This is about as barebones as an SFF gets.
The SilverStone SG07 is the SFF for the DIY crowd -- SilverStone has only included the case and PSU for the price. You’ll need to buy your own mini-ITX motherboard, an easy enough task. The tricky bit will be figuring out which CPU heatsink/fan combo to use, as there’s extremely limited space inside. Thankfully, SilverStone recommends a certain model… which just happens to be its own SST-NT06-E cooler. The good news is that this heatsink can handle much hotter CPUs than the I.C.E. system in the Shuttle. The bad news is that it costs another $50.
A huge 180mm fan sits at the top of the case and SilverStone claims the entire system can handle a 400W graphics cards alongside a high-end or overclocked CPU. The PSU is certainly up for it, dishing out a generous 600W, which is more than enough for a single-GPU gaming machine. It’s quite a large PSU, though, so space inside is at an absolute premium.
A couple of USB 3.0 ports adorn the front next to the power button and you’ll need to use a slot-loading optical drive to fit inside the small drive opening. We can’t fault the build quality, but then again there’s not a lot here – it’ll be up to the builder to handle all the cable hiding and installation.
If you’re looking for a challenging build, this could be quite a fun base to work with. Make sure you’ve a ruler nearby to measure precise dimensions, don’t go overboard with the GPU/CPU and you should be good to go.
Available from Altech, retailing for $259.
APC rating: 7/10