[Project]: Big Bro' Prodigy (E-ATX Prodigy mod)

[nikkokick]

The latest update is 10/02 2014.

Please find it, thanks!




Hello and welcome to my project and my build/project log named " Big Bro 'Prodigy ."

In this project, a well-planned and excecute modification of computer chassis named "BitFenix ​​Prodigy" will be performed.
The modification will be performed in a manner so that the end result is something I've never seen before.
I hope you readers will find my project interesting, both the arrangement, modification, the idea and the final product.

To make this project possible, I have a couple of business partners with well-known names.
Let me introduce you to them and thank them for supporting my work and giving me this opportunity:
_____________________________________________________________________________


Gigabyte has provided me with the following product:

• Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7
• GIGABYTE GTX 780 OC

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

AquaTuning have provided me with the following products:

 

• Alphacool NexXxoS XP³ Light - Black Chrome Edition

• Alphacool NexXxos ST30 240mm

• Alphacool HF 38 Cape Cyclen 250

• Laing DDC-pump 12V DDC-1T

• Alphacool Laing DDC Acetal top

• Phobya Universal monterirng för pumpar (Eheim, Magicool, Laing) & Alphacool Laing ljuddämpningskit (Velcro matta + 60x60mm isolering)

• Phobya Blende Dual (240) - Hole Series - Black & Phobya radiator grill single (140) HEXX - black

 

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

BitFenix​​ has provided me with the following products:

• Prodigy
• Recon
• Spectre Pro
• Alchemy LED Strips
• Alchemy Cables

Products of at Inet (Swedish retailer).
_____________________________________________________________________________


Dustin Home has provided me with the following product:

• Intel Core i7 3770k

_____________________________________________________________________________


BeQuiet! has provided me with the following product:

• Dark Power Pro 750W

_____________________________________________________________________________


Mountain Mods has provided me with the following product:

• Mountain Mods Modular Removable Motherboard Tray
  _____________________________________________________________________________
  
  Thank you again! Without you, this project would not be able to be done.
  Photos, videos, and more will reviews of the products will presented in this project.
  _____________________________________________________________________________

"To Do" list:

• [X] Writing the introduction and presentation of the project. - 9/12 2012
• [X] Remove chassis parts and remove some metal pieces. - 12/12 2012
• [X] Show prototypes and the chassis. - BitFenix ​​ products wil be used here. - 16/12 2012
• [X] Cut holes and mount a plexiglass window on the side panel. - 05/01 2013
• [X] Modify the motherboard tray - MountainMods products will be used here. - 03/2 2013
• [X] Fix the new place for the power supply. - BeQuiet! products wil be used here. - 03/2 2013 + 20/4 2013.
• [X] Unboxing of GIGABYTE z77x-UP7 and test-mounting in the case - 12/03 -2013
• [X] Attaching new motherboard plate and its I / O & PCI-E ports. - - 08/04 -2013
• [X] Modification of the front panel - 24/05 -2013
• [X] Modification of the top - 16/06 - 2013
• [X] Even more mesh! and AquaTuning is sponsoring - 10/07 - 2013
• [X] Unboxing & Overview of the GIGABYTE GTX 780 OC - 06/08 -2013
• [X] Cut holes for I/O and assembly - 28/08 -2013
• [X] The case and it's parts are done - 14/12 -2013
• [X] Test, review and show products. GIGABYTE products will be used here.
• [X] Mount the water cooling - AquaTuning​​ products will be used here. 10/02 -2014
• [ ] Final pictures.

More things to do may be added.

More things to do may be added.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Introduction - What and why? - 9/12 2012
Welcome to my introduction to my project " Big Bro 'Prodigy "!

I will now present my project and tell you what it will be about.

The idea:
What kind of project will I do?
What kind of modification will I make to the BitFenix ​​Prodigy?
Why?

The reason I wanted to do a project and a modification of this particular chassis is because I, when it was announced, was very interested in this chassis. In my last project I modified one of the prettiest chassis available in my opinion, the PowerMac G5.
When I saw BitFenix ​​Prodigy, it felt like a "little brother" to the PowerMac G5 because of how the front and handles on the top and bottom looked.
I felt that this is a chassis I want to deal with.

I looked at acquiring myself a m-ITX motherboard but I found nothing that suited me. I am in need of 4x RAM slots (m-ITX has only 2x) and I love overclocking and general stuff with computers, so m-ITX unfortunately was no choice for me.
Many have wished that this chassis would be released as at least m-ATX chassis and I also wished for that because I've got a mATX board.
That's when I figured I should take matters into my own hands and fix me a Prodigy that fits my needs.

But no, I will not modify the chassis to fit a mATX motherboard, sorry guys. Many have guessed at it, and I'll admit, it was actually my first idea for a while. Then, however, Isaw that there is already a guy out on the wide internet that has done this.
I felt I want to be unique and do something that nobody else has done, so I decided to not make a m-ATX chassis by Prodigy.
_____________________________________________________________________________

What am I going to do?

Thanks for asking
My modification will become something even greater, something even more extreme and something even more unique.
I'm going in my project and in this log modify a BitFenix ​​Prodigy so much so that it fits with a ..

Wait for it ...

m-ATX ...

and ...

ATX ...

and even ...

E-ATX!

You read that right. I'll modify my BitFenix ​​Prodigy so it keeps an almost complete E-ATX motherboards. This is a form factor greater than ATX (which is the motherboard "noramal" size). An m-ITX chassis that will swallow a E-ATX motherboard! >
However, the "standard" for E-ATX is 30.5cm x 33cm, and this will unfortunately not fit physically. I will fit motherboard up to 30.5cm x 28cm, which is larger than the standard "ATX". Many E-ATX motherboards are 30.5cm x 27cm, for example the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7.
I can, with even more modification, fit a motherboard that is a full size E-ATX, which is 30.5cm x 33cm. I will however not do this, but it is possible with some extending of the case (I wan't to keep the exterior original).

The reason I will perform this modification is because I want to make room for larger motherboards than the intended m-ITX (17cm x 17cm). This is an aesthetically attractive chassis that is very capable of doing much. With the help of my modification, I will be able to get the motherboard that is almost four times as large as intended. Not bad!
The chassis is very popular among enthusiasts and making a modification as extreme like this of this chassis I will be extremely exciting! My goal is to show what the Prodigy can actually go for and what it is capable of.
Hope you do as well and are eager to follow my project log.

Any form of constructive criticism are welcome! Positive and negative.
Thanks in advance
Hope you like it here in my little project log
Best Regards
Nikkop

The Prodigy and emptying it - 13/12 2012

Hey!
First and foremost, I want to present my latest collaboration partners. It is a reputable company and you have certainly come across their name many times and maybe even used their products.

Let me introduce:

Gigabyte

Gigabyte will provide me with a monstrous motherboard, their top model for socket 1155, by the name of GA-Z77X-UP7.


This motherboards color theme will suit perfectly to my project as I will use hot colors such as - Yellow, Orange and Red.
The GA-Z77X-UP7 also allows for QUAD SLI/CF (four graphics cards ), has dual 8pin for the CPU and holds the world record for overclocking "Intel Ivy Bridge" processor (7.102GHz).
For more information, unboxing, review, overclocking, photographs and use of the product in my modification will happen when I get the motherboard from Gigabyte. Until then, we must content ourselves with excitement waiting for it!

On to some pictures!
________________________________________________________________________

Plot:
Here I come with an update that will involve:

• A look at the chassis - BitFenix ​​Prodigy.
• Emptying the chassis on its content.

BitFenix ​​Prodigy
This update will include products from:


Let's take a look at the chassis!











Now that we have seen how the chassis looks like, let's empty it!
__________________________________________________________________________

Emptying the chassis

Let's get down to business!

This is how the chassis looks without the side panels and everything else default.


I begin by removing the upper HDD cage. Very easy to do because of the "clips", small handles are pressed together and then goes on to pull out. Very easy and takes a few seconds, no need for screws and the like. Even cradles where the hard drive are placed are made in the same way, nice!


To remove the lower hard drive cage it is required that we turn the chassis over and remove a couple of screws from the bottom. Not too difficult either.


After two hard drive cages are removed I pick off the front panel of the chassis. This is easily done with a pair of "clips" on the inside of the chassis in the front. Poke at them in the right direction and release it. There are a total of 4 pieces.


I also want to remove the 5.25" mount because I do not use an optical drive (I'm a USB-man!) I also need to remove it because of the modification. Simple done with a number of screws on the outside in the front and a few on the inside. (I'm sure you can fix an optical drive mount in another way if you want to follow this project).
The chassis looks pretty stupid and ridiculous without the front panel, so we'll make sure not to lose it!



I then pick out the two included fans. I guess they are 120mm Spectre.


On top of the chassis there is a "fan grill" where you can attach 2x 120mm fans, or an entire 240 radiator for water cooling. We get rid of this one aswell


There, now is the chassis relatively empty! What remains is the motherboard plate for m-ITX motherboard that sits inside the chassis in a rather unique way. This is a rather massive piece of metal. Let's remove this one too!




This motherboard tray is stuck with quite a few rivets. Rivets can be removed easier by drilling them apart, right through it. Then loosens the "head" and pop rivet releases. This is done as said most easily with a drill, but then I do not have such a tool at the moment so I solve using a dremel/multifunction tools and a drill.
Sometimes it happens that the drill stuck, so a real drill is recommended.



This is what the metal piece when it is removed from the chassis and laid on the desk looks likes. Getting it off was a pain, partly because I had the wrong tools, but also my dog ​​got really angry and barked a lot because of the sound of the tool.


Now the case, BitFenix ​​Prodigy, is completely empty of content, and the "body" and the feet are what is left. This gives me the opportunity to start my modification that will happen.




The chassis felt a lot much easier on the weight after it was emptied, which is quite understandable. As we can see in the picture below, pretty much was taken out, everything from the motherboard plate to hard drive cages, fans, front panel, side panels, etc.

______________________________________________________________

That was my update which was about the chassis and the emptying of the chassis. Henceforth modification start and I hope you look forward to it as much as I do!

I'm going tomorrow to record a video and hopefully make an soon. Here, I will show prototype images of how I thought that this project will look like, while I'm in the video will show it "live" and how I'm going to do. I'll embed the video in this projectlog, of course.
We can then using prototype images imagine how it will look like, and thus know how it will be with the finished product!

I'm extremely psyched and looking forward to this project a lot!

If you have questions or concerns, or just criticism, please write in this thread!
Thank you for reading.

See you soon,
Best Regards
Nikkop

[nikkokick]

Here's an update for all of you!

 

Prototype images and Video - 16/12

 

Hi! Hope you're all good.

Please enjoy my update and comment!

 

Thanks

___________________________________

 

To be able to visualize my ideas and how this modification is going to end up like I've decided to make a couple of prototype images and a video clip where I explain what I will do.

I've done these so I can show you what I'm going to do in this project log, but at the same time for myself to be able to see what I want the final product to look like.

As you probably know by now my modification will consist of putting an ATX/E-ATX motherboard into a m-ITX case.

Please have a look at my video and my images and you'll find out how I've planned this modification.

 

Video:

Please have a look at my video describing the modification!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG-RNH_3m_A

 

Images:

 

First I'll show you the orignal pictures for each part and then my prototypes

 

Front

Original:

 

Modified:

Let's start by looking at how the case will look from the front.

I will paint the front panel yellow to match my computer speakers (KRK Rokit G2 5").

At the same picture we see the window on the side that will be fixed as well.

 

Side

Original:

 

Modified:

Here's a picture of what the case will look like with the side panel removed.

It's also this motherboard, the GA-Z77X-UP7, that I will use in this project.

We see that the motherboard has been angled 90 degress (compared to "standard). This is a must to fit a ATX/E-ATX motherboard.

I'll have a few centimeters/an inch free of the sides.

This also means that the back of the motherboard (I/O, PCI) will be on top of the case.

 

With the side panel in spot with a modified window a lot of the computer content will be visible from the outside.

 

Top

Original:

 

Modified:

As I mentioned the motherboard tray and all it's I/O and PCI-slots must be on top of the case.

This means I must remove the 120x2 fan spots to be able to fit this tray.

The tray will let me use all seven PCI-slots, which is many more than one PCI-slot that m-ITX motherboards offer.

This is seen from above.

 

Back

Original:

 

Modified:

Last but not least we have the backside where the I/O, PCI-ports and PSU are placed.

I will remove this part and replace it with an aluminum mesh with a thickness of 1mm, which I will paint dark gray/black.

The mesh will also allow for good airflow and fans will be attached.

 

Other

Doing this extreme modification with fitting an ATX/E-ATX motherboard into this case brings a few negative stuff.

I will not be able to use as many hard drives as the un-modified Prodigy can hold. This is because of all space the hard drive cages take.

However, I will be able to fit a few and that's more than enough for me. If you have ten hard drives maybe you have to think it over tho.

 

These were my prototypes of what the final product will look like.

What do you think about it?

 

Thanks for reading

Best Regards

Nikkop

[buoo]

Great project, same for the video

I hope you'll be able to do what you say.

[nikkokick]

Great project, same for the video

I hope you'll be able to do what you say.

 

Thanks a bunch for the kind words

 

I've measured and tried the setup and it should work!

So now it comes to my assembly skills, haha.

 

Hope you find the project interesting and would like to follow!

 

Best Regards

Nikkop

[nikkokick]

UPDAAAAAAATE! : D

 

Modification and creation of side panel with a window. - 05/01 -2013

UPDATE 05/1 - 2013

 

Hello dear friends and companions!

Hope you all had a nice and enjoyable Christmas and a great New Year!

 

I myself have been down in my former city where I visited my family and friends for Christmas and New Year.

This does not mean that I had a vacation from project, oh no!

Instead, I took some time and worked with the side panel to get it done just the way I want it.

 

Eager to result?

 

Let's begin!

_____________________________________________

 

Here we see the first picture in this update. Nothing fancy, it's one of the side plate with holes (when motherboard position is in original condition) will be able to take in air through the holes for the graphics card.

I chose this site because it is the one we will look through to see into the chassis. In any case, you can put the side panel on the side of the chassis you want, which is good if you want it on the other side.

 

Since I will have a plexiglass window in the side panel I must saw a hole where I want the glass to be.

I tape across the front so that the jigsaw tool won’t hurt and leave mark on the plate.

 

I'm testing with a drill to see how hard the plate is to drill through, and trust me when I say that this plate is thick and stable!

This is thin {censored}, it’s quite thick and solid.

 

I measure how far I'm going to cut the hole.

One side on the back of the side plate, this piece that helps the plate to attach to the chassis, which means I can not cut the hole farther than what this piece is, so therefore I use this piece for measures when I decide how large the hole will be.

 

I turn the plate over and draw on the tape which works well, attaches great.

I also have rounded corners and I do this with the help of a lid of the appropriate size

 

Now I have drawn out the dimensions and what remains is to cut out the hole.

I start by drilling a hole near the edge. I must have somewhere to stick my saw and begin cutting.

 

Once the hole is drilled, just run down the jigsaw and start cutting!

Since the side plate is pretty thick it takes some time to get through, and turns in the corners requires a steady hand.

 

Finally the piece got off! Now we can see how big the hole will be and how much space the glass will take.

Removing the tape to see how it looks without and actually surprisingly good! Edges, lengths and such are not 100% straight but I fix it afterwards using a dremel with grinding nozzle.

 

I test tried to attach the glass after I had sanded the edges, but I did not like it. I thought something was missing and felt that it needed something to fill out, something pretty.

 

So I went and looked at different types of edging lists and it ended up I bought one of these, 9mm edge strip of rubber.

 

Mounting the edging and the results are really nice! Even if a rim is mainly used to disguise / hide the edges, for me it was a really nice feature that I liked very much. It fits in terms of design and I like it quite a lot!

 

So, now that the side panel has been sawn and got a nice edging, so I want to see how it looks when the side plate is in place on the chassis!

It may look like {censored}, who knows?

I must say I like it!

I was really pleased with size of the hole, the rounded edges and the rim.

 

What is missing then? Well, plexiglass course!

I test fit the plexiglass to see how it will look. I have another piece of plexiglass coming up because this was a little too short to be attached the way I wanted, it is now temporarily attached with double-stapled tape just to see how it looks.

But yes, I am satisfied and happy with the outcome! What do you say?

_____________________________________________

 

I was very pleased with the result. If I manage to keep the same quality the rest of the modification, I think this modification will turn out to be brutally good, hopefully! >

 

What did you think of this step , when I modified the side plate?

I’ll be more than happy to read your comments and thoughts!

 

We'll see what the next step will be, the school has begun to pick up again and it will take some time. But tension remains stronger than ever and it itches in my fingers every day when I look at the case

 

Have a nice day!

Thanks in advance

Best Regards

Nikkop

[nikkokick]

Hi all! No reply since my last update, why?

 

Anyways, here's a teaser of what I've been doing the past days!

 

 

Best Regards

Nikkop

[WhatTheTech]

Just saw this - it's looking fantastic! Are you the first person to do an eATX prodigy? I haven't seen one yet

[buoo]

Hey man! Don't give up xD

I'm waiting your updates!

[nikkokick]

Just saw this - it's looking fantastic! Are you the first person to do an eATX prodigy? I haven't seen one yet

 

Thanks a bunch! I believe so, I haven't seen anyone else!

 

Hey man! Don't give up xD

I'm waiting your updates!

 

Hey there!

I haven't given up!

 

And here's something for you!

 

 

 

 

 

Updaaaaaaaaaaate!

 

Modification of the motherboard plate and test fitting the PSU and the motherboard. - 03/2 -2013

 

Hey,

 

Hope everyone is doing well and that you’re hungry for an update! I myself have been pretty busy trying to finish a college course and an examination assignment in another course.

I have now had time to process all the images and do a update!

 

( Yesterday, I was shocked to know that my last project, G5 Unlocked, are at the top six best modifications for the month of January at Bit-Tech: An honor to me as a beginner modder.

Please check It out and cast your votes on your favorite builds!

G5 Unlocked by Nikkop | bit-tech.net)

 

This update will be about how I modify the motherboard plate to fit on the chassis, how I test mount power supply (many want to see this) and how it will look like with a motherboard test fitted! (What the teaser image was about)

 

Enjoy! Do not forget to comment or ask if you have any questions!

_______________________________________________________________

 

Okok, we begin by looking at how the motherboard tray’s I/O panel relate in size to the chassis!

As we see, it is a little bit off the page and will not go getting into the case, modification must be done!

 

I throw in the motherboard tray before modification to show that it is too long/wide and modification must be done.

 

I select what is to be cut off by first drawing a line and then add a bit of tape so I know how much to remove.

 

I tighten the plate to the kitchen table and prepare the jigsaw. Here it should be slaughtered!

(My girlfriend is worried each time I saw in the kitchen that I would "accidentally" cut in her nice table! )

 

We pull up and saw on! Can tell you that there is quite a lot of metal splinters flying here and there and sawed metal does not smell like flowers!

Do not forget to sweep up everything as it is barely visible, but becomes large piles of metal shavings if you sweep it up.

 

We try inserting the plate in the chassis when it has been sawn, and yes, it fits nicely!

You may wonder why I put it inside the chassis and it is because I want to see how it relates to the size and when I test fit, I have to have it inside the chassis because I haven’t sawn a hole in the bottom of the chassis yet.

 

However, we are not done yet! I have more to be done on this sheet and now you will see why!

Here is a sheet metal piece with the PCI-brackets, that's where you mount the video card/expansion card.

 

I follow the contours for the PCI-bracket and mark with a pencil so I know how much space it takes, even if I would take the brackets off.

 

There, now marked with masking tape what will be removed. I pull up the saw and saw on!

 

And here we have the results!

You probably wonder why I cut off so much of the plate width so it became thinner? - Keep reading!

 

Here is the plate inside the chassis! Sitting really good and just as I wished!

As you can see the tray’s I/O is now smaller but closer to one edge of the chassis!

Why? Well it gives me the space behind the motherboard plate. There I can put stuff that will not be seen through the chassis window.

Why would I want that?

 

Tadaaaaaaaa!

Yes, you see that right! The power supply will be placed behind the motherboard plate. In this way, it will not be visible through the window. There is also more space that will be used. For what we will see in the future! But PSU placement is fixed and it is perfect!

unboxing and review of the power supply comes at a later stage when I had time to try it!

 

PS! As you can see in the pictures, it is the power supply back placed against the front of the chassis.

Of course it will not look like this later, but it was just to show that it fits!

The power supply back will be placed against the back of the chassis, of course!

 

So okay.

Now we have modified the motherboard tray’s I/O plate to fit inside the chassis, and also managed to place the power supply.

But how will it look like with a motherboard in place?

I test fit a little fast with an old Gigabyte Motherboards for AM3 CPU.

This is not the motherboard that will be used later.

__________________________________________________________

 

I myself am very pleased so far and believe that this project will be awesooome to the end! I am at the beginning of the modification but it has begun to take shape, I’m so thrilled!

 

Or what do you think? Do you like the placement of the motherboard and power supply?

I myself am happy to say that I see much potential in this building and how compact and powerful you can get it.

 

I am more than happy to listen and hear what you have to say! So just comment on!

 

Hope you enjoyed this update!

 

Next update will involve unboxing and similar of Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7

Take care and thanks in advance!

Best Regards

Nikkop

[nikkokick]

Hello readers at InsanelyMac!

 

First of all I'd like to say I'm terribly sorry that it has taken this time. No one is to blame (besides myself) but I did have some really bad luck regarding some stuff that prolonged the making of this update a lot. What has taken a lot of time because of some stuff not working as they should is the video.

 

Thanks for understanding,

 

Here it is!

 

 

UPDAAAAAAATE! : D

 

Unboxing of GIGABYTE z77x-UP7 and test-mounting in the case - 12/03 -2013

 

UPDATE 12/3 to 2013

 

Hello dear readers!

 

I've finally managed to fix material for a new update. A lot of {censored} got in the way. First my SDcard would die, then the microphone wouldnt want to work, then had my computer formatted etc.etc. Everything that could happen did happen

 

Here's the update thou!

About the motherboard I have been provided with by

 

This update will be mostly about unboxing of the motherboard z77x-UP7.

The unboxing will be in the form of a Video and photographs of the box, the products supplied within and the way motherboard looks inside the chassis!

Hope you'll like it!

 

If you're wondering when more modifications will be made on the case I can tell you that next update will for sure be about some sort of work around the case.

This update, like I said will be an unboxing of the motherboard.

 

I'm also using my new macro lens in this update, so do not forget to look at the pictures! >

 

Let's go! Yiihooo!

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

That said, there will be an unboxing video complemented with pictures and text.

Here is the video anyway (My first unboxing video ever )

 

Video

[media]http://youtu.be/HpMu_Oi06PM[/media]

 

 

Complements with pictures and text:

 

Front:

Here we see the box itself. It is quite big and deep, of course, to make room for all accessories and extra stuff.

 

Symbols/Labels

Here are the labels that I said I would explain in this log:

• GIGABYTE OC Motherboard - GIGABYTE's official Overclocking motherboards.
  
• 32 +3 +2 Phase Power - This motherboard has 32 power phases for the CPU, 3 for the Intel HD Graphics and 2 for the of VTT (voltage to the RAM).
  
• Ultra Durable ™ 5 - Name of the durable components that are used on the motherboard.
  
• World Record 7.102GHz - This motherboard has kept the world record for Overclocking with an Intel Core i7 3770k. The clock speed was 7.102Ghz.
  
• Best of Computex 2012 - Tom's Hardware has appointed this motherboard's components ( Ultra Durable ™ 5) to "Best of Computex 2012".
  
• BlueTooth 4.0 + 300 Mbps Dual Band Wi-Fi - Features on the wireless networking card.
  

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

The back :

 

Here is some information on the motherboard and its properties. The ones I feel are important, I will take up here but also go through when it comes to the review of the motherboard (another update):

 

 

• Support for up to 4x Graphics , at the same time.
  
• OC BIOS - backup BIOS in case such the primary would become corrupt or fail.
  
• OC-Touch - Buttons for live adjust of the CPU ratio, BCLK, etc. (live overclocking)
  
• " True All Digital PWM Design "
  

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Cover/Lid:

 

 

• IR3550 PowIRStage - Highest rated and most awarded Power Stage in the industry.
  
• 2x Copper PCB - double copper layer on the PCB.
  

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

The Motherboard

 

Here we have the motherboard, the monster Z77X-UP7 ! (Attached to a motherboard plate).

As we can see pretty quickly it's a highend motherboard with many PCI-E lanes many SATA ports ( 10 to be exact ) and some other features such as Debug LED and many types of connections . It also has some other surprising properties (which are not visible in the picture but I will go through in the review), eg 2x 8PIN connector to the CPU (EPS12V) for additional power supplyment , for example Extreme Overclocking . It has also, as I mentioned above, 32 +3 +2 power phases overclocking buttons 2x Ethernet ports etc.

 

I will as I said go through all of that when it comes to doing a review on the motherboard. Here's however a couple of pictures on the z77x-UP7!

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

I continue with pictures of the contents and some explanatory text

 

All content is placed on a table so we can see them all!

 

CF & SLI Bridges - So we can run multiple graphics cards simultaneously.

• Crossfire bridge for dual AMD graphics cards.
  
• SLI bridge for dual Nvidia graphics cards.
  
• 3x SLI bridge for triple Nvidia graphics card.
  
• 4x SLI bridge for four Nvidia graphics card.
  

 

3.5" USB 3.0 Bracket - A solution so we get 2 USB 3.0 ports.

 

WiFi & BlueTooth Expansion card - So we can run WiFi and BlueTooth on a desktop computer, wireless!

I am looking extra forward to this as I have an ethernet cable through the whole apartment which is just in the way all the time. Wireless internet will solve this nice!

 

eSATA Bracket - Solution to example run internal hard drives as externals.

Looking forward to this solution as I have an internal hard drive that I move around with sometimes.

 

Measure-voltage cables - Cables for reading genuine hardware voltages in the motherboard.

Should be fun to read hardware voltages and compare with those softwares are reporting.

 

GIGABYTE sticker! - Mount it wherever you want! ^ _ ^

 

In addition to the above, I have shown you that we get 6x SATA cables , motherboard manuals, drivers for the chipset and expansion card and such things.____________________________________________________________________________________

 

The motherboard in the case:

 

Now we have seen the motherboard a bit, but how does it look in the case?

I took a picture with the motherboard in the case to see how the final product will look like, and to be honest, I was very impressed!

This will be badass, looking forward to it a lot!

 

The case without feet and handles.

 

The complete case, however without the side plate.

The colors just goes so extremely well togheter, I'm impressed! Imagine this color scheme, gah! Loving it!

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Finally:

That's what I had to show you this time!

Sorry this update has taken its time. I shouldn't blame anything but myself but I've messed up and in addition this video has actually taken a long time to do Took a lot of time to do the voice-overs (I had to record the voice after the video). But now it's ready and hope you liked it!

 

The next update will be with some modification, of course! I'm sick psyched to continue modifying and hope you are trhilled for it aswell

However, I can say as a warning that next update might take a while.

The reason is that I have been appointed " Test Pilot " for the Asus PadFone 2 . I will be using the product for a specific time and then do some kind of work (atm I have a diary, a thread at a forum and so on). Since this "test pilot thing" has a deadline, I will prioritize that for the moment

Since I also have an exam coming and two courses to be completed, some time will be spent there.

But an update will come eventually!

 

Comment or question if you'd like please, I get happy when people write!

Thank you for reading and following!

 

Have a nice day,

Thanks in advance

Best Regards

Nikkop

[Mr.D.]

love the idea of cramming a big-ass MB into a small enclosure. Looks clean and well put together. Looking forward to the end result!

[Rampage Dev]

Loving following this.

[nikkokick]

love the idea of cramming a big-ass MB into a small enclosure. Looks clean and well put together. Looking forward to the end result!

Loving following this.

 

Good morning!

 

Sorry for the late replies, but Thanks a bunch! Here's a new update for you!

Enjoy

 

 

 

UPDAAAAAAATE!

 

Cutting the chassis and mounting the motherboard plate. - 08/04 -2013

UPDATE 08/4 - 2013

 

Hello dear readers!

 

Long time no see, as they say. Joking aside, I am now back on track after a break from the project for about a month. But now I'm here to take it all by storm and I hope you are ready!

 

So we may all wonder what it will be about this time?

Last update was an unboxing of GIGABYTE z77x-UP7 while this time it will be modification related !

 

I showed this picture earlier in the thread to demonstrate how it looks when the motherboard is inside the chassis. However the motherboard is just inserted to see if it will fit, no modifications are made on this picture:

 

 

Now, I have come to the moment where the motherboard plate will actually be attached to the chassis. So I turned up and down the whole apartment during my modification. (My girlfriend is away otherwise it would have never been able to look like this at my home, hah!)

 

So yes, the update will be about how I manage to mount the motherboard plate by cutting the chassis. Enjoy!

__________________________________________________________

 

Here we have a picture like the above, that is a picture of how motherboard and motherboard plate looks like when it is inserted into the chassis itself (no modification made)

It's tight as hell, but it's half the thing, compact computing!

 

I devoted many hours to test fit and measure a lot to find out where I wanted the motherboard plate exactly! Given that I press into an E-ATX motherboard in an m-ITX chassis so it may get pretty tight on space, everything will be compact

Anyway, after many hours of measuring, I concluded that I wanted it to be mounted exactly like this, using the holes in the bottom of the chassis as measuring points:

 

The actual I/O and PCI portion of the motherboard plate, seen from behind. This is how I want it mounted.

 

What I had to do then, because I can not cut on the inside of the chassis, was to turn the chassis so that the bottom was pointing upwards. Then I was able, with the help of the measuring points, to put out the metal pieces in the same place as if they were on the inside.

This made it possible for me to put up markers for where I wanted to cut. Since I have, literally, milimeters to play with in tolerance, it was a very careful job

 

Markings are made so now it's rock 'n' roll!

 

I call on my dear friend who will help me through this thick metal

 

I start to saw and it goes fairly well! Becomes difficult to turn sometimes, but canbe done with some different methods. Have run out of blades for my dremel so the jigsaw will do all the work!

Here is how it looks when the I / O hole becoming sawn up.

 

Aaaaand it's gone!

 

I place the tray parts again to ensure that everything matches and is in place. I/O hole is now a hole and PCI-holes remain to be sawn, so far so good!

 

After I checked that everything is correct I continued to saw. I use these "things" to fasten and tighten some parts

 

There you go! After many minutes of planning and sawing the hole is finished! Next up, the scary moment every time you saw something, did it turn out good ?

 

To make sure everything works I tested the plates by having one piece of sheet metal on the inside of the chassis and the other on the outside. I was extremely lucky as there was a screw hole in the chassis (marked with red arrow) that was in exact position to the motherboard tray holes. What are the odds?! I could therefore mount a screw to see how it was when attached

 

I turn the case over to see how it looks like from the inside, and damn! I was incredibly pleased with the outcome on the inside (the outside (bottom) needs a little work). I really like the looks of it.

I've also thought about coloring the motherboard plate black so it does blend in better with the black color.

 

And then comes the big question, how does it look with the motherboard inside? Will it fit? Will everything will be according to my measures?

Honestly, everything was perfect Just as I wanted, is ill pleased and happy about it

The motherboard fits perfectly and now all ports are accessible on the underside of the chassis!

__________________________________________________________

 

As you can imagine, this was a vital part of the modification, cutting the chassis to get all ports accessible. Excuse me if I say it again, but I'm so happy with the outcome

 

What do you think of this result? Please let us know what you think about it!

 

Comment or ask a question if you'd like! I love when people write/ask/discuss about this project.

Thanks for reading and following!

 

Have a nice day!

Thanks in advance

Best Regards

Nikkop

[BALDY_MAN]

GREAT INNOVATIVE WORK

WELL DONE

[Baudouin]

This is great. Congratz for the patience and perseverance to minimize this maxi Mobo .

[Mr.D.]

looks pretty damn good... I will be interested in temps when this is all crammed in there!

[nikkokick]

GREAT INNOVATIVE WORK

WELL DONE

 

Thanks a lot, appreciate it

 

This is great. Congratz for the patience and perseverance to minimize this maxi Mobo .

 

Thanks! Yeah, quite som patience is needed for a mod like this, but I love this project and the outcome so I'm doing all my best!

 

looks pretty damn good... I will be interested in temps when this is all crammed in there!

 

Thanks a lot!

Yea, that's a section I think will be interesting too. As understood I won't have place to fit an unlimited amount of fans But I'll see what I can do!

 

 

By the way!

 

I've gotten some questions about the cables that are going to be attached and if they interfere with the floor or if the case's feet are high enough.

 

The answer is a positive one, the feet are high enough for this!

 

Here are some pictures and as you can see I can plug all regular cables in without any problems at all - PS/2, USB, DVI, 3.5mm etcetc. Even USB memory sticks are able to be used

 

 

 

Best Regards

Nikkop

[nikkokick]

 

UPDAAAAAAATE!

 

Cutting the case for the power supply. - 20/04 -2013

Update 20/4 to 2013

 

Hello dear readers!

 

Hope you all have a good time! Today I have modified the case a bit so thought an update was about time!

This will be a pretty small and fast update, but as I know this moment is interesting I'm doing an update!

 

It will be about how I decided where the power supply back should be put. Thus, where the cord and exhaust of air shall be directed, and how / what I sawed to achieve this

____________________________________________________

 

Here's how it looked when I test-mounted the computer after the last update. The Power supply's back was then at the case's back. Since all other cables were on the bottom, it felt silly to have the PSU cable at the back of the case.

 

Here's the underside of the case where I want the PSU's back to be (you can see the power supply through the holes in the case)

 

I made a mask for the hole so I know where to cut!

 

I put down the case in a box and it's ready to be cut! The reason I have the case in a box is that it reduces any derbis on the floor that flies around when I cut. In other words, not as much time spent on the floor sweeping it all up haha.

 

As Bon Jovi would have said, " HALFWAY THERE "

 

The hole has been sawn! Let's see how it looks with the power supply into place.

 

Seen from the side (this is behind the motherboard plate)

 

The power supply with the power cord connected.

I will have to get myself an angled cord but that shouldn't be any problem (otherwise I'll create one myself )

_______________________________________________________

 

That was the hole where the PSU will sit!

The underside of the case is not quite finished yet. I will do it nicely by inserting a mesh to cover all the cut-outs / edges and make it neat and uniform. Even if you do not see the bottom it must be nice looking!

 

Comment or question please, I get happy whenever people write!

Thank you for reading and following!

 

Thanks in advance

Best Regards

Nikkop

[Baudouin]

Very good idea to reproupe all the cables underneath and well hidden. Remind me the bottom IN/Out connectors from the Apple Cube. And to finish with a Mesh panel to hide the cuts, why not for the final touch. Great detailed Job. Funny too the box trick !!

[nikkokick]

Very good idea to reproupe all the cables underneath and well hidden. Remind me the bottom IN/Out connectors from the Apple Cube. And to finish with a Mesh panel to hide the cuts, why not for the final touch. Great detailed Job. Funny too the box trick !!

 

Thanks a lot for your kind words! Talking about mesh panels, watch this update!

 

 

Hello all of you! ,

 

Here's an update for you, hope you're excited!

 

 

 

 

UPDAAAAAAATE!

 

 

Replacing the old I / O & PCI-E back on the chassis with aluminum "mesh". - 30/04 -2013

UPDATE 29/4 - 2013

 

 

Hello everyone!

 

 

Hope youre all doing great! Here I am witha new update

 

 

This update will be about constructing and mounting of the new back piece. The original back with the I/O- and PCI-ports on the Bifenix Prodigy.

 

Due to the fact that Ive created a new place for these holes on my mod the original back fits no purpose any longer.

So I will get some 1mm steel mesh and test mount it to see what it would look like in this update!

 

 

Let's go!

___________________________________

 

 

Here's the original back of the Prodigy that I no longer have any use for.

 

 

I'm going to replace it with this mesh of 1mm thick steel. It's pretty solid!

 

 

As you can see the mesh doesnt fit out-of-box of course I mark what is to be cut off.

 

 

Once I cut that off it suddenly fits a lot better

 

 

Not entirely done thou. I need to cut some details for it to line up.

 

 

After some measuring I get that done and it all fits so much better now! Dont you think?

 

 

Now its time to test mount the mesh!

To do this I put some masking tape so I can point out where to drill the holes.

 

 

I got a nice and handy present from my family. Will come in use fo shure!

 

 

Drilling the holes Ive marked out

 

 

Now its left to mount it. I do it with some rivets. Rivets turns out to be awesome for this

 

 

Aaaand here's the result of this update! What do you think?

___________________________________

 

 

That was the fix of the new back part Its not 100% done tho. What I am to do is to cut the original back off as I have no use for it. This means that the mesh will be the only thing at the back, the original back won't exist any longer.

This also allows me to make my own holes/mountings for like fans etc.

 

 

I Will of course paint the mesh so the color matches the rest of the build!

 

 

I think this turned out great.

What do you think?

 

 

And for those wondering. Yes, the side panels can still be attached as regular!

 

 

___________________________________

 

 

Comment or ask questions if you have any. I get happy when people write!

Thank you for reading and following

 

 

Best regards

Nikkop

[Baudouin]

Nice update with the Mesh panel.

[nikkokick]

Nice update with the Mesh panel.

 

Thanks man I'll work on the case this weekend and then remove the old back and something more fun!

[Baudouin]

You're welcome. I will be waiting to see the progress...

[nikkokick]

You're welcome. I will be waiting to see the progress...

 

Thanks!

 

So, my birthday was yesterday and this package dumped in, what a timing!

 

 

An update coming up soon enough!

 

(I'm throwing a birthday party this weekend so don't know if I'll have the time then! )

 

Best Regards

nikkop

[buoo]

Happy birthday