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
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Introducing the SilverStone Sugo SG08
We've been looking at a lot of smaller enclosures lately, but some of you have pointed out, and probably correctly, that these Micro-ATX towers still aren't particularly small. They're smaller than the full ATX and super ATX monsters we've reviewed and certainly you could fit about thirty of them inside Corsair's gargantuan Obsidian 900D, but what if you want to go smaller? The BitFenix Prodigy is a popular option, but it's also on the large side for a Mini-ITX build.
As it turns out, SilverStone takes their small form factor designs pretty seriously. The Sugo SG09 we reviewed is a Micro-ATX case with roughly the same volume as the Prodigy, but how small can we go without sacrificing too much performance? The Sugo SG05 was a good start, but for those of you looking for a little more horsepower, the enclosure we have on tap today may be the way to go.
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The SilverStone Sugo SG08 is deeper than the SG05, but it also has superior performance potential. Those of you who've been paying attention may notice the top-mounted fan as being similar to Thermaltake's design in the Armor A30, but SilverStone is opting for an intake here instead. Since liquid cooling and tower coolers aren't really an option in the SG08, SilverStone has to take slightly more drastic measures, resulting in a very different design from the more basic SG05. If you have performance Mini-ITX on the brain, the SG08 could be promising indeed.
| SilverStone Sugo SG08 Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Mini-ITX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 1x Slimline ODD |
| Internal | 2x 2.5", 1x 3.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | - |
| Rear | - | |
| Top | 180mm intake fan | |
| Side | - | |
| Bottom | - | |
| Expansion Slots | 2 | |
| I/O Port | 2x USB 3.0, 1x Headphone, 1x Mic | |
| Power Supply Size | SFX | |
| Clearances | HSF | 117mm |
| PSU | N/A | |
| GPU | 12" / 305mm | |
| Dimensions |
8.8" x 13.9" x 7.5" 222mm x 351mm x 190mm |
|
| Weight | 13.23 lbs / 6 kg | |
| Special Features |
USB 3.0 Dual-speed 180mm intake fan Adjustable fan duct for GPU 600W 80 Plus Bronze PSU included |
|
| Price | $199 | |
I'll admit I was a little taken aback by the price tag on the Sugo SG08, but try to keep in mind that you're getting a solid 600-watt power supply specially designed for the enclosure with it. I won't say it's impossible for you to run into the limits of this PSU in an enclosure like the SG08, just keep in mind that you'd have to overclock the absolute daylights out of your CPU and put in an AMD Radeon HD 7990 just to get close.
When you get to an enclosure this small, though, you're definitely going to be making some sacrifices. Storage space is at a premium, but more enterprising users may opt to use an adapter to turn the 3.5" bay into a dual 2.5" bay, giving you space for four 2.5" drives. The slimline optical bay might have been a bigger deal in years past, but the larger PC industry has been gradually migrating to these drives, and a slimline DVD burner can be had for around $20 now. Honestly the worst thing about this bay could very well just be the freakishly tiny screws.
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gandergray - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
The NCase M1 looks like it is well designed. It may become a top choice for enthusiasts who are building small form factor performance oriented computers.Mr Perfect - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
Any idea if the included PSU is Haswell compatible?Also, side note here, but didn't there used to be a post title box?
karasaj - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
I would be astounded if it wasn't.DanNeely - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
A lot of current PSUs aren't. Haswell is bringing ultra low power sleep states from mobile computing to the desktop. This potentially drops 12V current draw to levels much lower than was possible with current chips, and a lot of PSUs have minimum loads higher than what it can drop to (to make things more fun; this number isn't normally published). The expectation is that most LGA1150 mobos will ship with the deep sleep states disabled in UEFI.rburnham - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
This is a pretty neat little case. I am using a Bitfenix Prodigy case, and the one problem I ran into with that is the same one that is mentioned here regarding video card fan noise. In both cases, the fan points outward, with air being pushed through the holes in the side panel. My Radeon 6850 in the Prodigy is louder at full load than I prefer.I love the idea of a mini ITX setup. I plan to build on mini ITX boards going forward. I have yet to find the perfect case, but the Prodigy is pretty good and the SG08 seems like a great candidate.
KLC - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
This isn't a PC case, with all of the ventilation it's more like a PC doily. I'm still looking for the best case for my next build which will be mini ITX. It will be Haswell and will run integrated graphics so I have no need for a big, long shoebox that can fit a monster GPU. It could have an optical disk but doesn't have to. It will have an OS SSD and be connected to a home server for storage. I want something small and quiet. Still looking.jtd871 - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
KLC,You should check out Thin-Mini-ITX or NUC (both Intel "standards") builds for what you describe. As lots of Haswell SKUs will be soldered onto the mobo, I suspect Intel will produce a variety of 'embedded'-style products to keep their "standards" going.
However, given Intel's penchant for squeezing every last $ out of their processors, you may be better served by going with one of these very small form factors on low-TDP Ivy Bridge.
KLC - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
NUC is intriguing, but like you said, Intel is squeezing its customers hard on that one. I forgot to add a third qualification, it needs to accept standard sized parts so I can purchase anything on the open market. You're right, I may end up with an Ivy Bridge CPU after looking at what Haswell offers.lordmocha - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
This is my case! I have an Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe, Asus Direct CU II 660, 2.5" SSD, 2.5" HDD, Corsair H60 Cooler with 2 Noctua 120mm.The case is dead silent with the nocuta fans and the direct cu ii. The cable management can be annoying and buying a modular psu to replace it is nice but then you'll have a wasted psu..
I think the M1 Ncase looks great and plan to migrate to that when it comes out - support their kickstarter guys cause what they are managing to do is awesome!
lopri - Monday, May 13, 2013 - link
Excellent review very clear writing. Thank you for valuable evaluation I was looking to give another shot at mini ITX build.