Silverstone Sugo SG05-450 Mini ITX

I have had this computer case for over a month now, and I think it is time to give a review. It is a great way to go if you want to build the smallest possible computer with full size components.

There are a lot of things that make this computer case a great purchase, it first off includes a 450w 80+ bronze power supply which is more than enough for any components that you can fit inside it. It is nice looking in a minimalistic way, you aren't getting any crazy sharp edges, protruding shapes, side windows, led lighting, and crazy colors with this case. It is very much an under the radar computer case, great for taking with you wherever you go. You can tell thermaltake thought out cooling on this computer case as well, there is a 120mm fan intake on the front which you can attach a all in one watercooler to, I am using the thermaltake water 2.0 performer on mine, I am using 1 fan, and I don't have any clearance issues. The front fan pulls air in, and blows it out both of the sides of the case and the top. The power supply also sucks any hot air out of the computer as an exhaust. If you are using a graphics card, specifically with two fans on it, you will benefit from the long grill on the left side of the case that stretches alongside the whole case. You can fit a graphics card up to 10" in length, which covers all the way up to the nvidia gtx680.

My problems with this case if the fact that the power supply that is included with it has cords that are far too long. In a case this small, the psu cables do not need to around 12 inches long. I understand the psu that is included isn't made just for the case, but it would have been nice if they had a power supply that was intended just for their sugo line. I do have some issues with the quality, overall it is nice, but I would really like them to make the front panel out of metal just as the rest of the case it. The only plastic thing on the case is the front cover, which I believe they should have just made it out of metal. Also, the case can be flexed a little when the top and side covers are off, which really isn't a big problem. You will run into problems fitting hard drives, and an optical drive into the computer if you are using a watercooler. You can fit a desktop hdd in the computer, with a laptop drive also with the included drive bays, although that will cover up almost half of the 120mm fan. Since I am using a watercooler, I cannot fit an optical drive, and fitting a desktop drive is possible, although it is very difficult, so I am using a 2.5" hard drive that you would typically find in a laptop for my storage drive.

I would still recommend this case to anyone who wants to build a small computer, and maybe even use it for lan parties or traveling. You will really have to put a lot of effort into fitting all of the components you might want into it, but in the end, it is a great case. If you want to fit more than a 1 desktop hard drive in your computer, this is the wrong case for you. But if you are looking for a nice case, with a psu included, at a nice price, this is the case for you.

This case gets a 4/5 because I wish they would have made the front of metal like the rest of the case, and I wish the psu cables were a lot shorter.

I wasn't due to build myself a new gaming rig for another year, and I don't go to LAN parties, so there wasn't much reason for me to buy this case. However, I was inspired by seeing the work that Miahallen has done with his Max11L mods, and that lead me to research all the various solutions people have found for fitting their gear into this rig.

Looking at the PSU first. I'm not an expert, but one thing that I always check is the maximum output from each 12V rail. In the original 300W version of this case there where 2 rails @ 14A and 16A, and this means if you use the standard 6-pin PCIe cable you are running the GPU on the second rail and that limits output to 192W. Of course you could "cheat" and use the molex connectors to access the first rail, but that's another discussion. In the 450W version they have changed this arrangement to deliver all of the 12V power across a single rail. The rail is listed at 36A and delivers power to all components in parallel. So there is more freedom in choice if you need a higher draw CPU or want to assign more power to the GPU. Personally I chose the Intel i5-2400S which has a TDP of 65W and although originally I ordered an nVidia GTX 550 Ti, I quickly realised that I had much more power available and exchanged it for a GTX 560 Ti.

The next thing that struck me about Mini ITX cases, something that both SilverStone and Lian Li are advocating, is that in a case this small, a large positive air pressure reaches pretty much all the corners of the case at once. You don't get many stagnant areas compared to a larger, open case because it only takes a couple of fans to move all 11 litres of air. The SG05 achieves this using its front 120mm fan @ 1200rpm and any GPU fan(s). The PSU fan provides some specific exhausting, as it hangs almost directly above the CPU. The rest of the air is forced out of the case through the large number of small holes drilled in the shape of "windows" at the sides and on top of the case. Even with poor cable management, this solution is fine for most of the hardware that can be powered by the 450W.

If you're going to overclock your CPU you might want more cooling. The SG05 has place for some fair-sized air coolers, but perhaps more suitable is an all-in-one water cooling unit. This would still allow for the positive pressure solution, effectively spreading the CPU warmth throughout the whole case rather than relying on it venting out through the PSU. The reason it's important to have a cool PSU is because it can deliver more power at lower temperature. If you are already at the rated limit between the CPU+GPU and the PSU's 36A then you can extend your power headroom by inverting the PSU and having it suck cool air from outside the case. There's around 80mm between the front of the case and the motherboard, so you can easily fit two push-pull fans and a radiator. There won't be any space left for the drive cages, so you'll have to think carefully about how to solve this.

That brings me to the negative points about the case. First, although the PSU cables are all cut to ideal lengths for the build, you do get all of them sprawled around. Cable management is tricky and you will probably end up stuffing a lot of the unused cables into the upper right frame. One minor gripe is that one of the cables has three Sata 15-pin power connectors, while the case design is intended for two regular Sata drives and a "slimline" drive. It would have been handy if one of the connectors was 6-pin, rather than forcing the consumer to buy a slimline adapter which uses a 4-pin molex connector, which is on a separate cable. So overall I wouldn't have minded paying $10 extra for a modular solution where I could pick and choose my cables, or sleeve my own without voiding the warranty.

Secondly, I think more effort could have been made to allow the drive cages to have alternate placements. The 2.5" cage could have had screws instead of being riveted to the optical drive cage. There are several alternative placements for the 2.5" which could be facilitated by an extra bracket here or there. Even the 3.5" could have an alternate placement along the right side of the case just with 2 extra drill holes and a single right-angle bracket. A lot of the case measurements are just ideal for the other components, maybe just dropping the position of the front fan to floor level would solve a great deal. I know the case is 2 years old now, but perhaps SilverStone will consider making such changes in an "evolution" version as they did with the SG01.

Overall I'm giving this case a 4/5 because the build quality could be a bit higher and because of the issues with drive placement. It's a great case which isn't for everyone, but achieves most of the goals consumers would have when looking for a small-form-factor case.