SilverStone TJ08-E Review

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SilverStone TJ08-E Review
Published on 7th September 2011 by Harry Butler
Manufacturer: SilverStone
Link:SilverStone TJ08-E Review | bit-tech.net

SilverStone has a habit of disregarding the established rules of case design; its FT02 and RV02 cases rotated the motherboard by 90 degrees to deliver exceptional cooling, for example. With the SilverStone TJ08-E, the conventions of case layout have again been seemingly tossed aside before the design process has even started, with a bizarre inverted micro-ATX layout that had us scratching our heads at first.

Unlike normal micro-ATX and ATX cases, which mount the motherboard with the CPU area at the top, the TJ08-E places the motherboard upside down. It has to be mounted on the left-hand side of the case in order for the rear I/O ports to be at the back of the case. Quite why SilverStone has done this isn’t clear, as the cooling setup remains front to back. A conventional micro-ATX layout would have been perfectly feasible.

Nevertheless, it gives the TJ08-E a novelty factor, although you’d never know from the outside. The brushed aluminium fascia and smooth, grille-free steel side panels are understated and stylish. Meanwhile, the front of the case has a pair of USB 3 ports (with internal connector) plus the usual headset, power and reset buttons, as well as the two status lights.

However, the TJ08-E’s fascia is dominated by the mesh for the case’s single fan, a front-mounted, two-speed, 180mm Air Penetrator model. These fans have unusually cyclonic airflow, which means that air is forced through more directly than with other fans. The result is a stronger cylinder of airflow, rather than the weak cone created by most fans. We’ve seen Air Penetrators work to excellent effect in SilverStone’s other cases, so this bodes well. There’s no fan in the 120mm fan mount at the rear of the case, though – something that’s usually vital to excellent cooling.

The 180mm mount also benefits from an excellent slot-loading dust filter that covers the entire front of the case, and this can be removed from either side. There’s also a 120mm air vent in the roof of the case specifically to cool the roof-mounted PSU. Brilliantly, this vent also has a dust filter, which is attached by small magnets, making it easy to remove.

Removing the right-hand side panel reveals the surprisingly small interior of the TJ08-E. It’s neither cramped nor tricky to build in, thanks to the removable roof panel; fitting the PSU (limited to 180mm in length) and 5.25in drives was simple. There’s room for two 5.25in drives – a removable drive cage offers four 3.5in drive mounts, and there’s a fifth 3.5in internal/external mount in the floor of the case. This is a healthy array of storage for such a small case.

Due to the inverted ATX layout, the graphics card fits above the 3.5in drive cage, allowing 335mm (13.25in) of clearance. That’s enough for even the longest cards. Meanwhile, a similarly generous CPU cooler clearance of 165mm also means that, despite the TJ08-E’s diminutive size, there are few limitations on your hardware choices beyond the micro-ATX motherboard.

There are plenty of cable-routeing options too, with holes cut just where you want them all around the motherboard and next to the PSU. With enough room behind the motherboard tray to accommodate the 24-pin ATX power cable, it’s easy to keep the cables out of sight. There’s even the option to remove the motherboard tray completely, although we only removed the 3.5in drive cage very briefly during our build.

Specifications

Dimensions (mm): 210 x 385 x 374 (W x D x H)
Material: Steel, aluminium
Available Colours: Black
Weight: 5.9kg
Front panel: Power and Reset switches, 4 x USB 3, stereo, mic
Drive bays: 2 x external 5.25in drive bays, 4 x internal 3.5in drive bays, 1 x external 2.5in bay
Form factor(s): Micro-ATX, mini-ITX
Cooling: 180mm front intake mounts (1 x fan supplied), 120mm rear mount (fan not supplied)
CPU cooler clearance: 165mm
Graphics card dimensions supported: 335mm

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SilverStone TJ08-E Cooling Performance

Our new micro-ATX test kit comprises a pre overclocked KFA² GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB LTD OC graphics card and an Intel Core i7-875K CPU, which has been overclocked from 2.93GHz to 3.4GHz using a vcore of 1.175V and a CPU PLL of 1.86V. This is an admittedly modest overclock, but as some cases that we trialled made the CPU run at a Delta T of 54°C, it's reasonable for a micro-ATX case.

The CPU is cooled by a Gelid Tranquillo with a Noctua NF-S12B ULN 120mm fan. This is a low-airflow fan, so it will highlight cases with poor cooling for the CPU. We also lock the fan speed on the graphics card to 50 per cent in order to prevent the automatic speed control from interfering with the results, making them inconsistent.

We record the temperature of the CPU using RealTemp, noting the temperature of the hottest core, and use GPU-Z to log the temperature of the graphics card. Having recorded the ambient temperature in front of the main air intake of each case, we're then able to calculate the delta T - the difference between the ambient temperature of our lab and the temperature of the hardware.

To load the system, we use a combination of the Unigine Heaven DirectX 11 benchmark and the smallfft test in Prime 95. We loop each test for a minimum of 30 minutes, or until the temperatures reach a plateau, and record the highest temperature in the log files.

CPU: Intel Core i7-875K CPU overclocked to 3.4GHz
Graphics Card: KFA² GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB LTD OC
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2R
RAM: 2x 2GB OCZ 1,866MHz DDR3
Hard Drive: 1x 160GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.9
Heatsink: Gelid Tranquillo with a Noctua NF-S12B ULN fan
Power Supply: Seasonic M12D SS-850EM





Read our performance analysis.

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Performance Analysis

With our micro-ATX test kit fitted in the TJ08-E, we soon found that the combination of the inverted ATX layout and nearby 180mm Air Penetrator fan made for some great cooling. At its full speed, the fan was a little noisy, but it pushed the CPU delta T down to just 40˚C, while the GPU delta T peaked at 44˚C. Both results are excellent, and represent the best cooling we’ve seen from a micro-ATX chassis.

Switching the fan to its lower speed made the noise level much more pleasant, although cooling suffered a little. The CPU delta T rose by 5˚C and the GPU delta T by 1˚C. However, these results still see the TJ08-E coming out on top compared with the other micro-ATX cases we’ve tested, and prove the cooling ability of the 180mm Air Penetrator fan.

Conclusion

While we were initially puzzled by the SilverStone TJ08-E’s odd layout, we’re thoroughly convinced of its effectiveness after spending some time with it. Thanks to the removable exterior panels and motherboard tray, fitting hardware inside the small confines of the case is also an easy job, with few of the compromises that are often necessary in micro-ATX cases.

Cooling was exemplary too. With the option to install even the longest graphics cards and large CPU coolers, it’s an outstanding choice for a powerful micro-ATX PC. Our only quibble is that the TJ08-E costs £20 more than the Fractal Design Arc Mini; another excellent micro-ATX case. The latter is also quiet, if not as good at cooling. If performance and cooling are key to your build, buy the TJ08-E.

Cooling 29 / 30
Features 18 / 20
Design 27 / 30
Value 17 / 20

Score guide

[naGgeR]

how much is this case?

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how much is this case?

5,899.00 (srp)

[Lingaw-lingaw_sa_payag]

idol kaau ni nku na case but di pa kaya sa budget

[rejiel]

nindot unta, sakit lang sa bulsa..hehe

[siopao1984]

dream case ni poldo

[Lingaw-lingaw_sa_payag]

k2 man diay pd ning naay stand para support sa mga tower na HSF, para di mabug-atan. mayta mubarato2x para mka kuha ku..

[eXpLoDe]

nice unta. simang ra kaayo ang drive bay sa ubos.