CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VI GENE Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($203.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($175.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: A-Data XPG SX900 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($148.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($765.76 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy M Midnight MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($98.97 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-SPRO-23030KK-RP 156.3 CFM 230mm Fan ($19.58 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS228H-P 21.5" Monitor ($127.58 @ Newegg)
Other: Intel 7260HMW IEEE 802.11AC ($29.99)
Total: $2444.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-09 17:30 EST-0500)
In the future I will be upgrading to these parts:
Second 780Ti Classified
All except 23cm fan to Corsair fans (Should I get extreme or quite?)
Corsair MXRGB (when it comes out)
A 1440p gsync monitor (Not very many out at the moment so I will wait on this)
Extra HDD's and SDD's when needed
Maybe a second kit of RAM but not any time soon
Thanks for checking this out let me know if you have questions or comments! Also please keep in mind I will be overclocking and gaming and will be moving this about every week so if I should have any special concerns there please tell me! If you are curious about what I am upgrading from here are some specs from my laptop: i5 at 2.4ghz (not sure the number), 4gb laptop ram (no idea what the speed is), 500gb HDD, and finally a ATI Mobility 5470. Yeah, you heard me.
If you're not going to be doing much video rendering, you could probably save some money and get some cheaper clocked ram, somewhere around the league of 1600mhz.
Check for PSU Clearances.
Perhaps invest in a 1440p monitor? The monitor you picked looks like a TN panel, and with a 780ti, I'd think that 1440p would be much nicer.
Keep the i7 if you really want to SLI some 780ti-s
Also, a mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse may be things to consider.
do you have another case you like? because I personally have the Prodigy M. as you put more and more components airflow begins to get more restricted and its a big ass headache
Let me Explain this is the internals of my build to use as reference.
There is a Giant Bracket that i had to remove which when you first open the case of the Prodigy M is placed where that bottom fan is on the case. that will hold your hard drives.it was difficult to build without removing. that's one and to tell you that truthfully is going to hold your hard drives not the bottom of the case. cause once you install that 230mm fan you can't mount the HDD and SSD anywhere and that bracket is something you'd might want to remove if you plan on modding the case..
Also lets say you wish to mod the case and put a window to see your internals you'd have to put the iO Part of the case on the on the other side of the case because it gets stupid you'd have unplug it all the time every time you'd have to open the case which can get annoying. which if you have an SLI setup it will force to you remove the GPU to take it off.
if you put that 230mm fan on the bottom of the case and you remove that bracket there is nowhere to mount your hard drives.
you install the H80i you'll have to put it the back as of the case as an exhaust. which isn't bad but there isn't much airflow.
so basically if you can find another M-ATX Case you'd like than go for it because this is a headache to mod. and airflow gets restricted as you stuff the case.
HOWEVER if you really want this case and want to make it an airflow and component monster. Bitfenix has a 5.25 Bay Adapter so you can mount your hard drive where this disc drive will be. which will save your life. because you can put all the fans on the bottom of the case. use both bottom parts of the case as intakes. and the fan on the right as an intake and use the top of of the case to remove all the air out.
I cant really find any other reviews than the one they did here on the Aquilla and I would like a little more information on this case. Since you own this case can you give me some important details and why you like this case? Thanks a ton!
The main reason I liked this case was that it has handles, one of the smallest mATX cases I can find, and it fits everything I wanted.
1. I don't have any plans at the moment to mod this case and I had not planned on putting a side window in this case so I would use the drive bracket.
2.Still using the bracket and I was plan on switching the side panels around so I don't have mess with the cables everytime.
3. Again still using bracket.
4. This is how I saw the airflow: 230mm brings in air from the bottom cooling the drives and motherboard passively while the H80i then sucks it all out cooling the cpu. Then moving the included 120mm fans to the top as an intake for the graphics cards to suck up.
then go for it. like I've mentioned. if you use the bracket then its all good. as you pack more and more components airflow gets more and more restricted if you remove it. also like i've mentioned my solution to the headache if you don't use the bracket is that Bitfenix has a 5.25 adapter that you can install in the 5.25 bay to hold your 3.5 inch Hard drives and the SSD you can put it on top of the HDD since it has no moving parts it won't be affected in any way. then you can use the most amount of fans it can hold you can mount your hard drives without that bracket. also cable management will be much better :)
I'm looking at this adapter on Bitfenix's website and it doesn't seem to be able to hold 2 drives? Also I am bit concerned that it would conflict with the second 780Ti I plan to install in the future. More info please, thanks!
Yes if you install a Second GPU in that case it will conflict with the Drive bay because depending how long the card is it enters the drive bay. also if you do install it will also conflict with fans that you will install on top of the case to use as an exhaust because The GPU will be right there and block the mounting holes.. so yes there are compromises you have to work with. and airflow gets restricted like i previously mentioned. because air will come in from the bottom of the case and get immediately exhausted out the back of the case where your H80i Radiator will be. so your GPU will not get airflow.
It's very functional. Lots of space, plenty of airflow. But I chose it because I like the look of it more than other matx cases rather than it being better.
