Conclusion: Great Potential, But Needs Care

Conclusion: Great Potential, But Needs Care

I've typically been of the opinion that for builders, Corsair cases are generally novice level while more experienced users can try their luck with SilverStone's more specialized enclosures. That continues to be true with the Sugo SG09, where it's clear to me that while the case is fine for a fairly general build, it needs a little more care to really shine.

Let's hit the positives first. The Sugo SG09 is able to cram a substantial amount of power in a very compact space, and not only that, it can do so without producing serious heat issues. I have reservations about the use of substantial amounts of mechanical storage in the space behind the motherboard tray (as well as reservations about even using a 3.5" drive in general), but for a couple of smaller drives the temperatures should be perfectly reasonable and well below drive spec. At the same time, the top intake fan, even at low speed, does an incredible job of keeping the CPU cool. Overclockers looking for a great case to work with may be surprised to hear me recommend the SG09, but there you have it. Graphics cooling performance is competitive at best, but I suspect the SG09 may benefit more from a graphics card with a blower style cooler.

Of course, that gets into the SG09's essential "flaw." Building quibbles mentioned previously notwithstanding, the SG09 really needs you to cherry pick components to perform at its best. I think that makes it an excellent choice for boutiques looking to offer a distinctive build, but end users looking to build will have a slightly tougher time. Slot-loading slimline optical drives can be a pain to source for a reasonable price, and there's the added expense of having to use 2.5" drives as well. You'll also want to get a SilverStone modular PSU like the one I tested with here along with the shorter cable kit, and a fan controller is most definitely in order to get the most out of the SG09. As you can see, these things add up.

When all is said and done, though, I'm convinced you can put together a pretty awesome build with the SG09, and SilverStone has done a great job engineering this case for performance. I don't have the price tag on hand just yet (will update when I get it), but if it comes in at less than $100 it'll at least be competitive despite the allowances you should ideally make for it in your component selection. They seem to be pretty proud of the SG09 and it's easy to see why. Recommended.

Update: SilverStone let me know the SG09 is running $99, which is totally reasonable.

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