SilverStone Precision PS07: Temjin For Less?
by Dustin Sklavos on January 3, 2012 12:20 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- SilverStone
- MicroATX
- Mini-Tower
Testing Methodology
For testing Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in its stock configuration and a Zotac GeForce GTX 580 in cases that support it to get a feel for how the case handles heat and noise. Due to the power supply clearance constraints of the TJ08-E, SilverStone provided us with a slightly different PSU for testing.
| Mini-ITX/Micro-ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU | Intel Core i3-530 (73W TDP) |
| Motherboard | Zotac H55ITX-WiFi |
| Graphics Card | Intel HD Graphics (IGP) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps |
| CPU Cooler | Zalman CNPS8000A with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | Corsair AX850 80 Plus Gold Modular PSU |
A refresher on how we test:
Acoustic testing is standardized on a foot from the front of the case, using the Extech SL10 with an ambient noise floor of ~32dB. For reference, that's what my silent apartment measures with nothing running, testing acoustics in the dead of night (usually between 1am and 3am). A lot of us sit about a foot away from our computers, so this should be a fairly accurate representation of the kind of noise the case generates, and it's close enough to get noise levels that should register above ambient.
Thermal testing is run with the computer having idled at the desktop for fifteen minutes, and again with the computer running both Furmark (where applicable) and Prime95 (less one thread when a GPU is being used) for fifteen minutes. I've found that leaving one thread open in Prime95 allows the processor to heat up enough while making sure Furmark isn't CPU-limited. We're using the thermal diodes included with the hardware to keep everything standardized, and ambient testing temperature is always between 71F and 74F. Processor temperatures reported are the average of the CPU cores.
For more details on how we arrived at this testbed, you can check out our introductory passage in the review for the SilverStone FT03.
Last but not least, we'd also like to thank the vendors who made our testbed possible:
Thank You!
We have some thanks in order before we press on:
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory we used to add memory thermals to our testing.
- Thank you to Zalman for providing us with the CNPS8000A heatsink and fan unit we used.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive and the optical drive.
- Thank you to Corsair for providing us with the AX850 80 Plus Gold power supply.
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kenyee - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
I was hoping they improved it on this.Once the TJ08 is loaded up, removing a hard drive that died (RAID1) is a PITA...too much stuff to unscrew to get the drive cage out :-P
JaBro999 - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
What was the speed of the TJ08-E's 180 mm Air Penetrator fan running at for the temp and noise comparisons (high or low)?Thanks for the nice review of an interesting case.
Death666Angel - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
The results of the TJ08-E in the comparison charts here are from the fan settings at low. The fan rotates with 700rpm @ low and 1200rpm @ high. Low is normally barely audible, most graphics cards are noisier. High is quite audible and should only be used with headphones.know of fence - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
Now I can appreciate the benefits of an upside down design as much as the next guy, but having the PSU with the open side up is STUPID! That's what happens when people think about airflow and noting else.Imagine a little rain coming through the window a spilled soda, not to mention all the dust and crap that will fall inside.the power supply. Don't let that grill fool you, the PSU needs to go in the right way, with the fan facing the ground, or else there is a risk of shorting out your PC or even electrocution.
Death666Angel - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
If you have your PC next to those things and are clumsy you might want to think about it. However, here my PC is either under the desk to the rear or on the desktop and the window right next to me is never opened. So I can safely rule out death-by-electrocution ;).ClagMaster - Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - link
Changing an optimum case design for lower cost will result in a non-optimum case design.Such is the case of the TJ08-E (perfection) and the PS07(non-optimum).
For the $20 savings, I could have purchased a Rosewill R101-P-BK (on sale) which has excellent acoustics and thermals.
binqq - Friday, January 6, 2012 - link
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