Silverstone TJ09 Case - impressions (56k warning)

[tmimeh]

After much deliberation on whether or not I should plonk down more hard-earned cash on ridiculously overpriced computer parts (though not quite like this thread), I decided to take the plunge and replace my faithful Antec Plusview II. It was originally going to be the CM Stacker 830 because:

1) Big following (bordering on fanboy fanaticism)
2) I quite like the aggressive styling
3) Up to 9 case fans...

But then another case caught my eye – the Silverstone Temjin TJ-09. Now apparently Silverstone make some pretty nice cases – they probably couldn’t hold a candle to a Lian Li, but this one looked the goods to me. There weren’t too many reviews at the time when I purchased it; however, the few that were available were all going on about how this was truly the duck’s nuts.

Anyway, on to the tour.




It’s a pretty friggin’ big box, and you have to wonder where the weight comes from despite the use of aluminium. Add all your bits and pieces and you’ve got a good workout on your hands every time you go for a LAN.




Sigh.




Tightly packed and quite secure – it was a bit of a squeeze when trying to get it out of the box. If you do get one, rest assured that your investment is well protected.




You get a bag o’ screws and bits, an extra Firewire extension cable thingy, and a printed manual that shows you how to remove the motherboard tray and swing out the side panels. And yes, they decided to misspell the name of their very own product on the Manual.




Don’t know about you, but I think it’s sexy. I got the windowed version so I can make full use of my heatsink’s LEDs.
The grill on the top of the case accommodates for 2 120mm fans. Seeing as heat rises, I’d assume you would make them exhausts rather than intakes…




Rather than put these ports on the front, Silverstone decided to incorporate them in a flip-top panel on the top of the case that snaps up. Feels sturdy and would definitely live through a fair amount of use.




A friend tells me that the buttons are the same as Lian Li buttons? I like the machined look. The power and HDD LEDs are to the left, and they are not painfully bright like on some other cases.

[tmimeh]

Brushed aluminium finish, may or may not be a scratch magnet. No, I’m not going to test this theory.




The rectangular hole on the left is the air duct where air is drawn into the system. This is probably one of the downsides of this case – there is only one 120mm fan providing positive pressure into the case. I’ve read somewhere that when using air cooling the ratio of intakes should be greater than the ratio of outtakes so as to create a “positive pressure” environment inside the case, thus making the outtakes work harder? Someone may want to confirm this…
The mesh on the right is dedicated to the hard disks, which are cooled by a 120mm fan nestled in between the two removable bays.




Here you can see one of the drive bays removed (apologies for the shaky photography). The 120mm fan goes into the black frame with the two gold-coloured screws.
When screwing your hard drives into the bay, make sure that you use the screws that sit flush with the bay itself, or you may have some problems sliding it back into the case.
There is also some anti-vibration material applied to the inside of the drive bay (as shown by the black strips), but if you’re truly going for the silent treatment then you’d be using suspended notebook hard drives anyway.




The PSU is placed at the bottom of the case, and is also mounted on rubber rails. It is fixed in place with a black clip. The design encourages you to mount the PSU so that the intake fan is drawing air in from the bottom of the case through the grill, and spitting it out the back. I decided to mount it upside-down, so it draws air from within the case.




The motherboard tray slides out (as is the current fashion for most high-end cases). It has room for 7 expansion cards, and it also has watercooling tube holes pre-installed.




Here you can see the basis of the design – a dedicated fan cooling your graphics card (or cards). To be honest, I didn’t think it was such a big deal. In fact, I would have liked to see another front intake so as to encourage more effective airflow throughout the case, but then the aesthetics of the case would be compromised. You could get yourself one of these if you really want a wind tunnel effect.




After everything is in, there’s a fair amount of room. A bit sloppy with the cabling, but it’ll do.


The specs of my PC:
Athlon X2 4800+
Asus A8N-SLI Premium
Zalman CNPS-9500
Corsair TWINX-2048
XFX 256mb 7800GTX

According to ASUS Probe, the CPU temperature is sitting at 39 degrees on idle, and 36 degrees on the motherboard. After a bit of gaming, it kicks up a couple more degrees across the board.


Conclusion
So should you get one? I dunno; do you have $364, an aversion to charity and a base need to satisfy your hedonistic pleasures? If so, then yes, why not? It’s classy, it’s of solid build, has lots of little nifty features and it exudes quality. You get what you pay for nowadays. Otherwise, if you’re on a shoestring and still want to get a decent case, there are plenty of other options available. This one is strictly for those with more dollars than sense.

Pros:
Sturdy frame, detailed finish and exemplary build quality
Lots of gimmicky features
Plenty of room to work in (should fit an 8800GTX)
2x Fans included
Easy to take apart for quick upgrades

Cons:
Price - this is hardly bang for buck stuff
Not built for LANs
If you are looking for cooling performance, there are better options out there

[Modafroman]

Excellent! You sir are a champion. I am thinking of replacing my P180 with one of these, and it was starting to worry me about the lack of chatter about it.

for the pics and mini review

Is it loud?

[brodiepearce]

Originally Posted by tmimeh

This is probably one of the downsides of this case – there is only one 120mm fan providing positive pressure into the case. I’ve read somewhere that when using air cooling the ratio of intakes should be greater than the ratio of outtakes so as to create a “positive pressure” environment inside the case, thus making the outtakes work harder? Someone may want to confirm this…

Positive pressure is desirable in the case to minimise the dust. If you have more intake than out-take, air will be drawn in through the fans, otherwise the out-takes will draw air in from wherever it can enter, this way you can filter the intakes and thus filter the majority of the air coming in.

[wvxman]

This case reminds me quite a lot of the Antec P180 (as i own one).

This case looks like its very high quality too. I wish antec had've used a brushed aluminium finish instead of Plastic on the P180!

If you're concerned about having only 1x120mm fan for positive air pressure, get a Delta or spire. delta's are gonna be bloody noisy, but a spire pulls about 75CFM and only ~ 35-40 db (hardly noticeable).

Nicely documented review of what appears to be a high quality case

*edit* WTB pics of case with side window on from about 2 metres distance in a dark room. i reckon this case will look hot in the dark =p

[Kyl3]

I've had 2 tj06's, one tj07 and now a tj08. I greatly prefer these to lian li.

The tj07 was their best, and it was way better built than a pc1200. much stronger.

Great write up mate, thanks for that

[ShaneHm2]

great review and nice clear pics.

[tmimeh]

Originally Posted by Modafroman

Is it loud?

Depends on what hardware you use, I guess...I've got a Thermaltake 120mm fan in there that is deafening
The two fans that come with it are Silverstone "Everflows". Not sure of the exact specs, but they are nice and quiet. Airflow is also respectable.
The hard foam dampeners for the hard drives don't dull the sound completely, but it's better than bare metal.



Thanks for the comments all

[YoSiMeTe_SaM]

I have excactly the same case and they are AWESOME! As for comparing it to the Antec P180....i dun think so....

Nice set up and good little review....I think though that you need to tidy up ur cables to enhance the airflow.
I have put another 2 Glacial Tek fans low rpm in the top section and one in the hard drive bay and i am controlling them via the Uguru software.
Best case i have owned nice to see some else has one.

Job well done +1


Sammy

[kr0nic]

Mmmmmm iv recently become a first time owner of a Silverstone case as well and must comment on the beauty of there products, there brushed finish is great (mine is silver) and i too love the look of the machined buttons. Your not kidding about the weight either! i nearly dropped the bugger when the courier handed it to me. And i reckon they gave me about 30 more screws then you need! (which is a good thing)

[Borgod]

I'm halfway through modding my TJ09 to fit a dual WC setup.

Here is the 1st rad mounted up top, a Thermochill PA120.2

I've since mounted a PA160 inside aswell, but no pics yet

[slobber]

sorry for digging but:

Has anyone worked out how to route the SATA and power cables to the HDD's so they are neat and or concealed ???


I am thinking of buying this case and installing a dual/triple rad at the top