New build compatability - BitFenix Prodigy M, XFX Radeon r9 280, i5-4690k, G.Skill Trident X

[rhysied]

Hi guys,

I'm looking to build my own PC for the first time and was just wondering if anyone could give my proposed system a once over before I start ordering things. I've used pcpartpicker to select the components, so they should theoretically all be compatible, but I wanted to just double check to be on the safe side, especially given the limited amount of room available in the case. Parts are:


CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£164.00 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS5X Performa CPU Cooler (£12.37 @ Amazon UK)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver Arctic Alumina Premium Ceramic Polysynthetic 1.75g Thermal Paste (£5.33 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£63.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£121.54 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£44.54 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£49.98 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card (£151.54 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£50.93 @ Amazon UK)
Case Fan: Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 74.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£3.83 @ Aria PC)
Case Fan: Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 74.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£3.83 @ Aria PC)
Other: BitFenix Prodigy M 'Yin' (£74.95 @ Overclockers UK)


Total: £746.40


The cheap fans are just temporary ones until I can better understand the cooling requirements, at which point I'll look at getting better, quieter ones or perhaps look at water cooling.

If you guys have any recommendations about alternative parts please let me know (I havent looked for the cheapest prices yet, the ones quoted are those fetched by pcpartpicker).



Cheers, Rhys.

 

[tiny voices]

issues:

You have an overclocking CPU on an H series board. You need a Z series board to overclock that CPU to use it's full potential.
CPU cooler is too low end for overclocking. Change to Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
PSU is low quality. Change to Antec, XFX, Seasonic.
Get 8gb RAM not 16gb for gaming.

 

[Rammy]

In addition to what tiny voices points (all of which are good) - I'd go for an ITX Prodigy over a Prodigy M for any type of build. There's definitely advantages to using mATX over ITX, but due to the layout of the Prodigy M you just can't exploit any of these.

Also as a gaming focused build it's not terribly graphics card heavy. It really depends what you are trying to do, but it's likely you'll get a better result by pushing more funds into this area.

 

[rhysied]

In addition to what tiny voices points (all of which are good) - I'd go for an ITX Prodigy over a Prodigy M for any type of build. There's definitely advantages to using mATX over ITX, but due to the layout of the Prodigy M you just can't exploit any of these.

Also as a gaming focused build it's not terribly graphics card heavy. It really depends what you are trying to do, but it's likely you'll get a better result by pushing more funds into this area.

Hi guys, thanks for your feedback.

I've now switched out the mobo, psu and cooler now:

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.86 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£76.76 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£62.98 @ Amazon UK)


Also Rammy, I appreciate what you're saying about going for ITX over Prodigy M. The Prodigy M is definitely a case (ba-dum-tish) of form over function, but I'm also trying to think of the future when I may want to upgrade to a larger case, whereas by going for ITX I will be quite limited.


Thanks again for your help.

Cheers, Rhys.

 

[Rammy]

It's totally your call of course, but I do think the Prodigy M is a poor choice for anyone really. The ITX Prodigy isn't without it's issues (I've used three of them) but the M version takes away all of its USPs and only adds disadvantages.
The ITX version is much more capable of high end builds than the mATX due to better airflow, drive locations and a much wider cooler compatibility list.
For me, it comes down to three things.
If you want an overclocking mATX build with support for high end components, popular cases like the Arc Mini or 350D are excellent.
If you want the Prodigy look, work with the ITX format - it's not a limitation for most people as 95%+ of features don't need expansion slots anymore.


The motherboard you have picked is ok-ish, but it's not going to support Crossfire well (if that's a reason you wanted mATX) and it's not going to be a great overclocker. For those kind of functions you need to spend £105+.
Good thing if you do get something like the ASRock Z97M OC Formula, you also get SATA Express and M.2 support which is potentially nice to have if you want a machine you can upgrade down the line.
If you want both of those things, or somewhere between, there's cases like the Aerocool DS which offer a similar aesthetic but better features.

 

[rhysied]

It's totally your call of course, but I do think the Prodigy M is a poor choice for anyone really. The ITX Prodigy isn't without it's issues (I've used three of them) but the M version takes away all of its USPs and only adds disadvantages.
The ITX version is much more capable of high end builds than the mATX due to better airflow, drive locations and a much wider cooler compatibility list.
For me, it comes down to three things.
If you want an overclocking mATX build with support for high end components, popular cases like the Arc Mini or 350D are excellent.
If you want the Prodigy look, work with the ITX format - it's not a limitation for most people as 95%+ of features don't need expansion slots anymore.


The motherboard you have picked is ok-ish, but it's not going to support Crossfire well (if that's a reason you wanted mATX) and it's not going to be a great overclocker. For those kind of functions you need to spend £105+.
Good thing if you do get something like the ASRock Z97M OC Formula, you also get SATA Express and M.2 support which is potentially nice to have if you want a machine you can upgrade down the line.
If you want both of those things, or somewhere between, there's cases like the Aerocool DS which offer a similar aesthetic but better features.

Yeah I was originally looking at the Aerocool DS in all white, as well as the BitFenix Phenom and Corsair Carbide Air 240. I might have another look around to see if there is something a bit better that catches my eye. Have you had any experience with those cases?

As for motherboard, I was also looking at the MSI z97m Gaming and the Asus Z97m-Plus as these are the ones quoted by G Skill to work with that RAM, which allegedly is quite good (low CL). I'm not sure whether its worth paying the extra money for features I might use, when by the time it comes to upgrading in around 3/4 years (I know the graphics will be a bit weak by then, but I wont be running multiple monitors as of now and I dont mind if not everything is on ultra ) I might need up ending a new motherboard anyway to support new features / architectures. Plus I only initially planned on a budget of around £700, which is now almost £800 already.


Cheers though, I'll mull it over tonight and see what other cases and mobos I can find.


Rhys.

 

[TweeDoor]

The msi gamimg looks awesome as well.