SilverStone Sugo SG07 Case Review
By Gabriel Torres on August 6, 2010


Introduction

Hardware Secrets Golden Award

The SilverStone Sugo SG07 is a small form factor (SFF) case supporting mini-ITX and mini-DTX motherboards. Although small, it is targeted to users that want to build a powerful gaming PC, as it supports video cards of up to 12.2” (310 mm) in length. It is a hybrid case, with its body made of steel and its front panel made of aluminum. One of the highlights of this product is that it comes with a 600 W 80 Plus Bronze power supply, which we tested. Let’s see if the Sugo SG07 is a good pick.

By the way, we’ve have already reviewed two other models from the SilverStone Sugo family, the SG05 and the SG06.

The Sugo SG07 can be found in two versions, one with a transparent side window (SG07-BW, which is the model we are reviewing) and one without this part (SG-07B).

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 1: SilverStone Sugo SG07 case

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 2: SilverStone Sugo SG07 case

As mentioned before, this case has an aluminum front panel, but if you pay close attention, only the middle part of the front panel is made out of aluminum, the parts on the sides are made of plastic. The SG07 has two USB ports on its front panel and the traditional audio jacks. There is only one external bay, for a slim optical drive (i.e., originally targeted to portable computers).

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 3: Front panel

Introduction (Cont’d)

On the bottom panel of the Sugo SG07 we have a washable air filter, which matches the power supply fan. This filter can be removed from outside the case, making it easy to clean. The bottom panel also has a mesh for helping to ventilate the video card.

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 4: Bottom panel

The rear panel and the interior of the SilverStone Sugo SG07 are painted black. On the rear panel we have a switch for controlling the speed of the big 180-mm fan available on the top of the case (more about that in the next page), the reset switch, two expansion slots with vented covers, a tiny mesh above the expansion slots, and the AC receptacle for the power supply. It is interesting to note that the power supply is installed on the front part of the case, and this AC receptacle is connected to the power supply receptacle through an internal power cord.

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 5: Rear panel

Let’s now take a look inside the SilverStone Sugo SG07.

Inside the SilverStone Sugo SG07

The top cover of the case is attached to the chassis using regular screws, but painted black. In Figure 6, you see the Sugo SG07 with its top cover removed. The highlight of this case is its top 180 mm fan (S1803212HN-3M). The switch available on the rear panel allows you to choose between two speeds, 700 rpm (18 dBA) or 1,200 rpm (34 dBA). This fan comes with a washable air filter that is very easy to remove.

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 6: Overall look

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 7: The top fan and its air filter

Another ventilation option available in this case and that is very unique is a ventilation duct for the video card, shown in Figure 8. In order to use it, you have to remove the center piece of the rounded foam that comes with the product and install the resulting foam ring on the air filter, as shown in Figure 9. Then you need to screw the duct on the side panel, matching the position where the fan of your video card is located. Since the side panel has several holes, you will be able to perfectly match the position of this fan.

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 8: Air filter and foam disc

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 9: Video card duct assembled

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 10: Video card duct installed

In Figure 11, you can see the inside of the SG07 with the top fan removed. Although being very small, this case supports video cards up to 12.2” (310 mm) in length and CPU coolers up to 4.6” (117 mm) in height.

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 11: Inside the Sugo SG07

The Disk Drive Bays

The SilverStone Sugo SG07 comes with one external bay for slim optical drives (i.e., optical drives originally targeted to portable computers), one internal 3.5” bay, and two internal 2.5” bays.

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 12: The slim optical drive bay

By removing the optical drive bay we have access to the hard disk drive cage. This cage supports one 3.5” hard drive inside and two 2.5” devices on its bottom.

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 13: Case with the optical drive bay removed

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 14: Hard disk drive cage (one 3.5” drive goes inside)

SilverStone Sugo SG07 case
click to enlarge
Figure 15: Hard disk drive cage (two 2.5” drives go here)

The Power Supply

The power supply that comes with the SilverStone Sugo SG07 is a SilverStone SST-ST60F-SG, a single-rail 600 W power supply with 80 Plus Bronze certification. This unit is manufactured by FSP and, at least right now, it isn’t sold separately.

SilverStone SST-ST60F-SG power supply
click to enlarge
Figure 17: SilverStone SST-ST60F-SG power supply

SilverStone SST-ST60F-SG power supply
click to enlarge
Figure 17: Power supply label

The power supply comes with the following cables:

The number of connectors is perfect, as it allows you to install a high-end video card, the optical drive,  and up to three hard disk drives or SSDs.

We made a complete load test with this power supply. Let’s see how it fared.

Load Tests

We conducted several tests with this power supply, as described in the article, Hardware Secrets Power Supply Test Methodology

First we tested this power supply with five different load patterns, trying to pull around 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of its labeled maximum capacity (actual percentage used listed under “% Max Load”), watching the behavior of the reviewed unit under each load. In the table below, we list the load patterns we used and the results for each load.

If you add all the power listed for each test, you may find a different value than what is posted under “Total” below. Since each output can vary slightly (e.g., the +5 V output working at 5.10 V), the actual total amount of power being delivered is slightly different than the calculated value. In the “Total” row, we are using the real amount of power being delivered, as measured by our load tester.

The +12VA and +12VB inputs listed below are the two +12 V independent inputs from our load tester. During our tests, both inputs were connected to the power supply single rail (the power supply EPS12V connector was installed on the +12VB input).

Input

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

Test 4

Test 5

+12VA

4 A (48 W)

9 A (108 W)

13 A (156 W)

17.5 A (210 W)

22.5 A (270 W)

+12VB

4 A (48 W)

9 A (108 W)

13 A (156 W)

17.5 A (210 W)

22 A (264 W)

+5V

1 A (5 W)

2 A (10 W)

4 A (20 W)

6 A (30 W)

8 A (40 W)

+3.3 V

1 A (3.3 W)

2 A (6.6 W)

4 A (13.2 W)

6 A (19.8 W)

8 A (26.4)

+5VSB

1 A (5 W)

1 A (5 W)

1.5 A (7.5 W)

2 A (10 W)

3 A (15 W)

-12 V

0.5 A (6 W)

0.5 A (6 W)

0.5 A (6 W)

0.5 A (6 W)

0.5 A (6 W)

Total

113.0 W

237.8 W

350.0 W

472.3 W

598.2 W

% Max Load

18.8%

39.6%

58.3%

78.7%

99.7%

Room Temp.

46.3º C

44.8º C

45.3º C

45.7º C

48.4º C

PSU Temp.

52.4º C

51.2º C

51.4º C

48.8º C

52.9º C

Voltage Regulation

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

Ripple and Noise

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

AC Power

131.3 W

271.6 W

401.7 W

551.1 W

704.0 W

Efficiency

86.1%

87.6%

87.1%

85.7%

85.0%

AC Voltage

113.6 V

113.1 V

112.1 V

111.1 V

109.0 V

Power Factor

0.972

0.984

0.989

0.992

0.994

Final Result

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

The performance achieved by this power supply was impressive. It could maintain efficiency above 85% during all our tests, peaking at 87.6%. It could easily have received the 80 Plus Silver certification.

Voltages were always inside the allowed range, and noise and ripple levels were always low, except at the +3.3 V output (but still below the maximum allowed). Below you can see the results for the power supply outputs during test number five. The maximum allowed is 120 mV for +12 V and -12 V, and 50 mV for +5 V and +3.3 V. All values are peak-to-peak figures.

SilverStone SST-ST60F-SG power supply
click to enlarge
Figure 18: +12VA input from load tester during test five at 598.2 W (34.6 mV)

SilverStone SST-ST60F-SG power supply
click to enlarge
Figure 19: +12VB input from load tester during test five at 598.2 W (29.2 mV)

SilverStone SST-ST60F-SG power supply
click to enlarge
Figure 20: +5V rail during test five at 598.2 W (20.4 mV)

SilverStone SST-ST60F-SG power supply
click to enlarge
Figure 21: +3.3 V rail during test five at 598.2 W (42.2 mV)

Let’s see if we can pull even more from the SilverStone SST-ST60F-SG.

Overload Tests

Below you can see the maximum we could pull from this power supply. If we tried to pull more, the power supply would shut down, showing that a protection kicked in, which is great.

Input

Overload Test

+12VA

30 A (360 W)

+12VB

30 A (360 W)

+5V

10 A (50 W)

+3.3 V

10 A (33 W)

+5VSB

3 A (15 W)

-12 V

0.5 A (6 W)

Total

781.3 W

% Max Load

130.2%

Room Temp.

44.6º C

PSU Temp.

51.8º C

AC Power

977 W

Efficiency

80.0%

AC Voltage

104.3 V

Power Factor

0.996

Main Specifications

The main specs for the SilverStone Sugo SG07 case include:

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.

Conclusions

The SilverStone Sugo SG07 is an impressive case for users that want to build a high-end gaming system inside a small form factor case, allowing you to easily carry your computer around. The only “problem” with this case is its price. At USD 220 (or USD 210, if you choose the model without the transparent side window), it is a little bit overpriced, even when we put the excellent 600 W power supply that comes with it into the equation.

Strong Points

Weak Points

Originally at http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/SilverStone-Sugo-SG07-Case-Review/1064


© 2004-12, Hardware Secrets, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Total or partial reproduction of the contents of this site, as well as that of the texts available for downloading, be this in the electronic media, in print, or any other form of distribution, is expressly forbidden. Those who do not comply with these copyright laws will be indicted and punished according to the International Copyrights Law.

We do not take responsibility for material damage of any kind caused by the use of information contained in Hardware Secrets.