SilverStone Sugo SG08 review

SilverStone Sugo SG08 - Interior

You'll need a screwdriver to get into the SG08, and, in fact, for every other task when it comes to building your system. Given that mini-ITX systems always requires an extra degree of fiddling, the lack of tool free solutions in this case are a bit of an oversight on SilverStone's part.

It's necessary to remove the 180mm fan to install the motherboard, but you'll have to settle for leaving it attached and resting to one side of the case as it cannot be disconnected from its fan controller. This is an issue we raised with the SG07 and it's a shame that it's still present as it could also hinder changing or performing maintenance on the fan in the future. Once it's out of the way however, the pre-installed mounts make installing the motherboard a cinch. The amount of space above the CPU is very impressive when you realise that the SG08 is smaller in all dimensions than the Elite 120 Advanced, which can only house low profile CPU coolers.


Installing the rest of your components is not as hassle free as we'd like with the SG08. The drive cage in particular requires a fair degree of wiggling to get in and out. That said, we're fans of its efficient design that enables you to install a standard 3.5 inch hard drive as well as two SSDs in a very tight space. The rubberised screw holes are also a welcome addition to the fight against noisy vibrations. Due to their proximity to the side panel, any SSDs installed must use right angled SATA cables, and given their necessity it's a shame that SilverStone chooses not to bundle any in with the case, especially considering the relatively high asking price.


One interesting feature of the SG08 is the fan duct that sits over your GPU's intake fan. It's essentially a foam ring that sits between the left side panel and your graphics card. Helpfully, you're able to install it anywhere along the ventilated section to match up with where your graphics card's fan is. Though it's not very easy to line up, once it's on it helps channel airflow into your graphics card, and also protects it from dust thanks to the included filter.

Having the PSU pre-installed reduces your workload when building a system, which is always nice. Though it can be swapped out for a PSU of your choice, this is not recommended as the number and length of the cables are specifically designed for the SG08. However, we did still find that we were left with a lot of cabling to deal with, and a fully modular solution may have been a better choice.


Sadly, the interior design of the SG08 is practically identical to the SG07, meaning that again options for tidying away cables are severely restricted. SilverStone provides a grand total of two cable ties for the job, which is rather stingy (although two more than with the SG07). It took some doing, but we were eventually able to place all our cables such that the CPU area was relatively clear, but it involved a lot of bending and shoving cables into awkward positions. If our graphics card had been any longer, achieving this would have been almost impossible.