SilverStone Temjin TJ04-E: Devil in the Details
by Dustin Sklavos on February 10, 2012 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- SilverStone
- mid-tower
Conclusion: A Starting Point for Enthusiasts
I'll be candid: if it isn't clear at this point, I do have a personal bias towards SilverStone's designs. Their cases are typically clean, there's obviously some thought put into the engineering, and it seems like nobody ever told their engineers something couldn't or shouldn't be done. Whatever the results, testing an enclosure of theirs is always at least interesting, and the Temjin TJ04-E is no exception.
On the plus side, the TJ04-E is a beautifully minimalistic design, and thermal performance is mostly there. In its factory configuration, you can be at least relatively confident the CPU will stay cooler than it would in most other enclosures. The RAM and chipset are also going to run nice and frosty, which is good news for any end user who plans to do some serious overclocking. End users that like figuring out the best way to optimize thermal performance beyond just plugging everything in and going will no doubt at least have some fun with the TJ04-E; I've even been eyeballing it, trying to figure out how to get the most out of some of the more unusual design choices.
Unfortunately, I think the TJ04-E really needs a bottom intake fan to feed the graphics card, a problem compounded by the fact that one doesn't come preinstalled and the case doesn't rise high enough off the carpet to make this a good idea. Worse still, that also makes it less suitable for multi-GPU systems. There's also the problem of noise: this case needs a fan controller. Finally, there are just too many little nuisances involved with the assembly. Where other SilverStone cases have a clear method to their madness, parts of the TJ04-E just make me feel like it shouldn't be this hard.
SilverStone's Temjin TJ04-E isn't a bad enclosure by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not a homerun either, especially at the $149 asking price. The KL04 at $109 is going to be a much, much better deal; it has the same internal design while eschewing conveniences like the hard drive heatsinks and SATA splitter cables. At that price, the KL04 merits some of the extra time that's going to be required to make the most out of SilverStone's design. While the TJ04-E is more attractive and enjoys the extra niceties in the packaging, at $149 it's a tough pill to swallow when other, quieter designs like the Antec P280 are out there.
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cjs150 - Friday, February 10, 2012 - link
This is the problem with Silverstone sometimes the execution of the idea has major flaws.I love my TJ07, perfect for watercooling but not all the screw holes are perfectly aligned and airflow is so bad it fried two sticks of RAM (non overclocked)
Sabresiberian - Saturday, February 11, 2012 - link
Why Silverstone is bad: interesting ideas that are poorly manufactured.I have one of their BTX cases (remember BTX, was supposed to be the new thing for all of like, a year? :D ). The BTX idea wasn't a problem, but they provided a cheap shroud to direct air flow over the CPU that 1) cracked very easily, and 2) wouldn't allow for even the stock CPU cooler I had at the time. Basically, if you didn't need the extra cooling for the CPU that the shroud made possible, you could use it, but if you did need it, you couldn't.
The screwless mounts for expansion cards were cheap, too. The case has some (minor) corrosion issues on the inside. I have an ancient Antec that has no corrosion on it at all.
No telling who actually made the PSU you get from them - it might be a good manufacturer, or it might be a mediocre one. Good thing about their PSUs is they tend to provide more connectors than others, but, again, manufacturing is another story.
Silverstone is the reason I tell people don't buy PSUs by brand, buy one you read a good, independent review of. I had a bad experience with one of their PSUs and more importantly with the service I got when I sent it in to be checked out before I used it. I read reviews of the thing after I bought it - and was shocked to find out that my favorite PSU company at the time produced such a mediocre product, and that the problem I had was discussed in reviews many months before I bought the one I did. Basically, they knew about it and didn't bother to fix it.
I liked them when they were first getting known, now, not so much. It's a shame, to me, because I do like companies that innovate. I can't really say they make bad products, and I might cut them some slack if I hadn't had a bad service experience on top of everything else, but I can't recommend them or remain silent when someone else does.
Risforrocket - Sunday, February 12, 2012 - link
Take a good look at the FT02 and the TJ10 and the TJ11. TJ11 is too expensive but if they made one with the same design (exactly) but did it for, say 300 or 350USD it would be perhaps the best case of all time.I have the FT02. It has two issues that I am aware of: It has only 5 3 1/2 drive bays and the 5 1/4 bay devices can't extend back behind the bays much at all, not enough room. These are limitations imposed by the dimensions of the case.
Silverstone is capable of producing a very nice case. You have to study it though before you buy. So true of so many things, alas.
I have also had a very good customer support experience with them.
zlandar - Friday, February 10, 2012 - link
After my latest build with a Corsair 500R I'm not going back to cases with screws everywhere.Is it really too much to ask for nice amenities where the side panels are fitted with thumbscrews that are designed so they don't fall off when you unscrew the panel?
Drive bays that you can secure into place without screws?
Premounted screws for the motherboard for ATX boards?
Fan controller?
Gigantopithecus - Friday, February 10, 2012 - link
Try shipping a case that doesn't use screws to secure the hard drives.Death666Angel - Friday, February 10, 2012 - link
I've had one case with toolless installation (an NZXT with 4 120mm fans in the side, forgot the name) and really don't like it. I don't switch peripherals often enough (every few months at most) and like the stability and standard of having screws. Having toolless stuff means a potential issue with non-standard use cases (5.25"/3.5" adapters) and can lead to less than optimal noise and security performances. On the plus side, it might save you a few minutes when setting everything up. For me, that's a no brainer in favor of screws! :DImpulses - Sunday, February 12, 2012 - link
Yeah, I think case reviewers place too much emphasis on tool-less designs... I can't blame them, I'd go nutty reviewing even half a dozen cases a year if they all used screws everywhere (and I'm pretty sure Dustin is going thru double or triple that amount of cases/year right now)...Realistically though, unless you're pretty hardcore I don't see most enthusiasts doing more than one or two hardware upgrades a year, if that. GPUs are the one thing I upgrade the most often, followed by drives, and those are generally easy swaps even with screws.
If I was upgrading mobos every year I'm not sure I'd even bother with an ATX case, I'd probably just use some sort of closet-bound rack...
Robalov - Friday, February 10, 2012 - link
I don't believe this case should have reached the market in this form, and deserves another iteration of design. From the review, it looks all the changes made to the standard layout are uneccessary and return low/little benefit.It's too expensive to boot. Since I am not a 'fan' of silverstone, I would never consider buying this.
The TJ08 however would be 1st choise for that form factor, and will certainly (barring something better) be in my next project.
Death666Angel - Friday, February 10, 2012 - link
This case is ATX while the TJ08(-E) are mATX. So different form factor. :-) But awesome case!Iketh - Friday, February 10, 2012 - link
too many fans!!