Test – Silverstone Sugo SG12: Review| Specs| Pros & Cons| Hashrate | Set-up

Test – Silverstone Sugo SG12: Specs | Price | CPU | Profitability| Hashrate| best Coins | Config | Advantage (Pros) and Disadvantages (Cons) and other important features that will help you make better decision.

Update 08/17/2015: Following an exchange with Silverstone who was not satisfied with my conclusion, I received a cooler of their own (the NT06 Pro) as well as 2 8 cm fans (the FQ81 ) in order to redo the tests and perhaps to change my opinion on the beast with a more suitable ventilation. You will find the results directly here).

For years a merciless war has been waged by all the manufacturers on the market to stand out from the others, today it is Silverstone which offers us a Micro-ATX box but with the horizontal motherboard, so far nothing very transcendent but the beast has the particularity of being particularly oriented storage with the possibility of installing 3 hard drives 3.5 ″ and up to 9 hard drives / SSD 2.5 ″. In addition to an extended storage capacity Silverstone has also added a handle on the front panel which will allow the case to be transported more easily. Offered at a price of around 108 € TTC let’s see what the SG12 from Silverstone has in the belly!

Specification: Hashrate – Silverstone SG12

As we can see the SG12 is a case of a respectable size with its 40.7 cm in length, 21 cm in height and 26.6 cm in width for a total weight of 5 kg, it is much lower than a classic ATX case / micro ATX but much wider due to the orientation of the motherboard. These generous dimensions unfortunately lead to a restriction that will not delight fans of oversized cooler on the processor, indeed with a maximum height of 8.2 cm you will have to be very careful what you take to cool your favorite processor on pain of not being able to l ‘install. Paradoxically, the graphics card can range from 25 cm (with a 2.5 ″ SSD / hard drive installed in the closest location) to 37 cm for a maximum height of 11.3 cm,
In terms of storage, we are entitled to 1 location 5.25 ″, 3 locations 3.5 ″ as well as 9 locations 2.5 ″, which is to say that this is the strong point of the SG12!
As far as ventilation is concerned, however, there is not a plethora of availability, 1 12 cm fan (supplied, a 1200 RPM model) “pulls” the air from the outside towards the hard disks cage, 1 location for a small 8 cm on the top as well as another 8 cm slot inside which will be responsible for blowing on the installed PCI / PCIe cards. Unless there is a miracle, I have doubts about the SG12’s ability to cool a gamer config equipped with a somewhat greedy processor and graphics card.
Offered at a price of around € 108 including VAT, the SG12 is very clearly oriented towards a storage server rather than a game configuration, are the quality materials (aluminum for the facade) worth this price? Let’s see that right away!

On the front of the case there is a photo of the person concerned as well as of course the brand and model, a listing of the main strengths is also present (carrying handle, long graphics card compatibility etc.) as well as a QR code linking to the product page on the Silverstone website.

On the side a table showing the main characteristics, there is everything you want to know, even a little commercial blah is present for those who would like to have fun.

When opening the box we come across a painting that is starting to be well known now, the box in its plastic bag sandwiched between 2 very good quality foam molds. Transport should logically not be a problem for our “little” SG12.

The bundle is not what we could call huge, we find the instructions, some plastic cable ties and the necessary screws, at least there will be everything you need to mount the PC without worries, but nothing more! 😀

Here is the beast! Dressed all in black, the only thing that disturbs this harmony is the blue handle on the front which crosses it completely. The front is entirely in very thick aluminum while the rest of the frame is in steel. let’s take a closer look.

Brushed aluminum front with a more beautiful effect, it will not fail to not leave you indifferent with its blue handle in the middle, we like it or we don’t like it but that has the merit of not being ordinary! On the top the cover for the possible DVD player / burner, at the bottom the eternal Power and Reset buttons as well as the various connectors. The build quality of the whole is really excellent, there is no doubt that Silverstone has bet the maximum on the mouth of its SG12.

In terms of connectivity, there are 2 USB 3.0 ports and the usual 2 3.5mm jack connectors, 2 more USB ports would not have been too much, however.

On the top, sobriety is omnipresent, black decorated with 2 holes for the ventilation of the 2 fans of 8 cm to be installed inside the case.

On the side of the possible graphics card a large grid is present to help ventilation, the rest is once again black without the slightest sign of superfluity! Note that as above not the slightest dust filter is present.

On the other side, the same grid is there but is wider on the side of the single 12 cm fan which will be used to cool not the motherboard / processor duo but the storage.

Below we can finally see the gray of the metal used for the entire interior, towards the rear 2 plastic feet equipped with a rubber pad to damp any vibrations and at the front 2 rubber pads directly under the plate aluminum facade. Logically, the vibrations should not propagate to the surface on which the case is placed. We can also see 4 screws on the right that hold the 3.5 ″ drive cage in place, so it will be possible to remove it if needed.

At the back we can see that Silverstone has done everything to have maximum ventilation, and for good reason there is no exhaust fan. The power supply is based on the motherboard and there are very few spaces between them, on the right the 4 extension brackets are maximum openwork.

Here is the beast seen from above, we can see that Silverstone left the color black for raw metal stripping as we could have done on cases from a number of years ago. Nothing to worry about though because there is no one who will look inside, no window! On the other hand the steel is thick and the solidity of the whole is really excellent, nothing will bend and everything is really made to last.
The lower part in the photo is removable, it accommodates 2 8cm fan slots as well as the cage dedicated to 2.5 ″ hard drives / SSDs. The fans will be useful to ventilate the daughter cards, which will be a plus to keep the various RAID controller cards cool, indeed it will not be easy to find a micro ATX motherboard with more than 10 Sata ports 😉

Located under the removable part, this cage can accommodate 7 hard drives / SSDs of 2.5 ″, they will each be held by 3 screws.

Here is the location for the 5.25 ″ peripherals, above it it will also be possible to install 2 2.5 ″ hard drives / SSDs.

On the daughter card side we see that the 2.5 ″ peripheral cage is housed high up towards the front, the maximum length for the graphics card will be between 25 and 37 cm depending on the position and the number of peripherals installed.

The 3.5 ″ peripheral cage will accommodate 3 of the latter, they will be cooled by the single fan supplied, a 12cm rotating at a maximum speed of 1200RPM.

On the other side it is desperately empty, only the 12 cm fan disturbs the gray of the carcass.

To finish the extension brackets, perforated and fixed by screws all that is more classic, we also notice that a cover is present so as not to have access to the screws directly from the outside.

The configuration used during the tests is as follows:

I chose the NH-L9x65 to cool the processor because it was the only compatible one I had on hand, in fact 8.2cm in height does not leave a lot of room for other solutions, however a Cryorig C1 shouldn’t be a problem. The graphics card as well as the cooler far exceed in height the maximum threshold supposed to be compatible in the SG12 but as we will see everything is not always written in stone! The Silverstone SG12 will be tested once with the fan at 5V and once at 12V with only the SSD connected. Another test will take place at 5V with the Raptor hard drive connected, it being literally hell in terms of its vibrations, which will allow us to see the effectiveness of the silentblocs.

As you can see the cables can be easily stored in the section dedicated to a 5.25 ″ device if the device is empty.
There were no overly worries to ride the beast, everything is really very solid and the handling inspires confidence, the only small black point that I would find to say is the (too) large number of screws to be removed and put everything back in place even if in the end it increases the modularity of the thing. Indeed if necessary we can remove the part above the graphics card, the plate above the 5.25 ″ slot and even the complete 3.5 ″ hard drive cage, if necessary.

As I said the graphics card in height far exceeds the maximum compatibility threshold given by the manufacturer, but the XFX 7870 equipped with the accelerero S1 and two Noctua NF-F12 fits like a letter in the mail, however blocking the 2 first 2.5 ″ slot (which is removable if needed anyway). Be careful, however, this is a pure fluke without premeditation but a graphics card taking up a lot of space should logically fit 😉

In order to test the box, I will carry out an OCCT Power Supply test for 30mins and then take the temperatures of the main components such as the processor (average of the 4 cores), the motherboard, the graphics card as well as the hard drive.
Regarding noise pollution, I will proceed as in the file on silent PCs namely 1 statement in front, right, left, rear and above.

Since the SG12 is the first Micro ATX box tested at Conseil Config, it will have no direct competitors but this will not change the analysis of the temperatures recorded ées

Repos

At rest, the temperatures of the components inside the SG12 are correct but nothing more, in fact the absence of a fan other than the one present in front of the hard disks cage (and which only ventilates the hard disks) is clearly felt. The processor, whether in 5V or in 12V, remains at 41 °, the motherboard at 54 ° while the graphics card manages to lose 1 ° by going from 35 ° in 5V to 34 ° in 12V, there is no hardly any impact by increasing the speed of the supplied fan.

Ambient sound level: 31dB

The sound level emanating from the box is generally good, despite the presence of a single fan and even at 5V the box is still audible due to the many openings present on the SG12. The vibrations of the hard drive are only heard very little and this is a very good point because the latter is really not tender with the boxes, there is indeed only 1 dB of difference with or without the small shows what the Raptor is. In 12V the sound level rises by about 3dB on all the measurements but the box remains quite quiet overall, no vibrations or other unpleasant noises to note, it will be audible but as long as there is a little ambient noise and that it will be on the ground I doubt that it is disturbing.

The fans rotate at their minimum speed here whether with the case fan set to 5V or 12V, namely 500 RPM for the fans of the graphics card and 1464 RPM for that of the processor.

Charge

Under load the temperatures are as expected high, in fact the processor reaches 80 °, the graphics card 76 ° and the motherboard 65 °, with the lack of ventilation as well as a small size cooler compulsory there is no miracle. Despite these high results the configuration remained completely stable although quite honestly I would avoid leaving the PC on charge for long periods of time. Once the fan is set to 12V, the impact is insignificant, 1 ° less on the processor which goes to 79 ° and 2 ° less on the graphics card which drops to 74 °, which means that the fan plays almost no role in component cooling.

Ambient sound level: 31dB

There is not really to procrastinate, there is a component that covers all the others and is heard well as it should, we go up to 49 dB at the back of the box for 39 dB at the front, we can safely say that all this comes from the cooler blowing like a madman to keep the processor cool. Whether in 5V, with or without the raptor or in 12V, the noise pollution is identical. At this level, unless you are deaf the SG12 will be very clearly audible and unless you have headphones it will break your ears.
On the other hand, note that as usual the significant noise pollution comes from the components themselves, which is why it is imperative to choose well upstream if the general noise level is a crucial point for you.

Indeed it is indeed the fan of the processor which rotates at 2700 RPM, at this speed there is no miracle unfortunately. The fans of the graphics card meanwhile benefit very slightly from the additional airflow of 12cm on the side by going from 1034 RPM in 5V to 960RPM in 12V, nothing that can not really be noticeable to the ear anyway.

As I said, Silverstone sent me an NT06 Pro as well as 2 FQ81 fans, the NT06 Pro will be tested in PWM mode, the box fan will be left in 12V and the 2 FQ81 fans will be supplied directly with 12V but with the ‘noise reduction adapter (so will spin at a speed of about 1450RPM). In addition, since the graphics card with the custom cooler no longer fit with the small fans installed, the original cooler has been put back in place (XFX 7870 Double Dissipation Ghost Edition, I remind you).
Make way for results!

Repos

As we can see the temperatures are better with the NT06 Pro, at least for the processor which loses 3 °, which is quite normal since the beast has a larger dissipation surface and a fan that stirs more than the little Noctua, the graphics card for its part remains at about the same temperature despite the return to the original cooler, the motherboard is the element that wins the most with 6 °, which is normal given the fan size of the NT06 Pro.

As one might have suspected the sound level is rising sharply, despite the absence of parasitic noise from the fans of the NT06 Pro and FQ81, we go up to 46 dB, which is very clearly audible there is no doubt.

The fans are not the same so these results are only there to compare with what we will have in charge, to note that the 12cm of the NT06 Pro already turns at 1350 RPM, which explains the rise of noise pollution (the Noctua n is a 9.2cm version, therefore quieter at the same speed as a 12cm).

Charge

So indeed with the NT06 Pro the processor temperatures are better going from 79 ° for the Noctua to 70 ° for the NT06-Pro, on the other hand due to the change of the cooling system the graphics card goes from 74 ° to 82 °, nothing which cannot however endanger its lifespan. The motherboard is once again the component that loses the most when going from 64 ° with the Noctua to 57 ° with the Silverstone NT06 Pro, again a completely normal result considering the size of the fan.

There on the other hand, as we suspected the noise pollution is much higher, with a maximum of 57 dB at the rear which makes a really noisy configuration. The addition of 2 8cm fans and the reinstallation of the original cooling system are clearly not foreign.

Again the comparison between the results here are only indicative, on the other hand we can see that the NT06 Pro fan is running at a speed of 2250 RPM, which is huge for a 12cm fan and clearly does not help. the noise pollution that we found above.

Update 08/17/2015: The change of cooler gives much more contained temperatures for the processor, the NT06 Pro is very efficient but clearly at the expense of noise pollution with 2250 RPM for its 12 cm fan under load. The addition of 2 8 cm fans (even with the adapter to lower its RPM) also increases noise pollution at rest. So my opinion does not change very much compared to the initial opinion, yes it is possible to install a game configuration even quite powerful (by putting a “big” fan so you have to do verybe careful at this point) but at the expense of noise pollution as I have demonstrated once again. Also, the SG12 does not come with 8cm fans so it will be an extra expense if you ever want to install a powerful enough graphics card.

Here we are at the end of this test, what about the Silverstone SG12?
Silverstone is a very active player in the box market, ranging from gaming oriented Mini-ITX models like the ML07 and FTZ01 to the huge MM01, today with the SG12 the people targeted are those looking for a case capable of accommodating a plethora of hard disks / SSDs while wanting a fairly compact product compatible with “standard” components.

The build quality is simply excellent, the solidity is a point that has been particularly taken care of by Silverstone and the aluminum on the front gives a high-end appearance to the beast. Despite everything, everything is not all pink because it will be necessary to do with a ventilation limited to the storage, which will not help the internal components such as the processor and the motherboard, only grilles on the sides are present to bring l fresh air to these and if the components are greedy they will clearly heat up more than reasons. In addition, no dust filter is present and they will therefore have to be cleaned very regularly.

Offered at a price of around 108 € the Silverstone SG12 is clearly intended for storage, even if it is possible to install a high-end graphics card, I do not recommend its use as part of a gamer configuration, d other boxes are there for that!

Advantages

• On
• Build quality
• Used materials
• Storage space
• Semi transportable

Disadvantages

• No dust filters
• Ventilation

A big thank you to Marie from Silverstone who allowed me to do this test.

Where can I find the Silverstone SG12?

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