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SilverStone Sugo SG05 Review
[Abstract]
Downsizing the ChassisThere's no running away from the recession and tech firms like most other sectors have been affected too. But besides the common refrain to downsize and cut costs, this tr...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Conclusion
Despite the efforts of companies like AOpen and Shuttle, the small form factor (SFF) PC segment has never really taken off in a big way - at least in the DIY market. Big OEM vendors like HP and Dell have had some success selling small desktop systems but these are pre-built ones that differ from the customization offered by SFF models targeted at enthusiasts.
SilverStone too has been relatively new to the scene, with the first of its SFF oriented Sugo series debuting in 2005. The goal as ever for such SFF enclosures has been to maintain the form factor while expanding the possibilities that one can outfit it internally. For instance, even high-end or even dual graphics cards could be supported in this chassis. Unlike Shuttle who has its own custom motherboard and CPU cooler integrated in its SFF chassis, SilverStone has stuck to just designing and building the chassis alone.
Even though the small form factor enthusiast PC is a rather niche market, it's always great to see more choices available besides the usual names like AOpen and Shuttle. SilverStone's Sugo SG05 is the company's smallest yet. |
While the goal of allowing consumers the flexibility of adding their own components is commendable, the implementation in SilverStone's latest venture into the mini-ITX segment, the SG05 is less than inspired. Getting the slim optical drive required for the SG05 for example, may not be as easy as dishing out more cash. We believe that it's likely that retail outlets will end up bundling the optical drive along with the SG05 for convenience's sake.
The other major issue has been the cable management. SilverStone could probably improve this aspect, with shorter cables or even pre-routed cables. Since the orientation of the drive cage is fixed, there's no reason why this can't be done. It could have saved us quite a bit of time during installation, particularly since the SG05 is anything but tool-free.
Besides these issues, the ventilation aspect appears to be well-done, with a large and quiet 120mm fan to pull the air into the chassis. The small included power supply also looks efficient and capable enough to support a decent, mid-range system. Finally, priced at around US$99, it's not prohibitively expensive, considering you're getting a PSU along with the chassis. For those who have been mulling over the idea of a custom SFF PC, the Sugo SG05 will require some effort to make it work but once done, it should be humming along cool and quiet.
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