Noise and Thermal Testing, IGP

SilverStone includes a small fan control switch recessed on the right side of the face of the Temjin TJ08-E that can be used to set the 180mm intake fan between high and low speeds, and so we tested with both settings. More and more I'm beginning to appreciate fan controls as just a way to make the case quieter rather than actually improving the airflow and temperatures, as you'll see in our results.

Right off the bat the TJ08-E puts in a hell of a showing. Such a good showing, in fact, that it even embarasses SilverStone's FT03. Switching between high and low fan speeds doesn't seem to do much to change thermal performance appreciably; however...

...the low fan speed certainly helps to reduce noise level, with the high speed being the loudest Mini-ITX/Micro-ATX case we've tested. On the other side of the chart, at the low fan speed, the Temjin is the quietest of the cases we've tested. 41dB may seem like a bit much, but our testing cooler has a tendency to run a bit loudly and unfortunately the Zotac board's fan controls are anemic at best. Still, the directed wind tunnel cooling design seems to pay off well when we're using the IGP in our Intel Core i3, but let's see how well the TJ08-E handles the substantially increased thermal load brought by our Zotac GeForce GTX 580.

Testing Methodology Noise and Thermal Testing, GeForce GTX 580
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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.

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