Classy chassis manufacturers BitFenix have just announced the latest addition to their range of small form factor cases, the Prodigy M.
Building on the success of the quite lovely mini-ITX Prodigy the redesigned Prodigy M will not only be capable of housing the very smallest mini-ITX motherboards around but now also has enough space to be able to take mATX motherboards too. That means seriously powerful Z87 motherboards, like the Gigabyte G1. Sniper M5 , are now within reach.
Compared with the original, the Prodigy M is much more of a traditional design inside. Where the standard Prodigy sat the mini-ITX mobo horizontally the Prodigy M is looking to mount it vertically along the rear wall of the case.
The benefits of the original design still hold true though, in that every other component you use can be of a standard size. So, instead of being forced down the SFX power supply route, such as with the Lian Li PC-Q30 X, you can use a full fat version to power all your CrossFireX and SLI dreams. And yes, there is enough space to run a pair of dual-slot graphics cards thanks to the extra expansion the new design allows. You can also have longer cards now - up to 320mm - and can also install full 240mm water-cooling radiators too.
In short this wee monster could be the ickle gaming chassis of your dreams. I was a big fan of the original and now this Prodigy M is looking to run with even greater versatility in its design.
What I will say though is that, while I'm pleased the standard design aesthetic has been retained, there was one area of the Prodigy I wasn't so taken with and I've got a feeling that's been retained. Because of the slightly rubberised material BitFenix have built the rounded feet and carry handles from, they're not massively stable. Once built, my original Prodigy gaming machine was a little wobbly on its feet and it looks like the Prodigy M is going to be the same.
I'll have my sample some time in September, so I'll know for sure then.
