Silverstone TJ08 mATX Case

[Operandi]

Looks like a nice case for those looking to put together smaller systems.

Review.

 

[Zap]

It does look nice, but too bad it uses a cheap chassis and a pretty face to pass it off as a $100 case.

$99 @Newegg for the Silverstone TJ08 in either black or silver

Pictures - look at the side view

$43 @ Newegg for an Athenatech A301BS available in black or beige (beige currently N/A, also beware of same chassis that use only 80mm fans, Newegg pics show 120mm fan but people said it came with 80mm) - also comes with a disposable 400W PSU

Pictures - again, look at side picture

Looking at pictures above, the two cases use the same exact chassis. The Athenatech would need the fan grills cut out with tin snips or dremel but then it'll be an exact match to the Silverstone excepting for the pretty face - though the Athenatech doesn't look bad at all.

I've built a few systems using the Athenatech (the version with 80mm fan) and they are nice cases BUT... they are not high end. The materials is kind of thin and flimsy though once you bolt the sides on the chassis feels more rigid. The case is really short front-to-back so there's barely any room between the back of your optical drives and the PSU - beware of using long components! Metal is thin as mentioned, so easy to mod (which I've done).

I do like the case but just wanted to point out the fact that you can get the pre-cut fan grills and silver color for $99 or DIY in black for $43.

 

[stonyc]

I'm in the middle of moving a system I had in an XQpack into a TJ-08 (black)... couple things that I've noticed:

- the front panel of the TJ-08 is moderately difficult to take off and back on... maybe I just have fat fingers, but I had to ask my wife to put in the last few screws. 🙂
- the finish (especially on the front panel) is beautiful, this is the first Silverstone case I've owned but if the quality of the TJ-08 is representative of the rest of their line, I'm now a fan.
- the space is way too tight to fit a Scythe Ninja (yep, I tried 🙂)... but I'd assume that to be the case with most mATX formats. But in case anyone was wondering, nope... well, I take that partially back, a Ninja -will- fit but there's no room to put a fan on it.
- Zalman 7000 fits fine however.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: stonyc
- the space is way too tight to fit a Scythe Ninja (yep, I tried 🙂)... but I'd assume that to be the case with most mATX formats. But in case anyone was wondering, nope... well, I take that partially back, a Ninja -will- fit but there's no room to put a fan on it.

Just let the Ninja be passively cooled. It's in a tight case with 120mm fans on both sides - no problem right? Heck, I have mine in a mid tower ATX case with only one 120mm fan as an exhaust and no intake fan or heatsink fan, and I'm passively cooling a dual core x2 3800+ at 2.5GHz overclock.

 

[stonyc]

Originally posted by: ZapJust let the Ninja be passively cooled. It's in a tight case with 120mm fans on both sides - no problem right? Heck, I have mine in a mid tower ATX case with only one 120mm fan as an exhaust and no intake fan or heatsink fan, and I'm passively cooling a dual core x2 3800+ at 2.5GHz overclock.

Yep, I considered that too... nice wind tunnel effect. But the hard drives stick out just far enough that the SATA cables pushed on the Ninja too much for my tastes... though ordering some elbowed cables would take care of that.

EDIT: I actually thought about mounting the hard drives to the floor of the case so that they could be cooled by the front intake fan... there seems to be enough room for 2, maybe 3 (very iffy though) drives, but that's a mod for another day. 🙂

 

[Corporate Thug]

looks like an nice case

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: stonyc
EDIT: I actually thought about mounting the hard drives to the floor of the case so that they could be cooled by the front intake fan... there seems to be enough room for 2, maybe 3 (very iffy though) drives, but that's a mod for another day. 🙂

Originally posted by: Zepper
talking about the add-on HD bracket which is a nearly universal part and can be fitted to any case with room and a place to put two screws... Nice snap out brackets with vibe dampers... Here's a pic Sharp, eh?

Alternately you can just drill holes and use the bottom screw holes on the drives to mount them. I've done that before and works great.