Bitfenix Prodigy Mini-ITX PC Chassis Review

This week we’ve been taking a look at the very stylish Prodigy chassis from Bitfenix, which as some of you will know is causing somewhat of a storm in the mini-itx category at the moment, with stock of this item seemly in high demand where ever you look, could this be the chassis that sparks new life into the mini-itx motherboard ranges from all the major suppliers, given the already limited choices from the various manufacturers?

Prior to the launch of the Prodigy chassis, there was somewhat of a stand off between the motherboard manufacturers and the chassis makes one who make make the first leap with some new products, while there have been a few products such integrated CPU boards such as the Atom and a few chassis from some companies, mostly with a focus purely on HTPC or with designs that you would hide away in a home cinema unit never to see the light of day.

“We are certainly aware of this situation, but we are looking at this long-term, and we do have indications from motherboard makers that there will be more as time goes by. With this kind of thing, it’s a chicken and egg situation really. We can say ‘there are no good ITX motherboards out there, therefore we won’t make enthusiast level ITX cases’, and they (the motherboard companies) will say, ‘there are no cases able to hold enthusiast level hardware, therefore we won’t focus on making those mobos'” said David at Bitfenix prior to the launch of the Prodigy.

So does the Prodigy have what it take to push the boundaries in the M-ITX market, or is it just a lot of style with little performance? come and take a look at the next few pages where will strip it down and see just what it has to offer to both HTPC and gaming fans alike.