SilverStone Sugo 14 Mini ITX Case Review

As we start tearing into the SUGO 14 we start exposing what makes this case different.

First and, arguably, most important is that every panel can be removed.  The four side panels can all be slid off the case allowing you access to every interior space to help with installation, cable routing and service.  One good example is that you can remove the PSU without having to tear the entire build apart.

Also, every vented panel comes with a magnetic fan filter to collect dust and keep your components a little cleaner.

One thing that really impresses me with SilverStone cases is the attention to detail.  Too many small form factor cases are just smaller versions of their bigger brother and yet with many SilverStone designs they go through great effort to maximize space and get everything to fit together nicely. 

You can see this as we start removing panels and take a look inside.  From the front we can see the motherboard location at the back with the PSU being moved to the front.  The open area is for your video card and will support 330mm long video cards which will span the entire depth of the case.

The back of the case is designed to be dual purpose.  The removable vertical panel supports a number of components from 240mm radiators to external 5.25” devices to simple cooling fans, SSDs or 3.5” rotational hard drives.

Or, you can remove the panel completely removed if your build doesn’t require it.

The first thing you will notice when Looking down from the top is the large fan opening directly above the motherboard tray.   This is to help with airflow over the motherboard components which is one thing many system builders forget when installing an AIO cooler.

Next to the fan opening is the drop in for the PSU and is why you can service the power supply without tearing the entire system apart.

Connected to the PSU cage you’ll find a single 2.5” SSD drive tray and you will find two more of them at the front of the case.  While the SUGO 14 does support 3.5” hard drives, it really doesn’t have a dedicated space to install them.  Given how popular NVMe drives are and how affordable SSDs can be I am not surprised.

The final two items include a replacement bezel edge for when you want to use the external 5.25” drive bay.  I know that external bays are rarely used these days but, for those who do require access to optical drives or want to add support for media cards or hot-swap backup drives it is an important feature.  The replacement bezel piece fills in the gap left behind to maintain that clean look overall.

You also get two sets of feet for the case so you can choose how much space you need between the bottom panel and whatever the case will be sitting on.  For me I see this as “help me pick the case up” option that is often overlooked by other case manufacturers.