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
Conclusion: Awesome Performer, But Needs Care
It's awfully hard to argue with results. I was excited to get a chance to test the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E and now I understand why: SilverStone's design, however offbeat it may seem, ultimately proves itself when it comes to raw thermal performance. If you want to build a powerful computer in a small enclosure, odds are good you can do it with the Temjin.
Unfortunately there are some sizable caveats for building inside the TJ08-E. While I'm used to some difficulty with SilverStone's designs, the cramped quarters internally coupled with the unusual layout made cabling the entire thing borderline nightmarish. Frankly, you absolutely need a small power supply, and you need it to be modular, period, end of discussion. SilverStone is happy to sell you one, but that's definitely an addition to the pricetag that needs to be considered.
Clearance for optical drives is also pretty foggy, and while I think the case would definitely put in an even better performance with a tower-style CPU cooler and proper fan control from the motherboard (at least acoustically), you're not going to be able to fit anything huge in here. Thankfully, Cooler Master's Hyper 212 Plus is reasonably small, good, and cheap. You can also fit a big ol' video card into the TJ08-E without too much trouble, but I'd really hesitate to go for an SLI or CrossFire configuration. While it's true in our testing the Temjin performed markedly better than the more expensive FT03, the FT03's design seems better suited for multi-GPU configurations and our experience with the DigitalStorm Enix seems to confirm this.
With all that said, while the Temjin can be a royal pain to actually assemble (and thus is a poor choice for people who like to tweak their hardware or change it out frequently), for anyone who's going to build once and then maybe add something a year or so in the future it's an excellent choice. There's definitely room for improving the cooling and acoustics by the end user, which I like to see, but the overall thermal design is surprisingly effective.
The best part may just be the pricetag. At $99 the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E is a very attractive, modern case that in some ways competes with the mid-towers we've tested. Nothing about it feels cheap, and the brushed aluminum face is a particularly nice touch. SilverStone also includes two USB 3.0 ports on the front instead of USB 2.0; these ports use a motherboard header instead of a passthrough, and SilverStone actually includes an adaptor to let them plug into a USB 2.0 header instead. If you're building from the ground up you'll want to spend some extra on the power supply (which you really should be doing anyhow), but at least the Temjin won't break the bank and will give you a heck of a lot of value for your $99. It's a fantastic enclosure...now if they could just make it easier to build.
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Veroxious - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
Def not my cup of tea. While the dynamics makes sense for their EATX cases it does not work here. Way too cramped for my liking. Also in this case it is just plain fugly - it a freakin block. Definitely not comparable to the likes of Lian Li.burntham77 - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
With a case like this, I think my build will be a mini ATX setup. I game, but I don't require the highest of high end, so with some careful part selections, focusing on a balance of energy efficiency and performance, I can see putting a mid-range AMD setup in this case.ericore - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
I'd much modding an aluminum server 1U rack than using this case. How do you do it?Well, you use a PCI-Express Riser, and mount the graphics card on the outside along with a powerful SFX power supply also on the outside, so not using 1U power supply. Now that is a winner. Easy assembly and extremely portable. You could also mount two of these on top of each other, with graphics card and power supplies all the way on top for two systems in compact space.
This case fails on so many counts; the most obvious being that not only is it rather big but it is also a pain in the ass to setup. And apparently, you need modular. Ya let's spend 200$ on enclosure and power supply to have a hard time assembling, and having it all disorganised. Makes no sense. Sticking to my plan.
MODist - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
I liked it so much I went out and grabbed on the same day. I have been building Micro ATX gaming rigs for a couple years now. This is very close to what I have been looking for. Small and light yet has enough space for drives and dual video cards. I was looking at the Silverstone FT03 but it lacked hard drive space and the airflow was a concern for a high end gaming setup.I7 2600K @4.9Ghz Megahalems Rev.B
Asus P8P67-m pro
16GB DDR3 1600
160GB Intel SSD (boot)
3 x 1TB Seagate HD raid 5(file storage)
2 x GTX 285 SLI
DVD/CD drive
3 1/2" card reader
650W powersupply (need to replace)
dcburr - Sunday, December 18, 2011 - link
I don't get it I have this case and have had no trouble putting it together; in fact the ability to run cables underneath the mothe board is fantastic. If you understand how the case works its very easy to assemble. I have a quad core processor and a discrete Radeon card; the box is very small, runs very cool and very quiet. I have been a professional CTO for over 15 years and this is one of the best desktop cases I have ever seen.argion13 - Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - link
I found this review very helpfull when I first read it. The case was definitly on my short list of cases for my new build (whenever that was to occur). That time finally came and the TJ08-E was the choice. I was surprised by the room available. I was able to fit my two 275GTXs in there without a problem. I thought the manual was more than ok. The whole setup is quiet in comparison to my old build which sounded like a fridge. HDD cage not being used since I only have an SSD and one 500GB HDD. I assume this will help with the airflow in the case. Paired with a i5-3570k, Asus P8Z77-M Pro motherboard and a Xigmatek Gaia cooler. The cooler cleared all the components very easilymartyrant - Wednesday, February 19, 2014 - link
That's one nice looking and great performing build...wouldn't mind if I won it! ;)