Great Portable Gaming Rig
review by
wisk
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.
Pros | Cons |
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Tiny size. Well laid-out. 36A on the CPU/PSU rail. Effective use of positive air pressure to cool the case. | No modular PSU cables. 3.5" drive cage obstructs intake fan. |
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