SilverStone Technology was founded in the summer of 2003, their current list of product include cases, power supplies, cooling, fans, and some accessories. With hardware getting so expensive these days it’s only fitting to have a professional and flexible case to put it all in. This particular case is the TJ04 model in their Temjin line of cases. This case in your average sized mid-tower that has quite a few non-standard features and design specifications.
The case comes boxed in a pretty plain brown box and came with some bumps and bruises from shipping. The case within is wrapped in plastic and surrounded by styrofoam to protect it during it’s journey from the factory to you. Also not pictured in this review is a manual for the case and a box of accessories. The accessories include two keys, a bag of hardware, two zip ties, and a motherboard speaker.
The front of the case is protected by a piece of plastic to prevent scratches or damage to it. Once the plastic is removed the black brushed aluminum is exposed and looks very professional. Thankfully the adhesive used to keep the plastic in place did not leave any stickiness on the bezel. The buttons and LED are laid out very nicely and are very aesthetically pleasing while the corners curve to assist in overall appearance.
The profile picture below of the case shows how nice it looks and precise diamond cut edge that reflected from the flash. The back of the case features an exhaust which can accommodate an 80mm, 92mm, or 120mm fan. The first thing that came to my mind when seeing the possibility of easily adding a 120mm fan was watercooling.
Innovatek, a German watercooling company has actually teamed up with SilverStone and sells the TJ02 and TJ04 with their watercooling kit built in. directly to the right of the exhaust fan you can see the metal from the side panel is bent away from the case. Also on the side panel are two thumbscrews which are easily removed to get into your case without the need for tools.
At the bottom of the case there is a small door which hides helpful I/O ports. The ports included in the front panel include a single firewire, four USB, audio out, and microphone. These front ports will be very useful saving you the stress of having to crawl behind your case to hook up devices that are not permanent.
The cost of new high end hardware can easily reach into the thousands which can make security an issue for some people who live in say a dorm or community. Because of this SilverStone has implemented a keyed lock on the side panel to deter thieves and hopefully prevent theft. There are two latches on the side panel one with a lock and the other without. If you decide to lock your case be sure to not lose the keys otherwise you will have to do some un-enjoyable modding.
Unfortunately the case did come with the damage in two locations. It’s hard to say whether it occurred during shipping or sometime during the manufacturing process. I assume that both happened during shipping since there was a considerable amount of damage to the box.
I really don’t think that SilverStone or any other case manufacturer for that matter would let something like this get out of the factory after passing through quality control. Since this is the first time I have had experience with a SilverStone case I am going to put the blame on shipping rather than the company. However since damage did occur it would be beneficial to see the protection to the case beefed up to decrease the likelihood of this happening.
The side panel was easily removed to expose the inside of the case where there is plenty of room. With the side panel removed I removed the two thumbscrews holding the 3.5″ hard drive cage in place and easily pulled it out. The smaller 3.5″ bay is also removable after unscrewing two screws and pushing a button to release the cage. It would have been nice to have all screws be thumbscrews since this case does claim to be tool-less.
The top and other side of the case uses a single piece design which I personally dislike. The front bezel is held on by 6 screws, 5 of which are accessible by removing the side panel. There is however one screw that is covered by the upper 5.25″ bay which forced me to remove the top and other side panel. To remove this panel I needed to unscrew 7 screws all of which were not tool-less. With these screws removed the panel easily pulled off the case. With both panels and the bezel removed the same 80/92/120mm design is used for the intake fan. Rather than keeping the 120mm fan they provided in the front of the case I removed it for later watercooling use. The single panel which was removed to remove the bezel has a high quality paint job and is very reflective. SilverStone obviously took time to make sure their paint job was pristine for their customers.
With the front I/O bay comes a lot of cables and jumpers to hook to your motherboard. Unfortunately like most with almost all cases the pins are broken up individually to be sure they will work with your motherboard. This means you will need your motherboard manual, patients, and nimble fingers. As seen in the previous set of pictures a SilverStone 120mm fan is provided for cooling. This fan would do nicely for a watercooling setup but I would suggest putting it on a rheostat to control the CFM and noise. Below are the specifications of the 120mm fan that were pulled from SilverStones website.
|
Model
|
Dimensions
|
RPM
|
CFM
|
Noise
|
|
R121225BL
|
120x25mm
|
2000
|
54.4
|
27dB
|
Installation of my system to this case was a fairly good experience. Everything went right into place and having the ability to remove the 3.5″ cages made drive installation simple. The only thing missing is a motherboard tray which would have made installation even easier. The tool-less design that the 5.25″ and 3.5″ cages use is easy to use and I would change a thing with them. Most of the edges within the case were pretty smooth but you will still want to be careful because they are sharp enough to cut you. With my system installed I closed up the case, connected everything, and booted it up.
Conclusion
Cases have come a long way since the days of the AT form factor and many advancements have been made. Ascetics are also play a large part in peoples decision on what case to buy. Though the way a case looks is obviously subjective there are certain designs and features that are typically looked for.
On the outside this case is a beauty with its high quality paint finish and brushed aluminum bezel. The front I/O connections and security offered by the side panel lock are also huge benefits. The quality of the outside continues to the internal design with its almost fully tool-less design.
Watercooling is also becoming more mainstream and available for the typical user. One of the biggest problems encountered with setting up a watercooled system is case space. With the two 120mm fans cutouts provided this case will work perfectly for just about any system.
I really do like this case a lot and though it lacks a motherboard tray and did not fully meet their tool-less claim, there is little to dislike about this case in the overall picture.
Taking everything into consideration minus the shipping damage this case deserves a 9/10 earning the OCmodshop Seal of Approval. I would like to thank SilverStone for making this review possible.
Pros
- High quality paint finish
- Brushed aluminum bezel
- Semi-toolless design
- Bright blue power and HDD LEDs
- Tool-less drive bays
- Thumbscrews used for side panel and HDD cage
- Front I/O panel
- 120mm intake and exhaust fan
- Side panel lockable for security
Cons
- Damage in two places
- No removable motherboard tray
- Bezel difficult to remove
- Not 100% tool-less