BitFenix Prodigy M Micro-ATX Chassis Review

Price

At around £75 the Prodigy M is currently £15 more than the original Prodigy, it’s not especially cheap but given the component support list and the sleek looking design on the exterior it is in-line with the competition.

Overview

Unfortunately I really can’t find much love for the Prodigy M, which is a real shame given that I own and love the original Prodigy and have done since its release. The whole thing feels victim of too many sacrifices and the end result feels like the answer to that constant question “Why don’t BitFenix do a mATX edition of the Prodigy?” The clear answer being “because it’s awkward”.

Now don’t get me too wrong, this is still a cool product and it can pack an impressive system inside an impressively compact design, it just doesn’t appeal to me personally. However, you will need to put some serious planning into your build to get this right, a modular PSU, graphics cards with good airflow, a few extra high quality fans for air intake and no more than a 120mm radiator that has very flexible pipes if you’re wanting some kind of water cooling. You can make something great from this case, but while the Prodigy was inviting and fairly beginner friendly, this is a much more advanced affair and I recommend it only to experienced system  builders to get the best of it. For example, having the right motherboard such as the Asus Gene where the GPUs sit in slots 1&2 / 3&4 will allow you to have fans in the top of the chassis, but conflicts may occur if you have a motherboard that places the 2nd GPU in the 4&5 PCI lanes.

Airflow is baffling, an upside down design is fine, but you need to have a consistent airflow within the case and that may be hard to get right in this chassis, but that will all depend on how hot your specific GPU / CPU combo runs and how you choose to cool each component. There is no side vents like the original Prodigy, but adding a multi channel fan controller may reap great rewards here.

I’m sure there will be some seriously talented chassis modders out there than can make something wonderful with this case, people who will add extensive water cooling despite the limited space and make something truly epic. There are a lot of people out there that love this design and want that SLI / Crossfire configuration no matter the cost, so I can’t blame BitFenix for giving the fans exactly what they asked for. Compromises have been made, but the end result does look fantastic and with a little extra care you could have a seriously powerful gaming rig in this chassis that will dominate your friends at LAN.

I still think the original Prodigy is better, despite its smaller motherboard support. If you really want a mATX Prodigy then you’ll love this case, but I can’t help but wonder that BitFenix should have made the case bigger to accommodate such a build.

Pros

• SLI / Crossfire support
• 2 x 120mm fans included
• mATX support
• Looks like original Prodigy on exterior
• Solid build quality

Cons

• Difficult to work with
• Airflow not ideal
• Limited radiator support compared to original Prodigy

“If you want great cable management, sleek interior looks, plenty of water cooling and storage, get the original Prodigy, it’s a great chassis. If you want more GPU grunt, but don’t want your LAN gaming rig to get any bigger, then the Prodigy M has the solution for you.”

Thank you BitFenix for providing us with this sample.