. 7950 > 670 in power, cheaper in cost. And finally, who needs 3TB and an SSD for a LAN party rig? Just stick with a single 256 for games, plus as a LAN rig, HDDs are not a good thing as the computer will be brought around and things prone to shock are not recommended.
It comes down for me as only (very rough estimate) $720. That's half the price for the same performance, if not more in games because 7950. GG.
Bean Bandit
October 22, 2012 at 7:18am
What do you expect here. It's always about how much money they can spend.
ronmccord
October 21, 2012 at 10:25am
Does it bother anyone else that this case wobbles? Watch the Avadirect video build of a black one and its lie a weeble wobbles, that may be something that precludes me from jumping on it. At least until I see what the new Falcon Northwest fragbox looks like next year as well as if Alieware gets it together and updates the X51 with better graphics options and design.
Strangelove_424
October 21, 2012 at 4:35pm
Yes, the flexible feet are extremely bothersome to me and ruin what would otherwise be a great little case.
Jeffredo
October 21, 2012 at 10:24am
While I own a GTX 670 and love it a GTX 650 Ti would fit perfectly in that tiny case.
Suijen
October 20, 2012 at 8:07pm
It is a nice looking case. I've always wondered about getting one of these small form factor cases. It's just too bad they couldn't cram another videocard inside it. One more and it would have kicked major arse.
fruergaard
October 27, 2012 at 2:55pm
What do you mean not possible??
sure you can put two GPU's and a X79 motherboard in there:
http://www.cooledpc.com/build/224
iplayoneasy
October 20, 2012 at 12:22pm
Tricky? Please stop. Give the mag some laptop building tutorials. That is truly miniature power in a small form factor.
We all can build a desktop pc in our sleep. But not all of us can build laptops.
tekknyne
October 20, 2012 at 9:30am
Sick build and I definitely like that case a lot. Cool how the mini itx board sits in there horizontally on top of the power supply and video card is in there vertically. I would almost keep that side off showing off the video card.
Not sure I would spring for the sff case and board or optical drive :), but for an HTPC, this thing has some balls.
fruergaard
October 27, 2012 at 2:58pm
Then you would like Unobtainable:
http://www.cooledpc.com/build/224
Drew7
October 20, 2012 at 8:27am
Personally, I would have went with the AMD HD 7850. Especially the CORE Edition by XFX for $179.99 (New Egg)... Way faster than the GPU you all chose. And overclocks nicely with AMD Catalyst. One review got it up to 1Ghz, stable.
Zefram0911
October 20, 2012 at 9:19am
You're out of your mind if you think a 7850 beats a 670. The 670 trounces the 7850 in virtually every benchmark. It's not even close. A more fair comparison might be a 7970 and even then, at stock, the 670 trades blows with the 7970 in many games. But when it wins, it wins by a lot. I'm assuming, budget wasn't really a concern here, so performance/price ratios don't matter.
Drew7
October 20, 2012 at 10:07am
Oh damn! My bad... Honestly. I mis-read. I thought they were using the GTX 460, NOT the 670. In which case you're right. Either way... I love my 7850 :)
Drew7
October 20, 2012 at 10:11am
Damn! The GTX 670 is also WWWAAAAYYYYY more expensive than the HD 7850!!! For $179.99, I'm more than happy!
Drew7
October 20, 2012 at 10:16am
Actually, I just looked-up a comparison between the GTX 670, the HD 7970, AND the HD 7950... BOTH AMD cards beat the 670. Eh, whatever. I ::Heart:: AMD :)
Andrew.Hodge
October 20, 2012 at 10:50am
You know max pc. They can't use amd parts. Not expensive enough for them.
Bean Bandit
October 20, 2012 at 1:19pm
Yea it seems it's more about what cost the most vs the best performance. lol
Drew7
October 20, 2012 at 11:19am
LOL! eNvidia probably pays them to use their parts. Wouldn't surprise me. Whatever. I never understood these people who need the best, anyway. That new released $500 graphics card is gonna be obsolete in like 3 months. My 7850 can play anything in far better detail than an XBOX 360, or a PS3... That's really all I care about. Hell, a 7850 is like 2.5 XBOX 360s, power-wise.
Angelman0401
October 20, 2012 at 6:31am
Nice build. In case I missed it, what's the total price on this build? Also, isn't the benchmarks chart messed up? Shouldn't the numbers on the right side be on the left as the zero point numbers? The only thing left to do with this machine is to give it away....
Andrew.Hodge
October 19, 2012 at 8:54pm
Nice crapple case. Honestly, it looks like a gimpy mac pro. I think I'm in hate. As for everything else, I really like it. The specs are strong, and the build quality is great.
Alfaa
October 24, 2012 at 1:23pm
If you don't like the look of the feet, they easily pop off to make it a smaller box. It actually looks quite good without the feet, too.
457R4L
October 19, 2012 at 5:31pm
I have the same mobo but sprung for the sg08 case, also you can save more space and money by going for a msata ssd. For a serious modification you could even remove the wifi/bt module and replace with a mpcie tv tuner such as http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816321017&Tpk=mini%20pci-e%20tv%20tuner and even use the antenna.
tweeve
October 19, 2012 at 3:44pm
I like it.
I have been thinking of making my next rig as a small gaming rig that is easy to transport. I will have to give that case a serious look when I go to build.
