In 2006, SilverStone launched the Temjin TJ08, an impressive micro-ATX tower case with then unheard of dual 120mm fan configuration. It helped pioneered the idea of big tower cooling performance in small packages. Five years later, improved technology and design has enabled SilverStone engineers to create another pioneering small tower case in the TJ08 Evolution (TJ08-E). To improve cooling performance, a class leading “Air Penetrator” 180mm fan was installed behind the front panel to create virtual airflow tunnel with positive air pressure, which also improves quietness and dust prevention. Standard enthusiast features retained or improved include removable motherboard tray and top panel, CPU back plate cutout, all black painted interior, removable filters for all intake vents, and beautifully finished aluminum front panel. Features unique to the TJ08-E are its ability to accommodate long cables from high-end power supply and storage room for one 2.5” hard drive and up to five 3.5” hard drives. If you are looking for a classic, cleanly styled premium micro-ATX tower with the latest chassis construction technology to house top-of-the-line components, the TJ08-E is it.
$ 94.99
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Love it,
+ Amazing temperatures – I’m extremely pleased with my temps in this case. At the time of writing this my idle temps are as follows on the high fan profile – system chipset @ 19c, evga 560ti @ 25c, 2500k @ 31c. All the hardware is currently at stock clocks/voltage, including the CPU which is using the stock HSF for now. The front 180mm is the only fan in the case at the moment and it’s extremely efficient.
+ Great airflow design – It’s essentially an air tunnel and all your major pc components are in its lane. It directly and effectively cools your motherboard, ram, CPU, and bottom slot GPU with just 1 fan with the help of the air penetrator design. You can see the air penetrator in action here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m8fC809TK0
+ Sleek interior and exterior design – I absolutely love the styling of this case and the logoless front. From the very simplistic look of the front panel to the painted black interior, this is easily one of the best looking cases at this size and price. The only gripe I have is the top PSU fan filter. I would of rather seen a similar slide in/out design like the front filter. Something that slides in from the back of the case into the case and hides underneath the top panel would of been much better looking.
+ Great cable management – Using a modular PSU it was extremely easy to route my cables and hide them behind the mb tray. The depth behind the motherboard tray is a tiny bit larger than the the thickness of a 24pin power connector cable, so you can practically fit almost any cable there. Also the cutouts on the motherboard tray to snake cables through were very well placed.
+ Extremely easy to clean – It takes literally two minutes to clean your entire PC. Simply pull the fan filters out and clean them off with a dry or damp cloth or air compressor. Then give the exterior a wipe or two to clean the dust off and you’re done. I wouldn’t recommend cleaning the filters with water, as they seem to be glued on to the plastic frames.
+ Low maintenance – I was surprised when I went to clean the interior of this case for the first time. With my previous cases my usual was pulling the filters out first and cleaning those. From there I would pull the side panels off and hit the inside fans with the air compressor. With this case I pulled off the side panels ready to bring it to the garbage to air blast, but I realized there was nothing to clean. The inside of the case looked spotless including the GPU and CPU fans.
– Some screws strip paint from screw holes – I had this happen on two screw holes on the interior and it wasn’t that big of a deal to me. The screw heads cover the tiny area of paint that was stripped and is only visible if you’re really inspecting the area when the screw is not in place.
– Case vibration from HD – This was rather annoying and would happen when my mechanical drive would spin up. It wasn’t really that bad, but I could feel it transferring to my desk at times. It was easily fixed with some rubber HD washers I had left over from an old Lian-Li case. These should be included. I should mention that I didn’t use the provided HD cage and removed it. I simply mounted the drive in the 3.5 bay so that might of been what caused the issue.
– Fan decently loud at high settings – Seems a bit quieter from use compared to when I first got it, but definitely very audible in a quiet room. I see a lot of people saying that it is very loud, but I don’t personally think it’s that bad. I watch a lot of sports streams online at about medium volume and that easily drowns out the fan noise.
– Not many options for an aftermarket 180mm fan – Really wanted to replace the fan with a quieter one, but the limited options available don’t seem worth it. I believe you can also mount a 140mm fan, but I have yet to look that far into it or think it would be as effective.
Out of 5 stars, I would rate it at 4.8
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|Decent Case,
I’ve built many computers for myself and other family members over the years and have seen varying levels of case build quality. Silverstone consistently produces well made and generally well thought out designs. This case is no exception, but realize going in this is not a full size case so don’t expect it to have the room of one. I’ll consolidate a couple of points here that have been mentioned in a few other reviews, but they bear repeating:
1. Watch power supply size and the depth of any optical drive. I put standard size in for both and it was a tight fit for the power cables so if you go over you may have reliability issues with the power connectors on a modular power supply… (PS you have to take the top of the case off to get the power supply in.. not something readily apparent from the instructions… it’s fiddly but not a problem once you realize how it fits together).
2. I didn’t see this in the reviews I read, but also realize you can’t order any memory modules with pimped out heat spreaders on them if they are over a certain height (55mm I think) they block the drive cage. You can mount a drive in the bottom “floppy” drive bay, but it isn’t a clean fit and it is not acoustically isolated from the rest of the case like the cage is (it is too wide so extra rubber spacers are helpful).
3. Cable routing is a bit of a mess so just be ok with it (see previous comment on this *not* being a full size case)…
Only real con is that one of the two front USB 3.0 connections does not work for some reason. Not enough of an issue to return the case for, but still a bit annoying (Reason one star was taken off). Otherwise the build quality inside and out is good and matches the price.
Fan noise was minimal as well… seen some other comments but at least in the one I just put together I can barely hear it.
*Edit* Just found the manual an here are the limits so you have them:
Power supply: Recommended 160mm, Max 185mm
optical drive: Reccomended 185mm max 220mm
— Realize that if you put the “Max” for either of those it will come into direct contact with the “recommended” for the alternate so it really isn’t a feasable thing to do… just stick with the recommended length.
CPU cooler height limitation: 165mm and there is 18mm of clearance around the motherboard top edge.
Graphic card limits: first and second slots support 13.25″ cards the top two slots support 13.3 (no drive cage obviously)
Memory height limitation: 54mm
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|Awesome Case!!!,
Received case in mail on time and I love it! I was nervous spending $100 for a case, but I’m very happy with this one! The USB 3.0 ports on the front work just fine with my external hard drive (which is USB 2.0) and the front panel cables are wrapped in black, so all internals match. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for!
Pros:
-Doesn’t feel cheap and nice has finishes (aluminum front and painted black everywhere else)
-Removable tray and HDD case (HDD case is padded with a thin layer of foam to reduce noise)
-USB 3.0 on front panel
-Compact design (8.26″ W x 14.72″ H x 15.15″ D)
-Really good airflow (huge 180mm fan up front and 120mm rear)
-Fan speed control switch on the front right side of case (low and high setting)
-Slots to route cabling behind motherboard
-Very quiet with front fan set to low setting. You almost can’t hear it.
-Good instruction manual for removing everything and putting it back
Cons:
-Everything is screwed down so a lot of time will be spent just taking the case apart
-Not a lot of space to work, but having the removable tray for the motherboard helps a lot
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