For many people, an ATX case is usually very low on the priority list when it comes to upgrades. As long as it can house the hardware, that should be fine. In most situation, that thinking does hold true. However, those who frequently upgrade, especially when you live on the bleeding edge of technology, know that not just any old case is going to do the job efficiently.
There are many things to consider if you fall into the latter category. Is the case easy to work with? Does it effectively manage the heat generated by your hardware? Is the enclosure big enough to install all of your hardware? Why are we asking so many questions?
is no stranger to VL, as we've covered some of their cases and PSUs in the past. They've established a name for themselves as makers of premium computer components and today we'll be looking at their ultra-premium SilverStone Temjin TJ10.
SilverStone Temjin TJ10
The SilverStone Temjin TJ10 arrived in a large box with the case wrapped tightly in a plastic bag with two foam/cardboard braces keeping the case away from the edges. Everything was well packaged without a dent or nick in sight. Box was not very heavy considering the size, but you'll still need to take care to bend those knees.
All of the accessories, such as case screws and the manual were inside the box as well. The manual serves its purpose and illustrates the basic features of the TJ10. There are more than enough case screws provided, with enough motherboard mounts to handle SSI, Extended ATX, ATX, or MicroATX.
There are essentially two models of the Temjin TJ10; with or without a case window. There are also two colours to choose from; silver or black. The structural lines are straight and classic, with no unusual curves or protrusions. SilverStone keeps it simple, sticking with one colour theme. In our case, no pun intended, the TJ10 is an anodized black throughout, with a couple chrome accents and of course the clear window. The great thing about being anodized is that there is no paint to chip, but the case doesn't shine like a nicely cleaned and waxed car.
The front of the case is sectioned into two areas. The top half of the case has a door, with the SilverStone logo on front, to hide the external drive bays. Personally, I always found this to be a more elegant solution compared to the stealth drive bays, or worse, flat out exposed drive bays. The door helps to maintain the clean appearance and is magnetic so it closes securely.
There are four 5.25" external drive bays which can be used for optical drives or any specialized fan bay. Just below the 5.25" external bay is a small drive bay for floppy devices.
On the bottom half of the front area are the buttons and LED lights. Like the rest of the case, the power and reset lights are made of aluminum giving this area a completed look and feel. The lights in between the buttons are self explanatory, with the top blue one lighting up when the system is powered on, and the bottom flashing when there is hard drive activity.
On the top of the case we have a large rectangular vent that extends to about the halfway point of the top of the case. The vent will allow for up to two additional 120mm fans to direct as you wish, be it intake or exhaust. The fans are not included, but the fan mounts are already in place.
Still on top and near the front of the case are the additional IO connections. The TJ10 hides these connections which is good for those who do not like the sight of them cluttering the look of the case. To expose them, you will need to pull up on the plate in which they are housed. While this does the job of hiding the connections, the door is a bit stiff and isn't very easy to simply lift up.
The case window is perfectly fitted and held into place by several torx screws. There have been a couple occasions where we've worked with cases where the case window seems to be warped or does not have a good seal up against the case. Our particular sample had a screw missing from the window initially when we removed it from the packaging, but we found it tucked away on the bottom of the box. There was no damage to the screw or the window itself so we were able to correct this. Each of the side panels has a rectangular mesh plate which allows airflow to be both drawn into the case and across the hard drives.
The is also a "hole" that goes right through the case. Air will be drawn into here to cool the video card(s) down during operation. We'll go into more detail shortly.
Moving on to the rear of the case, the TJ10 does differ from traditional ATX cases in that the PSU installation is designed to go on the bottom of the case.
The upper section of the rear has a grid inspired ventilation grill. There isn't any active cooling for that section, but just beneath it is the included 120mm cooling fan for exhausting warm air from the case. The rear IO cut out for the motherboard is located right next to the fan, placing this fan right next to the CPU provided you are using an ATX motherboard.
The middle section are the external expansion slot plates as well as another machine cut grill. There are also a couple of holes with rubber seals around them. These cutouts are designed specifically with water-cooling in mind. The "teeth" are very pliable and pose no danger at all for any hose. These holes will allow users to not resort to chopping up their brand new ATX case, or not have to fish their tubes through special PCI plates.
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