| SilverStone SUGO SST-SG06B mini-ITX Case |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Cases | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Hank Tolman - Edited by Olin Coles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 17 August 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SilverStone SUGO SST-SG06BThe SilverStone SUGO SG06 mini-ITX Case is a very small case. But don't let that fool you, this case is destined for some very big things. Here at Benchmark Reviews, we have brought you a complete tour of this little giant. While the mini-ITX/DTX form factor makes this case versatile enough for any room in the house, it also packs a few surprises that make it a viable solution for a pretty powerful PC. And while it's definitely small enough to hide away in a cabinet, under a desk, or in a corner, its sleek and shiny face offer the possibility of keeping it more permanently in sight. The case comes with a 300W SFX PSU. That tells you something right off the bat. This isn't your mom's mini-ITX Case. The normal HTPC or light duty home server PC doesn't require anywhere near that. It also leaves enough space inside it's compact frame to house up to a 9" graphics card. I can finally keep the small computer size without sacrificing video quality. The Intel GMA 950 chipset is surprisingly adept, but it can't offer what I'm looking for.
Smaller, quieter, greener. These are the new key words of the industry. Computer components are reducing their size and their footprint. The next wave of computer enthusiasts isn't looking for that full tower monster case with LED lighting. They want sleek and slim, lean and trim. Benchmark Reviews takes a look today at the SilverStone SUGO SST-SG06B mini-ITX case. When you read mini-ITX, I know what you're thinking. Another HTPC case, nice and small, but useless for any type of CPU or GPU intensive activity. And that's where SilverStone breaks the trend. The case comes stock with a 300W power supply and enough room for a 9" long video card. Could this be the answer to those of us yearning for a PC that meets our computing needs as well as our space and aesthetic needs? Follow along as we delve deeper to find out. About SilverStone Technology
Founded in 2003, SilverStone is an established leader in its field, with an elite team of engineers; we started our quest of providing products that create inspirations. We have since expanded the lines of products as well as types of products we produce, giving our customers a wide selection of choices. With distribution centers in different areas of the globe, SilverStone products can be seen all over the world, not just for computer users but also for home entertainment use. Providing leisure with integration of advanced technologies that is functional and making them enjoyable to use. Here at SilverStone Technology, we continue to pride ourselves in providing the highest level of standards in designing and manufacturing computer enclosures, power supplies, and accessories. Our pursuit for the first class aesthetic appeal is relentless; our teams of devoted engineers are constantly searching for the best technologies that suit end-users with different needs and will make our products as technologically sound as they are beautiful. SilverStone SUGO Features
SST-SG06 Specifications
Closer Look: ExteriorThe SilverStone SUGO SG06 is the next product in a long line of Small Form Factor chasis made by SilverStone. It is the second of their SFF cases made for mini-ITX/DTX motherboards, following the SG05. The SG06 is nearly the same case as the SG05. The front face of the SG05 has been replaced with a thicker aluminum front panel without the meshed area for air intake.
The top and two side panels cover the air flow issue very well, provide plenty of mesh area to allow air in and out. In a small case like this, airflow is very important. Keeping all the components cool while packed in to a tight area can be quite difficult. One of the biggest worries about the SG06 was that the solid aluminum front plate would impede airflow throughout the case. Because of all the meshed area along the other three sides, however, airflow is not a problem at all.
The back panel also keeps with the mesh theme of the case. The power supply has a mesh rear plate and the two expansion slots are covered with a mesh slot covers. Even the area above the slot covers is meshed. You can really tell that SilverStone put a lot of thought into keeping the case open enough to provide adequate cooling. Making a small form factor case, and giving it a 300W power supply necessitates that line of thinking.
In all, the new front panel for the SG06 case adds only about 1cm to the overall length of the case. Since the panel is entirely made of aluminum, it also adds about four tenths of a pound. I think the improved look of the case more than makes up for the slight increase in size. It's still a very tiny case.
Detailed Exterior FeaturesAlong with the improved front face plate, which does wonders for the aesthetics of the case, a few other things have changed from the SG05. The reset button is now in the rear of the case instead of in front. The reset button on the back is a very nice touch, in my opinion. I can count on one hand the times I have used the reset button on this case. Moving it to the back helps keep the no-frills, sleek style by removing distractions.
The USB ports have been place side by side on the SG06, where they were vertically spaced on the SG05 with the headphone and microphone jacks between them. While this does consolidate the few items that must be on the front, it limits the user to slim profile USB devices, or requires the use of an extension or hub. That being said, why would you want the mar the subtle beauty of the case with a large and unsightly USB device protruding from the front?
The front plate is also home to the optical drive bay. The bay, in keeping with the small and unobtrusive theme of the case, supports slim drives only. Our case is complimented with the SilverStone SST-SOD01 8X DVD+/-RW slim slot-loading drive. SilverStone also offers the SST-TOB02 slim blu-ray drive. While slim drives may be slightly more expensive than full-sized optical drives, the point here, I belive, was to keep the case as small and as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
The case opens by removing the outer shell which encompasses the top and both sides of the case. This is a somewhat similar design to some mid-tower cases and a lot of other small form factor cases. The only issue I have with this style of case is that I sometimes have trouble refitting the outer shell back onto the case. I find myself fumbling around trying to make sure that both sides are properly place and lined up so I can push the shell into place and have all the screws from the back fit in the right slots. Inevitably, I miss the mark somewhere, whether it be near the front where the top and sides bevel in to fit under the panel, or near the bottom of the case on either side. Maybe I am just clumsy, though, and after a few times opening and closing the case, I usually get the hang of it. The nice part about this shell style case is that opens up the whole case by only removing a single piece, rather than fumbling with two side panels and a top panel.
As a final touch, the case comes with four rubber feet with adhesive on them. They don't come pre-attached to the case, which is probably a good idea, as they are likely to fall off or be scraped off during handling and when unpacking the case. Also, I guess that means you can put them wherever you want them. I chose the classic four corner locations for the placing of the feet. The case seems to guide you to those locations anyway. Closer Look: InteriorUpon opening the case, I was very impressed by the way SilverStone effectively used all the space available in the tiny case. Along the top of the case lie the power supply and the optical drive bay.
Directly under the optical drive bay is the two hard drive bays. The 3.5" drive bay hangs down over the main body of the interior of the case and between that drive bay and the optical drive bay is the 2.5" bay. It's nice having both size bays, as 2.5" drives are still less than common. As Solid State Disks gain popularity, 2.5" drives are becoming more accepted. It's nice to know that the case is ready for that not-so-distant future upgrade.
The main body of the case is more spacious than I had originally thought. In this, SilverStone also had good foresight. This case is not as limited as many other small form factor cases because it provides plenty of room for adequate CPU cooling and for large video cards. The case supports up to a 78mm CPU cooling fan. 
It also holds enough room for a 9" video card. If you are wondering whether your card will fit, SilverStone provides a supported GPU list. It looks like, as of the date this article was published, NVIDIA cards up to the GeForce 9800 will fit, as well as ATI cards up to the Radeon 4850. One thing to remember here is that the power supply comes with one 6 pin plug for your GPU. If you have a card that requires two, you will have to get a converter.
Detailed Interior FeaturesThe optical drive bay is removed by unscrewing two screws from the top and two from the front located under the front panel. On the top there are actually four screw holes for securing the drive bay and only two screws. I took the two screws from the front and used them in the other two holes on the top. This keeps the drive bay just as secure and eliminates the need for me to remove the front panel of the case whenever I need to get to the inside. The optical drive bay must be removed, as well as the hard drive bays, in order to gain unhindered access to the motherboard and component areas.
Since a slim optical drive is required for this case, SilverStone also includes a parallel ATA slim optical drive adapter. This allows the use of notebook drives in the case. The adapter converts the parallel port on the notebook drives to a 40 pin parallel ATA connector and a floppy drive power supply connector.
The hard drive bays, under the optical drive bay, are removed with two screws that connect directly to the optical drive bay. The fact that the optical and hard drive bays can removed and seperated makes working with them a lot easier. One of the complaints I have with full and mid-tower cases is that when installing and uninstalling drives, I have to constantly move back and forth from one side of the case to the other. The removable bays on this case alleviate that problem.
The case fan included with the SilverStone SUGO SST-SG06 is a 120mm fan with "golf blades". This term refers to the dimples in the blades of the fan. The design is supposed to offer increased air flow with lower noise output. I didn't test the decibel output of the fan, but I didn't have any problem with the noise level either. A concern that some had about the new front panel was that it would cause the fan to be louder. If it did, it was still too quite for me to even notice. The fan has a 3-pin connector that connects directly to the motherboard. This allows you to be able to monitor the speed of the fan, which runs at up to 1200 RPM.
Another small but nice touch that SilverStone added in with the case is a small cable organizer. They are not very expensive to buy one after the fact, but I thought it showed very good planning and customer appreciation on the part of SilverStone, as most cases don't come with that. It's certainly not necessary, but its appreciated nonetheless. FSP300-60GHS 300W PSUThe Power Supply Unit (PSU) that came with the case is from FSP, model FSP300-60GHS, and is rated for 300W. It is a small form factor power supply for use with mini-ITX and mini-DTX motherboards. The power supply is slightly smaller than normal power supplies, which makes it ideal for the small SUGO SG06 case.
The unit is an upgrade from the 300W power supply that came with the SG05 case. The upgrades from the previous power supply include lower acoustics across all loading conditions (its quieter), more SilverStone specific cable types and lengths, and +12V distribution was changed to better support higher end graphics cards. I don't have an SG05 case to compare it against, but I have heard that one of the more major complaints was that the cables didn't always reach the components they were intended for. This has been fixed with the SG06 and the new PSU. I had no trouble with the cables reaching everything.
The power supply has two +12V rails, one for the motherboard connector and another for the video card connector. Splitting these into two seperate rails allows more constant power for the GPU. This was a great idea, and allows for the use of some power intensive video cards.
The PSU also provides an 4 pin connector that is almost always required on motherboards now. There is a single SATA cable with 3 connectors on it and there is a single peripheral power cable with two standard power connectors and one floppy drive power connector.
This power supply has achieved above an 80% efficiency and is a 80 Plus Certified power supply. It has an active PFC (power factor corrector), as all good power supplies do, that helps improve its stability and efficiency. The unit also provides over current and short-circuit protection. Overall, the PSU greatly compliments this case. It was designed well to fit the case, and to fit the needs of all styles of users. At 300W, it provides enough power for all basic uses while leaving plenty of room for upgrades. SUGO Case Final ThoughtsThe SilverStone SUGO SG06 mini-ITX case is well suited to its purpose. It's small, compact, light design caters to the aesthetically minded. Its 300W power supply caters to those who want more than a simple HTPC. It accommodates a 9" video card and a taller than average CPU cooler as well. All these features help move this case from the simple HTPC or light duty home computer arena into a more advanced enthusiast region. This case isn't going to make you a top of the line gaming or other CPU/GPU intensive system. What it will do is allow you to get rid of that huge tower case that is sitting under your desk providing you with all kinds of heat and noise, and replace it with a quiet, cool, light, small box that is at home on top of the desk as well as under it. It will also allow you to add a simple, sleek, stylish computer to your home theater entertainment center. Many have thought of using an HTPC, but until recently, the enclosures for such systems weren't conducive to a living room environment. That is beginning to change, and SilverStone is leading the way. The slot load DVD/Blu-Ray drive expansion option allows you get rid of your DVD/Blu-Ray player. By adding a good sized hard drive, you can get rid of your other media equipment as well. This case can allow you to easily cut down on the clutter of cords and devices surrounding your entertainment center. If I could change anything about this case, it would be the arrangement of the USB ports. I would slot them farther apart, like they were in the SG05, rather than side by side as they are here. Other than that, I might add another 6 pin GPU power adapter to the power supply. And that's about it. The case is surprisingly well equipped. I love the design of the case. I love the versatility. My home theater will never be the same again. The case comes at a price, $129.99 at NewEgg at the time this article was published, but the features it brings to the table justify it. This isn't your cheap excuse for an HTPC case. This is a versatile, well built, well ventilated aluminum enclosure.
SilverStone SG06 ConclusionSilverStone has a great track record for their product presentation. This case doesn't diminish that in the least. The packing is strong and protects the contents well. It isn't fancy or frilly, but it's size alone will catch your eye. It's quite decieving. Who'd have thought such a versatile case could fit, with all the protective foam, inside such a small box? Plenty of documentation is available in the box, as well as on SilverStone's website. Appearance is another strong point for this case. The revamped aluminum front, moving the reset switch to the rear, the well-ventilated top and side panels. It's all part of the deal with this case. The size and sheer elegance of this case makes is stand out amongst its peers. It is one of the smallest mini-ITX cases I have seen, and definitely the most feature rich. On top of all that, it meets my wife's criteria for being able to stay in the living room! Score! The case is tough, despite its pretty face. It's made almost completely out of aluminum, not plastic. While this makes the case a little heavier than cases of a comparable size, it also makes the case sturdier and more appealing. Since it's been sitting in my living room, my 10 month old daughter thinks it is the newest toy. It has held up remarkably to the abuse. Strong construction is an important feature of this case. Where this case really shines is in its functionality. A 300W power supply starts the case off well, giving it the versatility that small form factor cases have previously been lacking. Support for a 9" long video card adds to the functionality and opens up the options for nearly any grade of computer enthusiast. Large CPU cooler support allows for overclocking or high-end CPU usage. This case will likely open the doors for a new line of mini-ITX motherboards with LGA1366 CPU slots. The price of this case falls higher end range for a small form factor case, except for none of the other cases offer a 300W PSU like the SG06 does. The SUGO SG06 listed on NewEgg right now for $129.99. It's certainly not the most expensive mini-ITX case out there, but it is pricier than most. Of course, you get what you pay for. The functionality and construction of the case justify the price. If you're in need of a cheap case, this isn't what you're looking for. But if you are intersted in a strong, versatile, functional case that will meet most of your computing needs, whether they be mainstream or high-end, then this is the case for you. In all honesty, this case met or exceeded each of the standards that I had in mind for it. The really simple stuff like putting the reset button in the back instead of on the front impressed me a lot. I was afraid the aluminum might scratch or dent easily, but it doesn't. I was afraid it wouldn't meet my computing needs, but it does. It provides everything I need for a great HTPC, and adds in that little extra versatility so I can play games, or perform other CPU/GPU intensive tasks. While the price is a little higher than I would like, it fits the case just fine. Overall, this case is a great purchase for scaling down the space your computer takes up in your office, or for putting together your HTPC. Without at doubt, it's my favorite case of any I have owned so far. Pros:
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