SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E: Fat Case in a Little Coat
by Dustin Sklavos on August 4, 2011 1:50 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Mini ITX
- SilverStone
- MicroATX
- Mini-Tower
Introducing the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E
While vendors have been all too happy to send us larger enclosures (and we've been all too happy to receive them), our coverage of Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX cases has been a little lacking. That's why we're pleased today to present SilverStone's new Temjin TJ08-E. SilverStone's Temjin line has been a popular one, and with the TJ08-E mini tower they're confident they have a winner on their hands. It has the kind of clean exterior design we've been clamoring for more of, but can it perform?
I had a chance to take a look at the TJ08-E back at CES and fell in love with it almost immediately. While I wouldn't say I'm biased towards SilverStone, I'm definitely very fond of them. When most other vendors are reiterating and refining traditional ATX case designs, the mad scientists they call engineers seem to be constantly experimenting and tweaking, making some radical changes and some less so. The results are generally enclosures that are a bit more difficult to work with than more standardized designs, but are never dull, almost always eye-catching, and sometimes that mad science pays off.
As a mini tower the TJ08-E still feels a little bit bigger than most, though it's still not as big as Antec's P180 Mini. In some ways it's a reminder that Micro-ATX isn't that micro, but SilverStone has crammed an awful lot of expandability into this enclosure.
| SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 2x 5.25", 1x 3.5" (can also store a 3.5" drive internally) |
| Internal | 4x 3.5", 1x 2.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | 1x 180mm fan |
| Rear | 1x 120mm fan mount | |
| Top | - | |
| Side | - | |
| Bottom | - | |
| Expansion Slots | 4 | |
| Front I/O Port | 2x USB 3.0, headphone and mic jacks | |
| Top I/O Port | PSU vent | |
| Power Supply Size | ATX | |
| Clearance | 13.25" (Expansion Cards), 150mm (CPU HSF), 160mm (PSU) | |
| Weight | 11.68 lbs. | |
| Dimensions | 15.16" x 8.27" x 14.72" | |
| Price | $99 | |
If you think about it, that's an awful lot of expansion space for an otherwise reasonably small mini tower. On paper at least, all I'd have to do is change out the motherboard in my video editing workstation and I could fit the entire machine, complete with all the hard drives, into the TJ08-E. As you'll see, though, something had to give to get everything inside the TJ08-E.
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MakingMonkeys - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
Looks awesome.EnzoFX - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
Maybe you're too used to oversized cases =P.The room behind the mobo is significant, much more so than a standard case, and I can do a pretty awesome job at wiring those, and YES with non-modular PSU's haha. As far as the ODD space, well, I don't use ODD so who cares lol. There are short drives out there, and maybe shorter PSU's?
The big problem for me was brought up by SPCR, that structural integrity is a bit lacking, most noticeable when you remove the top section.
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
It's true I've gotten used to cases like Corsair's line (every one of which I've tested has been moronically easy to assemble), but the Temjin is cramped, no way around it, and you really are going to want to put it together in a very specific way. My major beef was with wiring everything; the clearance between the PSU and the ODD is bad and unfortunately largely unavoidable due to the needs of the TJ08-E's design.And while it's true YOU may not use ODDs, some of us still need them. I master blu-rays on my desktop, and I watch them on my media center. You might suggest just ripping them, but wouldn't that still require an ODD? Also, the PSU is pretty much as short as they come and was sent by SilverStone specifically for that reason.
SPCR may have felt the structural integrity was lacking, but that was not a problem that I experienced in testing the TJ08-E. Also, the top section is held on by six screws and really only meant to be removed once, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's probably fine.
Havor - Saturday, August 6, 2011 - link
I also seriously don't get your complaint's about lack of building space!I just build for a friend a LAN-PC using this same case.
Parts used:
* Asus ROG Maximus IV GENE-Z (for the PCIe 4x SSD slot)
* Core i7 2600K
* Antec KUHLER H2O 920
* Sapphire HD6990 (A seriously big card ;-)
* Corsair TX750 V2 (not modular!)
* Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 3TB
* OCZ RevoDrive X3 240GB
* Drawer handle (on top for carry the case to and from lan's)
And I have really no complains about space, and even with a non-modular PSU my build looked a lot cleaner then yours.
TyRaps, stick-on TyRap points and the space under the mobo plate are really your friend!
And a friend of us, even water-jet out the side panel for a window, as it is a sweet looking clean build, specially for suds a small case.
Total actual building time less then 30 min.
I installed all the parts, and PSU last, then pulled all the cables to the right side of the case in the blind space you have there, and there is really a lot of space for all your extra cables and cable lengths next to the PSU, there is even a TyRap point there to zip them all up there!
(do it would had bin nice if they had made more TyRap points there)
http://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/1256#3
szimm - Tuesday, August 9, 2011 - link
Hahaha, an HD 6990... I always chuckle a little when I see someone choose one of those overpriced hunks of junk for their build. Any 2x GPU card really. And unless you are overclocking, you should have settled for the i7 2600, not the K model. Or even the i5 2500, if it's strictly a gaming box. Meh, overkill.Havor - Tuesday, August 9, 2011 - link
A HD 6990 is just as fast as a HD 6970 CF setup, and both solutions cost the same.And the 2600 vs 2600K is 20 Euro difference
So how cares for a couple of Euro's on almost 2000 euro PC.
Meh, don't care.
piroroadkill - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - link
Eh, if you have the money, there's nothing wrong with a 6990.I7 2600K, definitely. Don't get the non-K.
Wieland - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
The design is strikingly similar to that of the old Lian Li PC-A05N (and new PC-A05FN). Same inverted motherboard and similar front-to-back hard HDD carriage. The Lian Li is a bit longer, but it can fit a full ATX motherboard. It's a much more practical design in my opinion.Menty - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
I had a coupl've issues with the A05N which I think the TJ08 has solved. Namely that the exhaust fans were much closer to the user, making the A05N quite noisy, and that the exhaust from the PSU had a tendency to get recirculated back into the case. It also had very poor GPU cooling, with warm air tending to get trapped at the top of the case.superccs - Thursday, August 4, 2011 - link
I have that same case, but the one large problem is that the front ventilation is not sufficient if you have the front cover on. The cover prevents waaaaay to much air flow. I also installed a 120mm fan above the GPU slot to clear out stagnant air that gets trapped above the GPU. Over all thought the PC-A05N is very similar.