Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
To be honest, the installation has always been my favorite part of reviewing cases, as it gives a pretty good indication to the ease of use, in addition to the thought process of the manufacturers when they designed it. I knew the SilverStone Sugo SG13WB would present a different challenge, especially as this is actually the smallest case I have ever worked in. To aid me in my endeavor, I followed the manual provided with the SG13WB. The first thing I installed into the case was the Patriot Ignite 480GB, placing it onto the floor of the case. Next, I took my Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 motherboard, with an Intel Core i5-6600K at the heart, and two sticks of Patriot Viper Elite PC4-24000 2x8GB DDR4 RAM mounted in. Cooling the processor was a CRYORIG C7, which was actually an intentional choice considering the form factor. As the power supply will sit right above the motherboard, heatsinks are limited to 61mm in height. This is a nonissue for the C7, but it should be kept in mind for other users.
The next step was to install an intake fan. As this case does not come with one, I picked a Fractal Design Venturi HP-12 PWM. I threw the yet to be reviewed SilverStone SX700-LPT SFX power supply at the top and connected the power cables. As this is an SFX sized power supply, two modifications are necessary before continuing on. For one, this increases the airflow to the motherboard, since the power supply is not breathing down as close. Secondly, I needed to use an additional accessory to fit the smaller power supply into the mounting area. Thankfully, SilverStone has their PP08, an SFX to ATX power supply adapter. One thing I should note about the power supply is the fact you should be careful of how the power supply is mounted in relation to the CPU cooler. If the cooler draws air into the heatsink, as with most top fan mounted coolers, you should mount your power supply with the fan facing upwards. This will ensure there will not be any competition for air between the processor cooler and the power supply. The last step I took was to place the front panel back on, as SilverStone recommends removing it at the beginning to aid with the installation. However, if you have a graphics card, it would be best to install it before placing the front panel back on. For your reference, graphics cards up to 10.5" or 266.7mm in length should fit here.
From here you can see the other side of the case in addition to the cabling mess I had to deal with. One of the uglier things you will face when working in a smaller case is the lack of cable management space, which is unfortunate but fully expected. As there is no hiding place or organization area to route cables, you will have to deal with this a bit more strategically. My main goal was just to ensure there was a clear path between the intake fan and the motherboard. Obviously, there will be people out there who can do a better job than I did in the Sugo SG13WB, but I was quite happy with the final result.
Installation overall was straightforward and simple. While it took a bit more work to get things in place and somewhat clean, I cannot say it was any more difficult to work with than other cases, but rather just a unique experience. Getting parts in places was generally quite easy, as there were not too many things getting in my way. In addition, any potential obstacles such as brackets could be removed to get past them. Afterwards, I placed the top drive mount back and hid more of the power cables underneath for a cleaner look. Finally, I closed up the SilverStone Sugo SG13WB, flipped the power switch on the power supply, and booted up the machine.
With the system turning on, the first sign of life you will see is the power light. These two lights glow bright and blue in the bottom gap at the front, with one on each side. The next sign is a middle red LED to show hard drive activity. I really like the effect this makes, as it looks a bit like an under glow light. In addition, due to the LED on the motherboard itself, I could see a red line light up inside the case. Otherwise, I think the case looks pretty good. You can also see how small the SilverStone Sugo SG13WB is, as it stands at less than half the height of my full sized case, the Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX. As for noise levels, it would be kind of unfair to really say the case makes a lot of noise, especially as there is no fan included with the Sugo SG13WB. However, with my system inside, the case does not do too much to really suppress any noise. Even so, there are no rattling parts. On the subjective APH scale of sound, where 0 is quiet and 10 is loud, I would rate this case at around 3.0/10. As this case is quite small, the amount of noise makers like cooling fans or multiple power supplies it can hold is quite low, so I do not think noise will be a problem here.
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Before products like the SilverStone Sugo SG13WB, if you were to ask me if I could build a computer the size of a shoebox with very little trouble, I would have been filled with skepticism. However, after seeing and building with the Sugo SG13WB, I can say SilverStone has done a pretty bang-up job in terms of execution. Starting at the beginning, the looks and build of the Sugo SG13 is pretty good, with decent material choices and a clean design. It may not necessarily be the most eye-popping, but it definitely functions well. The internal layout is pretty good too. Considering it can still house a full-sized graphics card, regular ATX power supply, and up to three 2.5" drives, I am quite impressed. It might not be filled with all the accessories like custom water loop support, but it has the essentials. The layout allows an adequate amount of airflow into the small box. When it comes to building and using the Sugo SG13WB, the overall experience was a positive one. I never ran into any frustrations while building my computer, and I was quite pleased with the final product. Taking a look at retailers, SilverStone has priced the Sugo SG13 at a very reasonable $40 USD. Obviously, there has been some price reduction features to make this case profitable. For example, while the case is still sturdy enough, there is a bit of flex in the metal. In addition, there is no included intake fan, and only the intake area has a mesh filter. It finally would have been nice to also see a handle, to make this case easier to move around. However, to make all of these changes would translate into a sizeable price bump, and I can say SilverStone has struck a good balance between price and quality. Overall, I think this is still an excellent case for its size and money, and will be perfect for those looking for a home theater PC, or for on the go use at LAN parties.
SilverStone provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.5/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
The SilverStone Sugo SG13 manages to fit a whole lot of big components into a tiny package, leaving me saying sugoi!
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
