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
Introducing the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E
While vendors have been all too happy to send us larger enclosures (and we've been all too happy to receive them), our coverage of Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX cases has been a little lacking. That's why we're pleased today to present SilverStone's new Temjin TJ08-E. SilverStone's Temjin line has been a popular one, and with the TJ08-E mini tower they're confident they have a winner on their hands. It has the kind of clean exterior design we've been clamoring for more of, but can it perform?
I had a chance to take a look at the TJ08-E back at CES and fell in love with it almost immediately. While I wouldn't say I'm biased towards SilverStone, I'm definitely very fond of them. When most other vendors are reiterating and refining traditional ATX case designs, the mad scientists they call engineers seem to be constantly experimenting and tweaking, making some radical changes and some less so. The results are generally enclosures that are a bit more difficult to work with than more standardized designs, but are never dull, almost always eye-catching, and sometimes that mad science pays off.
As a mini tower the TJ08-E still feels a little bit bigger than most, though it's still not as big as Antec's P180 Mini. In some ways it's a reminder that Micro-ATX isn't that micro, but SilverStone has crammed an awful lot of expandability into this enclosure.
| SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 2x 5.25", 1x 3.5" (can also store a 3.5" drive internally) |
| Internal | 4x 3.5", 1x 2.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | 1x 180mm fan |
| Rear | 1x 120mm fan mount | |
| Top | - | |
| Side | - | |
| Bottom | - | |
| Expansion Slots | 4 | |
| Front I/O Port | 2x USB 3.0, headphone and mic jacks | |
| Top I/O Port | PSU vent | |
| Power Supply Size | ATX | |
| Clearance | 13.25" (Expansion Cards), 150mm (CPU HSF), 160mm (PSU) | |
| Weight | 11.68 lbs. | |
| Dimensions | 15.16" x 8.27" x 14.72" | |
| Price | $99 | |
If you think about it, that's an awful lot of expansion space for an otherwise reasonably small mini tower. On paper at least, all I'd have to do is change out the motherboard in my video editing workstation and I could fit the entire machine, complete with all the hard drives, into the TJ08-E. As you'll see, though, something had to give to get everything inside the TJ08-E.
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Veroxious - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
Def not my cup of tea. While the dynamics makes sense for their EATX cases it does not work here. Way too cramped for my liking. Also in this case it is just plain fugly - it a freakin block. Definitely not comparable to the likes of Lian Li.burntham77 - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
With a case like this, I think my build will be a mini ATX setup. I game, but I don't require the highest of high end, so with some careful part selections, focusing on a balance of energy efficiency and performance, I can see putting a mid-range AMD setup in this case.ericore - Friday, August 5, 2011 - link
I'd much modding an aluminum server 1U rack than using this case. How do you do it?Well, you use a PCI-Express Riser, and mount the graphics card on the outside along with a powerful SFX power supply also on the outside, so not using 1U power supply. Now that is a winner. Easy assembly and extremely portable. You could also mount two of these on top of each other, with graphics card and power supplies all the way on top for two systems in compact space.
This case fails on so many counts; the most obvious being that not only is it rather big but it is also a pain in the ass to setup. And apparently, you need modular. Ya let's spend 200$ 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! ;)