Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)After buying a Shuttle computer, decided on transforming my old medium size Dell tower into a small computer and got this Silverstone case.Very well constructed, the contrast of black and aluminum looks really nice and sufficient interior space for everything I needed.Assembly instructions were very clear.Due to the case relative small form factor (which limits several integral components), I decided to write this article in order to advice potential buyers and facilitate that you can make a wise investment on the different components.Just to clear out, this computer was assembled to become part of my home theater system and with a limited budget.Was never intended to be a super fast computer with the maximum of RAM and largest HDDs.Pictures are being included.
Size Does Matter:
The only Mother Boards that fit this case are the Micro ATXs.Fortunately, major companies have multiple models (read below).The fans used are 80 mm in diameter, shortly of four inches.Thus, none of the commercial liquid cooling systems will fit even with modification of the case.The Silverstone FX121 Cross Flow Fan is a must for improved cooling of the MoBo.Full size graphic/video cards do fit on the corresponding slot but only one.No crossfire here.There is plenty of space for a full size Power Supply, two external facing CD/DVDs, two internal HDDs and other three PCI slots still available.
Choose the Proper MoBo:
I tried three MoBos; a 785 series ASUS, a H55 EVGA and finally decided on the Gigabyte MA785GM-USH.The ASUS was an excellent choice but did not have the connectors for FireWire, the external HD Audio and the ASUS support site continues to be as bad as has always been.The EVGA was also an excellent alternative with the same limitations of the first one but their support website is excellent.I finally selected the Gygabyte because had the Firewire connector, the HD audio connector and VGA, DVI plus HDMI.But the location of the e-sata connectors interfered with the full size video card.Even using 90degree cables, you are limited to two devices because the angle faces inward.Seems that is a design flaw on this specific board model.Nevertheless, I carefully bent all (four sata cables) and was able to get the video card installed.The Gigabyte product was the only board that had two integrated fan controllers besides the one for the CPU.The other two boards had just one.
Cooling the CPU:
I tried three CPUs, a $200 Phenom with six cores, a Pentium i-5 (also $200) and finally decided to go with the one that is considered the best value as of November 2010, a Phenom 9850 for which I paid $89.00.For purposes of comparison, this Phenom Windows Experience Index benchmarks is 7.3 compared with my i-950 which has benchmarks of 7.5 on the WEI. I did encountered that the heatsink/fan combination that came with the AMD CPUs was very noisy and the fan loudness did bother me as the computer is three feet away from me.Thus, the standard AMD sink/fan was replaced with a larger Ultra Carbon X-2 which is very silent and keeps the CPU under 50 degrees in all but the most demanding tasks.This cooler is very silent and fan speed is controlled by the MoBo.
Case Ventilation:
The Silverstone case comes with two fans; one (right lower lateral side) flows air over the HDDs.The second one exhausts air from the left rear upper panel in a diagonal position.There is also space for a third fan directly above the video card slot (this supplementary fan can be installed as an air intake or exhaust) and also there is a space to install a Cross Flow Fan directly over the MoBo an inch or so behind the CPU.The system fans themselves are not noisy at all.Nevertheless, I did some modifications to increase air circulation and decrease fan noise.Got two very quiet (14 decibels) Silenx fans which now exhaust air from the top and rear of the case.These two fans in combination with the rear cross flow move up to 78 CFM trough the case.Still using the fan to cool the HDDs and installed a fifth one diagonally on the left inside of the case directly venting the boards Southbridge. Connections are as follows:CPU fan connected to the CPU pins of the board.Cross Flow fan connected to the first case fan of the first board and the two internal fans connected in parallel to the second fan connector of the MoBo.The exhaust fans are connected by Molex adapters to the UPS.
Other Components:
Four 2 GBs DDR-2 sticks, two HDDs and RW-DVDs from the Dell computer were used.A new power supply was bought (get yours modular so you can use only the cables you need) and installed the Windows 7 with the 64 bit version. I tried two different video cards and was able to get them working.Decided on keeping my old 10 inch long GTX 470 with DVI and mini HDMI outputs.Installation of components was foolproof as all power & data connectors are propietary and the system booted on the first try.Windows 7 was able to find all integrals, peripherals and install the corresponding drivers.
Conclusion:
With parts of my old dying Dell computer and a limited budget was able to have a new computer suitable for audio and video.The most concerning issue for me was potential overheating of the system once it was installed on a shelf.By choosing the proper components was able to get a fairly quick system and was even able to overclock the CPU from 2.5 to 3.0 Ghz by increasing the voltage and just five degree increase on the core temperature. This Silverstone Case is not only sleek and pretty but very well constructed with clear assembly instructions and plenty of interior space for all the components (and pleasant adventure in assembly) as described above.Good luck with your system!
Click Here to see more reviews about: SilverStone Sugo SG01B-F Aluminum/Steel MicroATX Desktop SFF Chassis Computer Case - Retail (Black)
Product Description:
The SG01-F takes another step forward in both performance and capabilities over the original Sugo's aluminum chassis, the SG01. With the case now capable of handling even more powerful graphics cards than ever before, the case still has the smaller dimension of its predecessor intact. The now classic Sugo styling and proportions continue to stand out from lesser SFF designs while its tried and true chassis layout still impresses with standard form factor accepting capacity. Built based on a brand new steel structure, the SG01-F is will again become the standard for builders looking to build quality SFF computers.
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