SilverStone Sugo SG09 review

Performance Analysis

With its Air Penetrator fan on the low speed setting, the SG09 did produce an audible hum, but not one that was particularly loud. At this setting, its CPU delta T of 44°C was just higher than that of the TJ08-E on low speed, which is no bad result considering how well the latter case cools CPUs. Its GPU delta T of 47°C was a little further off that of the TJ-08E, also on low speed, but is still acceptable.


Switching the fan to high speed, the noise from the case did begin to lean on the noisy side, but also had the effect of dropping the CPU delta T by 2°C to 42°C, putting it between the TJ08-E's two results, which is something no previous micro-ATX case could do. Like the TJ08-E, it also dropped a single degrees Celsius from its GPU delta T, keeping the gap between them in this arena equal.

Overall, then, CPU cooling is very impressive, with the Air Penetrator fan's focussed airflow again demonstrating its effectiveness. As it sits right above the CPU cooler, which also has the advantage of being close to the rear exhaust, this result is right where you'd expect it. GPU cooling is less impressive, but certainly not bad. It still benefits from the downwards flow of air of the fan above it, as well as the cool air introduced to the case from the 120mm side intake.

Conclusion

We're pretty impressed with the Sugo SG09. It's a wonderful feat of engineering, as the case is about as small as micro-ATX cases are likely to get but makes no compromises in terms of the hardware you can put in it, and demonstrates that it can cool said hardware effectively too. It's also well built throughout and surprisingly easy to work with. It's therefore a fantastic case for anyone looking to build a system that can not only easily run games with the settings maxed out but can also be transported with relative ease.

With that said, it's not perfect. We would also have preferred it if SilverStone could have kept the price below the £80 mark, as given its size it does stray towards expensive territory at its current price. Also, with a better solution for mounting SSDs and a bit more attention to cable management the SG09 could be improved, but these are small niggles, not major issues, which can be worked around and are thus certainly not deal breakers.