CM Elite 120, SS Sugo SG05 or SG08

Serberus

Serberus

Serberus

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SS Sugo SG05 or SG08

I'm looking to replace my 5yr old Macbook Pro with a SFF PC. My MBP has served me well when I travelled more but now it rarely leaves the house (and is on mains power most of the time).

I'm not confined to just these cases but they're the size I'm looking for ... (if anything the SG08 might be a little bigger than I need)

Silverstone Sugo SG05
Silverstone Sugo SG08

Component wise I'm looking at:

Intel 3570K
ASUS P8Z77-I DELUXE (I read the layout provides more space between socket and GFX card)
8GB DDR3 1600
Samsung 830 256GB

Power wise I really like the idea of a modular PSU like the Silverstone ST45F-G for tidy cable management.

Heatsink wise I guess I'm somewhat limited, I was set on an Antec Kuhler 620 but silent PC review didn't rate the performance of this cooler vs traditional air coolers (though the air coolers are monster size wise).

As an alternative, anyone using / used a Silverstone NT06-E?

Not fussed about an optical drive, I rarely use optical media (switched out my DVD drive in MBP for a second HDD years ago - have an external USB drive on the rare occasions I need an OS install).

I'll hold off on the graphics card for now and run with Intel HD Graphics 4000 but I'd like the option of moving to dedicated graphics (I play Xonotic occasionally and might explore some Valve games).

I will be running Arch Linux as the primary OS (Z77 chipset and intel HD graphics don't seem to have compatibility issues).

Anyone running a rig in one of these cases, have any feedback / advise about such a build? Especially interested to hear if you're using a Kuhler system.
 
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The SG08 is actually not the biggest case of the three you are looking at. Below are their size in volume:

19.9 litre - Cooler Master Elite 120
14.8 litre - SilverStone Sugo SG08
10.8 litre - SilverStone Sugo SG05


If you can accept case size of around 20 litre, then you could also look at some Micro-ATX cases too. Below are some examples from SilverStone:

22.5 litre - SilverStone Sugo SG03
22.0 litre - SilverStone Sugo SG01 / SG02
21.4 litre - SilverStone Grandia GD04 / GD05
 
I'd not clocked the size of the E120, that helps reduce my options as it's bigger than I'd want. Thanks for the info.
 
I've got a NT06-E cooling a i7-920 in my SG04.

The PSU acts as a fan drawing the air up throught the cooler and out the back on the case.
Not sure is this works the same in the cases you have chosen though.

As its a video capture/encoding PC its not OC'd with the cores around 80-90% usage it hits 75degrees. not bad for a Nehalem on "semi passive" cooling.
 
I'm not looking to overclock, I'm more concerned about noise and making the machine as quiet as possible. Obviously this goes out the window when I have headphones on to play a 3DFPS and the GFX card spins up (if I switch to dedicated).

I was looking at the Noctua NH-C12P SE14 instead of the Antec Kuhler 620, looks like there's little between the two performance wise.

I'm leaning towards the SG05 at this point, it's smaller, cheaper and I can spec my own PSU in it. It won't accommodate the biggest graphics cards like the SG08 would but I'm not a die hard gamer.
 
My SG06 P8Z77-I system http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18412288 has been running fine now for well over two months. With the Noctua NH-L12 the fans are not audible in normal conditions.

Still using the HD4000 gfx, I had intended to go for a 660 but the pricing is not acceptable yet and the quietest twin fan models are over the 10in limit I think.

The only thing I miss not having is the (upcoming) modular PSU as there are a fair few spare cables inside.
 
That's an amazingly similar spec you have there jwsg!

I almost settled on the SG08 but cable management seems to be an issue for most, with no requirement for an optical drive or traditional HDD I think I'll get away with an SG05 with a ST45f-G PSU.

I need to research the HSF more, still undecided about air cooling or a Antec Kuhler.
 
I can recommend the NH-L12 - which fits (i.e. both the case and the motherboard) and is adequate upto 4GHz. I used the top fan (also PWM) to replace the supplied case fan so that helped make the cost more acceptable. I see no reason to go water.
I happen to think the front panel of the SG06 is nicer than the SG05. In any case there is a review of the SG05 on Anandtech this week.
 
I did happen to spot that review on Anandtech, quiet timely. I can't believe the SG05 is three years old! I have read the SG05 can be noisy due to the amount of ventilation and thin cover.

I'll check out the Hexus review CAT but I think I've ruled out the CM, from what I read it runs quite warm and is bigger than I'm looking for (twice the volume of the SG05).
 
The Sugo isn't noisy - with the Noctua fans from the NH-L12 i'm not concious of noise under normal condtions under the TV as a full-time living room PC. Those fans are also both PWM - important for a current MB. How things will fare with a GPU installed I don't know, but the amount of ventilation is a positive for me.
 
Hey if you find a ST45SF-G let me know as far as I can tell theyre not available yet? I do have an ST45SF tho and its spot on just a shame its not modular but then it has so few cables and they are pretty short not sure it matters. Theres only one cable I dont use the molex.
 
I've not ordered the components yet, I'm moving house first. I might go with a SG05 450 and see how I find the ST45SF.
 
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