I'm building the following config and I'm trying to decide on a case to use, between the Fractal Node 304 and BitFenix Prodigy. I like the relative portability of the node 304 as I could fit it in a gym bag and carry it on the train easily, but I don't think I'll be doing that much travel so I'm not sure how much that matters. I also don't plan to do much upgrading in the future (but you never know). Here is my config:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4790K 3.5 GHz. CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H60 120MM Liquid Cooling Kit Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini-ITX w/ 802.11ac WiFi + BT 4.0, Dual GbLAN, 1 PCIe x16, 4x SATA 6Gb/s Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (4GB x 2) DDR3/1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Storage: 128GB ADATA SP900 SATA-III 6.0 Gb/s Storage: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue SATA-III 6.0 Gb/s HDD Video Card: EVGA Superclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 w/ ACX Cooling PCIe 3.0 Case: Bitfenix Prodigy (Black) or Fractal Design Node 304 Power Supply: Corsair CX600 600W 80 Plus Bronze
Given my config, would either case be more ideal over the other to accommodate the components? Also, would anyone know how the two cases compare in terms of airflow, cooling, and noise? Where I'm getting it the price between the cases is just $10 so price difference isn't much of a deciding issue. Thoughts anyone?
As an aside, is a 600W PSU excessive for this build? I could get a Corsair CSM 550W "Ultra-Quiet PSU" for +$36.
If you want to do more air or water cooling the prodigy has far more options. If you want something smaller that can handle everything exactly as you listed then the Node 304 will work great.
Both are good cases. I have the Node 304. Keep in mind that the Bitfenix Prodigy is a decent amount bigger(more comparable to the size of m-atx cases), but has more features.
600w is just fine for this build. 550w would work as well, but don't overclock too much on it.
Since I've had personal experience with the Node 304, here's some things to watch out for:
PSU can be up to 160mm in length, or else it hits the GPU. 140mm is recommended for modular units. 160mm modular units like the Seasonic G550 can be used due to the position of the modular plugs.
I have an XFX Core Edition 550w (80+ Bronze) and on hot summer days the PSU really revs the fan up. The exhaust is on the right side of the case, so if your case is to the left of your keyboard(like mine is), expect heat during FPS gaming.
Tower air coolers, if following the general direction of airflow, will require a motherboard with a cpu socket farther away from the PCIe slot so that it doesn't hit the graphics card. If against the flow of air, you may have to remove drive bays.
120mm all in one liquid coolers fit nicely in the back, but 140mm ones can be very tight, sometimes pushing on the GPU to the extent where the computer no longer works.
Overall, I love the case, but due to its smaller size there are things to keep in mind.