SilverStone Sugo SG08 Mini-ITX Case Review
by Dustin Sklavos on May 13, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Mini ITX
- SilverStone
Conclusion: An Imperfect Gem
My experience reviewing the SilverStone Sugo SG08 was a mostly positive one. Mini-ITX cases are never little vacations like Corsair enclosures often are, but SilverStone does enough right with the Sugo SG08 that it's fairly easy to get your head past the usual difficulties.
Build quality and aesthetics on the Sugo SG08 are mostly unimpeachable, as is typical for the company. It's easy to gripe about the ventilation around the case, but there's really no other, better way for SilverStone to handle it. You're dealing with a small, specialized design. Including a power supply was really the only way to go, and SilverStone included one with leads that were exactly long enough for their intended purpose. Not only that, but the PSU is a 600W, 80 Plus Bronze certified small form factor unit, so you're likely to be limited by your hardware selections long before power becomes an issue.
Thermal performance and acoustics are actually surprisingly good, too. SilverStone takes a kind of brute force approach to cooling the CPU, but it's an effective one. I think the SG08's true calling may very well be as a small form factor enthusiast workstation where CPU performance is paramount, because there's an almost comical amount of thermal headroom there. It was easy enough to suggest overclocking would be a non-issue in the BitFenix Prodigy, so what does that make a case that runs the CPU a full seven degrees cooler than the next best competition?
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Where things get a little more murky are in some of the design decisions on the SG08, and unfortunately the price as well. The 2.5" drive bays need to be more secure, and I know for a fact that SilverStone has developed better ways of mounting a slimline optical drive than what's on display here. That the reset button is on the back of the case is almost inexplicable and creates an additional cabling inconvenience in an already cramped space, and they needed to do a better job of securing the expansion slot covers. These are minor issues but when you're dealing with a case this small, they do stack up.
As for the price tag, that's a horse of a different color. While I don't think $199 is necessarily unreasonable for a case like the SG08, I do feel like it's too high. The smaller Sugo SG05 is available for $130 (sometimes cheaper) and while you do make a few sacrifices, I still think it's an excellent and more affordable alternative. The perfect price for the SG08 is probably closer to $150 or $160, and if a sale brings it down to around there it's much easier to recommend.
If you're looking to build a small form factor machine, your options are pretty myriad. The BitFenix Prodigy is always a popular choice, and cheap, too, but remember that it doesn't include a power supply and that will bump the price up. I think for most users the Sugo SG05 is probably going to be a perfectly reasonable choice, but if you do need something with a little more oomph and you don't mind the price tag, the SG08 will probably serve you well.
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flemeister - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
Yes, the Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe fits with no issues. The VRM daughterboard only covers the bottom half of the ventilation holes on the closest side panel.I'm using an SG07 (identical to the SG08 apart from the front fascia), and have managed to cram a buttload of goodies inside it, with some modding: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php...
ven - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
Nice build.HardwareDufus - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
Yes,I am using this board with an i7-3770k overclocked to 4.2Ghz. Using HD4000 for graphics...
I wish they had designed the cage to support 2 2.5" drives right below the 5.25 slim dvd... Instead of the clumsy 1 3.5" & 1 2.5" cages. My only gripe.
HardwareDufus - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
I should add.. I have the SG05BB... not the SG08flemeister - Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - link
If one of those two 2.5" drives is a SSD, then check if you've got a little space above the optical drive: http://oi48.tinypic.com/10fuuyp.jpgThat's in an SG07, but the SG05 might have that space too.
HardwareDufus - Friday, May 17, 2013 - link
The SG05 is much tighter above the Slim 5.25 bay than the SG07.Personally, I'd like to see a mini-ITX that doesn't permit anything other than 1 slim DVD 5.25 and 2 2.5" HDD/SDD drives. Scratch the FULL length PCI-x cars too.... (does anyone really expect to be able to cool a monster DUAL GPU video card in a mini-ITX case and still be quiet?). Also just support for the SFX Power Supplies.
JDG1980 - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
It's interesting to note that Silverstone's biggest design wins - not just this case but the Fortress FT02 and Temjin TJ08 - all have one thing in common, the 180mm 'air penetrator' intake fan(s). I wonder how much of the performance we're seeing is due specifically to those fans. Few other cases have a 180mm input, but NZXT's upcoming H630 has two front 200mm intakes that might be able to be modified for the Silverstone fans. I suspect that would provide excellent performance.Dustin Sklavos - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
I don't think it's the 180mm AP so much as where it's positioned. In each of the cases you mentioned it's blowing almost directly onto the CPU.creed3020 - Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - link
Don't forget the AP technology though. This fan is pushing air down in a column, e.g. ||| and not a cone /// \\. Re-test with a traditional 180mm fan and the thermals won't be as impressive. Likely the thermals will still be competitive but not the same figures you're seeing now which are excellent.I do own a 120mm AP and use it on a Samuel 17 heatsink in my HTPC. Works wonder and with a LNA it works wonders for temps and acoustics.
extide - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
If any of you guys are interested in this case, but perhaps want to do things like watercool, or use a large/dual slot GPU, etc, then you will probably be interested in the NCase M1. http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1039867428Check it out, it is a case designed by the community in that forum link and will go into production in the next few months. They already have a few prototype cases made and they looks AWESOME.
To the editors, will you guys be reviewing the NCASE M1?
Thanks!