SilverStone Temjin TJ-07

SilverStone’s new all-aluminum flagship case is a huge, ambitious model that features a unique, amazingly heavy uni-body construction and split thermal chambers. The power supply and hard drives are in a separate chamber at the bottom, and all components are fed with fresh air. Obviously, it’s a case for extreme cooling performance. How about for low noise?

May 15, 2006 by Devon
Cooke with Mike Chin

SilverStone’s top current offering is a case that is designed to be bigger, cooler, and easier to use than
any of its competition. Although it shares little of its
design with the TJ-06, which
we reviewed in December 2004, their spirit is much the same. Both are designed
to cool very hot components, especially the processor, and both try
to isolate the components thermally for effective cooling.

There are a number of reasons why the TJ-07 has potential for a low-noise
system:

• The bulk of the frame is made from a single piece of thick 4~8mm
  aluminum, which should help overcome the greater tendency to resonate that aluminum
  cases often have.
• It shares some cooling characteristics with the
  Antec P180, and should have some of the same acoustic benefits. For
  example, the power supply is fed cool air to keep its fan from ramping up in speed due to temperature rise.
• It’s large enough to allow many custom modifications, such as suspending
  numerous drives at once.

SilverStone boasts that the TJ-07 was built using “automotive machinery”
— the implication being that the strenuous quality control measures (and
the manufacturing techniques that make them possible) from the automotive industry
have been applied to the TJ-07. The most obvious resulting feature is its “uni-body”
frame.

From left to right: SilverStone TJ-07, Antec P180, Generic Mid-tower, ASUS
T2-AE1.

The TJ-07 is absolutely huge. Massive would be the perfect word to describe
it… except that the literal meaning of massive doesn’t quite apply —
the lower density of aluminum means that it is actually lighter than the
P180 by about 1 kg. despite being bigger in every dimension.
Those who felt that the P180 was just a little tight for a watercooling setup
should have no such difficulties with the TJ-07. Besides, SilverStone can’t
really expect anyone to use all seven of the external 5.25″ bays,
can they?

The TJ-07 peeks out the back behind the black p180.

It cuts a monolithic figure. Toss in some prehistoric monkeys, and you’ve
got the beginnings of a
great sci-fi movie…

DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Like the TJ-06 before it, the internal layout of the TJ-07 is unconventional. Most strikingly, there are no air vents anywhere near the front of the case.
The front bezel is part of a continuous piece of metal that forms
the top, front, and bottom panels of the case. This is the uni-body frame that
SilverStone is boasting about. The side
edges of this continuous piece are nearly a centimeter thick, making the main
body more rigid that just about every other aluminum case on the market and
a good many steel ones as well. The middle is about half as thick, but even
this is much thicker than most aluminum cases.

All of this is good for noise. The absence of vents means there are no direct
sound paths in front of the case, and the thickness of the material means that
noise and vibration in the case are more likely to be contained within it and
less likely to cause resonance.

No front vents at all.

Plentiful front ports.

In an ordinary case, vents in the front bezel are the primary sources
of fresh air. The TJ-07 intakes are on the
back panel. There are two 92mm fans on the back panel, both of which
feature wire grills. They are positioned to blow directly
at the CPU area, providing fresh air to what is often the hottest component in the system .

All of these vents are intakes, not exhausts.

These 92mm fans represent the main intakes for the main part of the case. The square-hole vents beside and below the fans could be exhaust holes if these fans were the the only air movers, but they are not. There are also two 120mm fans on the top panel, and they are the primary air exhaust paths. Because they move considerably more air than the 92mm fans, as long as the 120mm fans are spinning, all the back panel vents function as intake vents.

The rear two thirds of the top face provide the only points of exhaust.

The twin exhaust 120 mm fans fit into a harness
hanging from the top. The harness and the top vent are all part of a single piece of wire mesh
that is painted silver to blend in with the top. The mesh is quite restrictive; at least 50% of the area is solid metal.

The mesh that protects the fans is quite restrictive.

Secondary intakes are the two large air vents that run
the length of the case along the bottom of each side panel. These vents are
well below the bottom of the motherboard, and are designed mainly to provide air to
the power supply and the hard drives, located in a separate chamber
from the rest of the system. This layout is reminiscent of the PSU chamber
in the Antec P180, with one important difference. The airflow from the
power supply can provide cooling for the hard drives in the P180, but in the TJ-07,
each of the two hard drive cages has its own 120mm fan.

When these HDD cage fans are turned on, the bottom vents no longer function as secondary
intakes. Instead, the left side of the case becomes an intake and the right
side an exhaust for the bottom fans. The side vents also provide fresh air for
the power supply(ies). Fresh air is drawn in from the sides, and exhausted directly
out the back of the case.

The function of the vents on the side panels depends on whether the bottom
fans are in use
and how fast the fan in the power supply is spinning.

With the main exhaust located on the top of the case, care needs to be taken
to ensure that nothing accidentally blocks or spills into the vent. Books and
liquids are probably the biggest risks. The position of the case is also important:
The TJ-07 is tall enough that many desks may not provide enough clearance above
the case — if it fits at all.

It is also
wise to consider the temperature of air behind the case. For example,
cooling might suffer if the TJ-07 was simply jammed into a corner; the heat
exhausted from the power supply at the bottom of the case could
warm up this area and get recirculated back into the system by the 92mm fan intakes. A little extra room behind the TJ-07 should ensure that the PSU exhaust
air is sufficiently diluted with room-temperature air.

FIT AND FINISH

Although the outer frame is made from thick aluminum, the two
side panels and all of the internal panels are made of thinner 2mm aluminum.
By normal aluminum case standards, 2mm is a very heavy gauge. However, it’s still lighter than 1mm thick steel.

Internal panels are are large and thin: Perfect for transmitting vibration.

None of the internal joints are secured with rivets. Instead, the entire case
is screwed together, and could be taken apart completely if desired. It is much
easier to tighten screws than rivets if they loosen over time.

All joints are secured with screws, not rivets.

More screws.

The overall fit of the case is not as tight as it could
be. For example, even when the side panels are fully in place, there are gaps
of a couple millimeters around the front edges of the panel. These gaps may be necessary to prevent the case from warping as it expands and
contracts with temperature, but there may be an acoustic price to be paid.
The loose fit provides ample opportunity for panels to rattle against each other.

The mesh on the side panels is held in place by bent tabs that may allow
it to vibrate.

INSTALLATION

Motherboard and Cable Routing

By now, you know that the TJ-07 is divided into two main chambers cooled independently of the
other. The top portion holds the motherboard, expansion cards, and optical drives, and the
bottom holds the power supply and hard drives. The bottom chamber is at least partly subdivided
into three other chambers: One for the power supply and two more for each of
the drive bays.

Divide and conquer: Individual components are separated as much as possible so that each can be cooled without dealing with heat from elsewhere in the system.

Installation begins with removing side panels. SilverStone has tried to make things as easy as possible by using
thumbscrews, but because they all screw directly into the aluminum frame, they frequently stick and bind, which makes them difficult
to remove by hand. Often, a screwdriver was needed to generate enough torque
to remove them smoothly. Steel bushings for the thumbscrews would have
made things much easier.

All the thumbscrews tend to bind in the aluminum frame.

The sheer size makes the case fairly easy to work in. A removable motherboard
tray allows the motherboard and the expansion cards to be put together outside
the case where there is plenty of room to work. This is probably most helpful
for large Extended ATX and SSI motherboards, which may be tight even in the
TJ-07. Note that the motherboard tray slides into tracks, but there’s no way to tighten the tray to the tracks; the tray is secured only on the back panel, with six thumbscrews. There is potential for rattling between the motherboard tray and the tracks it fits into.

For regular ATX boards, it’s probably not worth going to the trouble of removing
the tray and installing things separately. Removing and replacing the tray is
more trouble that it looks, because the aluminum guide rails have a tendency
to stick, especially when a heavy motherboard is installed
on it. As with the side panels, the thumbscrews often bind in the aluminum
frame.

Besides, there’s another reason to leave the tray in the case during installation.
The motherboard standoffs are very tall, leaving plenty of room to hide cables
— even the thick bundle of cables for the ATX power header. With some careful
planning, all of the cables in the system can be routed beneath the motherboard to keep the main chamber uncluttered. However, if the motherboard
tray is removed from the case, it is impossible to run power cables in this
way unless a power supply with detachable cables is used. The cables must be
routed from the bottom chamber before the motherboard is screwed down.
If the tray is removed, it is too far from the bottom chamber for the power
cables to reach.

Four fans provide a lot of airflow around the top half of the motherboard.

The motherboard tray is removable, but there are reasons to leave it in place
during installation.

Cables between the top and bottom chambers are routed through these holes.

Motherboard tray completely removed.

Tracks for the motherboard tray: There is no way to lock the tray into its tracks.
The motherboard tray can be easily rattled in its tracks even with all six back thumbscrews tight.

Power Supply

Interestingly, there is enough room for two power supplies to be mounted side by side. If they are
120mm power supplies, both fans will face outwards as needed to prevent one
power supply from blocking the other. However, it would have been nice if SilverStone
had made it possible install a single power supply with the fan facing inwards,
as this would leave more room for damping and/or a duct to the drive cages to
be constructed around the power supply.

Although the primary intake vent is located on the bottom, there are also
vents on the rear panel that allow air into the case.

Installing the power supply is a bit fiddly. The power supply cannot be put into the bottom chamber except from the back, after the PSU mounting plate is removed. The lips on the bottom sides are too tall for the PSU to be slipped in through the sides. The best solution is to remove the mounting plate, slip the PSU into the space, screw the mounting plate back onto the chassis, then screw the PSU onto the mounting plate. Don’t screw the bracket on the PSU first, as the bracket
then hangs awkwardly to one side. This makes
aligning the screwholes difficult, and the tendency of the screws
to bind in the aluminum doesn’t make things any easier. (SilverStone opted not
to use thumbscrews for the power supply).

The power supply goes on a separate bracket.

A Seasonic S12 installed: This style of PSU draws air in from the side and exhausts it out
the back.

Hard Drives

In addition to the power supply, there is room for six hard drives in
the bottom chamber. Two identical drive cages, each holding a fan and three
drives, sit side by side. The cages are secured by a single spring-loaded thumbscrew
that, thankfully, screws into steel, not aluminum.

Getting the drive cages out of the case is a bit counterintuitive. For starters,
the thumbscrews that secure them are not immediately visible when the motherboard
is facing up. In fact, there is no indication that there is any room for drives
at all: The two fans hide the drive rails behind them. To remove the drive cages,
both side panels need to be removed and the case needs to be stood upright.
The thumbscrews, which are located on the “back” side, can then be
loosened and the drive cage pushed out the other side.

The two drive cages have a fan each.

The base for the drive cages is made of steel.

The drives themselves are meant to be hard mounted in the cage with ordinary screws. There is no room for damping grommets.

Each drive cage come with a built-in fan.

There is plenty of room for suspending or otherwise soft-mounting drives in
some of the seven optical drive bays. Most likely, SilverStone intends this
space to be used for modding purposes, as few users have seven optical
drives unless they are building a duplicating tower — and that doesn’t
require a $350 case. There is plenty of room for a watercooling kit, several
fan controllers, or a complex lighting setup.

No matter how many options the space gives, the most common use will probably
be for optical drives, but the TJ-07 doesn’t make installing optical drives easy. Like the hard drives, both side panels
need to be removed to install an optical drive. Unlike most cases, there are
no guide-tracks to help keep the drive in place while it is being screwed in. It is possible to end up with a diagonally mounted drive because the wrong
screw holes were used if you’re not paying attention.

THERMAL AND NOISE TESTING

The six fans in the TJ-07 provide many potential configurations, depending
on the specific needs of the system and the whims of the user. We have no doubt
that the TJ-07 is capable of cooling just about any system that is installed
in it — its large size, and numerous fresh air intakes almost
guarantees it. Whether it can do so quietly is the relevant question for SPCR.

Our testing was designed to answer these question:

• How well does the TJ-07 contain
  noise?
• How much does the airflow design allow fan speed to be minimized?
• How quiet can the TJ-07 be without any serious modifications?

Our test system was fairly modest; we wanted to ensure that the TJ-07 could
handle an ordinary system before moving on to something more challenging.

Test System

• AMD Athlon 64 4000+ — TCaseMax reported a TDP of 50W, and a
  maximum case temperature of 59°C
• ASUS A8R32-MVP motherboard — based on the ATI CrossFire Xpress
  3200 chipset
• Scythe Ninja heatsink, no fan — the best low noise cooler we
  know of
• Corsair XMS Xtreme PC-4000 DDR RAM — 2 x 1024 MB
• ASUS EAX1600XT Silent — passive graphics card
• Samsung Spinpoint SP0802N 80 GB 1-platter drive
• LG DVD-RW drive
• Seasonic S12-380 — 380W version of the quietest fanned power
  supply we know of
• Arctic Silver Ceramique Thermal Compound

Testing Tools

• CPUBurn
  processor stress software
• SpeedFan
  4.28 software to show CPU temperature
• RTHDRIBL
  graphics stress software
• T.H.E. KP-6M
  reference omni microphone
• B&K 2203 sound level meter
• Seasonic
  Power Angel AC power meter

Ambient conditions were 22°C and 20 dBA.

A number of quick tests were run initially to determine the best configuration
for cooling.

Where possible, the build-in fan controller on the motherboard (QFan) was used
to regulate fan speed. However, only the two rear fans had the appropriate headers to plug into the motherboard. We ended up hardwiring the top fans to specific voltages as required.

For each test, CPUBurn and RTHDRIBL were both run simultaneously so that the
cooling capabilities of the case were stressed as much as possible.

Configuration 1

Our initial configuration used the top front and the rear bottom fans together
to draw air through the center of the system, across as many components as
possible. The back half of the top grill was blocked off to prevent any short-circuits
in the airflow.

Unfortunately, this was a better idea in theory than in practice, as the
CPU quickly overheated in this configuration. We also discovered that the
two rear fans sounded quite nasty, with a heavy buzz that may have been amplified
by the panel that they were screwed to. This noise was present even
when the fans were spinning slowly; lowering the fan speed reduced the volume
but not the intensity of the noise.

Configuration 2

The second configuration was a reaction to the first: The rear fans were
disabled completely, and the two top fans were run at full speed. Not surprisingly,
this configuration was too noisy to consider seriously, but the cooling improved
dramatically.

Configuration 3 (not in the table)

The next step was obvious: Reduce the 120mm fan speeds to an acceptable level.
Both top fans were undervolted to 5V, and the system was powered up. We were
quite impressed with the resulting acoustics at first. We didn’t think the top fans would undervolt so well. However,
even with the processor idling in Cool ‘n’ Quiet, the temperature kept rising…
and rising.

Wondering why, we took a careful look at the system, and realized that neither
of the two fans had started at 5V. Oops.

Configuration 4

So, we tried again, this time undervolting the two top fans to 7V. This time
we made sure the fans started, and, sure enough, there was a small amount
of airflow rising from the top panel.

We were shocked to discover
that the system measured 24 dBA@1m. Normally, 24 dBA@1m is a little above
the ambient noise level in the lab and can be tuned out easily enough. However,
the subjective quality of the noise made it sound considerably noisier than
what we usually expect to hear at 24 dBA@1m. Instead of being just a little above
the ambient noise level, the noise from the system could be heard fairly clearly
in the next room.

The quality of the noise was terrible, characterized by a deep throbbing
thrum with a ringing overtone. The noise character could be changed (usually
for the better) by pressing down of various parts of the case to damp the
vibration, which indicates that much of the noise character was resonance
from the aluminum panels. Considerable improvements to the noise character
could be heard by pressing down on the top mesh, which the fans were screwed
to, and the side panels, which damped a significant amount of hum. Sometimes,
an audible difference could be heard after doing something as simple as shifting
the angle of the case or picking it up and putting it back down.

This configuration was about as quiet as we expected to get using the stock
fans, but the cooling was only marginal. The CPU peaked at ~60°C, which
was actually above 59°C maximum temperature specified by AMD for our chip.

Configuration 5

Because of the questionable cooling in Configuration 4, we decided
to try turning on one of the rear fans again — spinning slowly —
to see if that would improve things. Boy did it ever! The CPU temperature
dropped by ~15°C under load, to a reasonable 44°C.

With the rear fan spinning at 1000 RPM, the measured noise level
rose only a little. Once again, the different measurement did not reflect
our subjective impression of the change. Not surprisingly, the noise was quite
similar to Configuration 1, although the overall volume was lower.

MORE TWEAKS

Despite the poor sonic signature of Configuration 5, the improvement
in temperature was enough to try upping the heat output of the system. The low-powered
X1600XT was replaced with a more powerful video card: An AOpen Aeolus 6800GT
with the stock heatsink replaced by a Thermalright V1-Ultra running at 5V.

Configuration 6

Surprisingly, the CPU temperature actually dropped significantly when
the hotter VGA card was installed. At the same time, the noise level increased
dramatically because the motherboard fan controller increased the speed of
the rear fan. Once again, the TJ-07 became too loud to be acceptable.

Fan Swap

Two Nexus fans at 7V were much quieter.

By now, it was quite clear how that the stock TJ-07 would be noisy no matter how
the airflow was set up. The stock fans were simply not good enough to be acceptable
in a quiet case, even when undervolted. Even when the measured noise level was
fairly low, none of the subjective noise levels were good enough to recommend.
We did one final test without using any stock fans. Instead, a pair of 120mm
Nexus fans were, one in place of the top front fan and one mounted directly
on the heatsink itself.

Configuration 7

Although the measured noise level after the fan swap did not improve over
the best that was previously measured (Configuration 4), the subjective
improvement was substantial. All of the low throbbing, the thrumming and the
buzzing disappeared, replaced with a deep rumble that was faint and muted
in comparison. A low hum, most likely from the hard drive, was also audible.
Careful listening also revealed the sound of the VGA cooler, but it was not
a significant source of noise.

Cooling was not quite as good as with some of the earlier configurations,
but as far as the CPU was concerned, still good enough. The VGA temperature
was of a little cause for concern, as it jumped by more than 10°C, but
even then it was well within its thermal limits.

However, the AC power draw increased by 7W over the previous test, and one of the “system” temperature sensors on the motherboard also rose by more than 10°C. These signs indicate
that the system was probably not being cooled as well as it could have been.
For us, the subjective improvement in noise was significant enough
that the poor cooling could be ignored.

One final caveat. Although this configuration started out very quiet, when
the system was left alone for a long period of time, a loud hum developed.
The source of this hum was quite easy to pinpoint once the solution was found:
Pressing down or moving the side panel in any way would get rid of it instantaneously.
Obvious, the side panel was at fault. The noise it generated was not a resonance,
but the direct mechanical sound of the side panel rattling against one of
the interior panels, most likely the divider between the top and bottom chambers.

To be fair, this problem affected every other configuration as well. However,
the effect became more noticeable after replacing the stock fans with quieter ones, as the hum was
not longer masked by fan noise.

MP3 RECORDINGS

Only two of the seven configurations that we tried warranted recordings: Configuration
4 with the two top fans running at 7V, and Configuration 7 with the
stock fans replaced with Nexus fans. They measured the same, but they are
very different subjectively, and it is worth downloading these MP3 files
to hear the difference.

One other recording was made to demonstrate the sound that the side panel made
when it was vibrating. Aside from the side panel, nothing has changed from the
noise in Configuration 7.

MP3:
SilverStone Temjin TJ-07, Config 4 (Quiet Stock Fans): 24 dBA@1m

MP3:
SilverStone Temjin TJ-07, Config 7 (Quiet Nexus Fans): 24 dBA@1m

MP3: SilverStone
Temjin TJ-07, Config 7 (Quiet Nexus Fans with Side Panel Hum): 31 dBA@1m

Comparables:

MP3:
Arctic Cooling Silentium T2 at Idle, 23 dBA@1m

MP3: P180
“Hot Potato” Configuration 4: 25 dBA@1m

CONCLUSIONS

Despite our initial optimism, the TJ-07 was unable to follow in the quiet footsteps of its predecessor, the
TJ-06. Perhaps if the entire case used the same thick aluminum in the uni-body frame, it would not suffer from the problems with vibration. However, as it stands, it is far too prone to vibration noise
to recommend for use in a quiet system. We also had some gripes about the installation
— namely that steel bushings were not used for the thumbscrews and that
installing drives of any sort required removing both side panels.

This is not to say the case cannot be made quiet. Taking it apart and reassembling it with a thin resilient gasket layer in every joint would probably reduce the tendency to vibrate dramatically. A further addition of acoustic/mass damping materials on the inside of the side panels might even eliminate it altogether. However, these modifications will add both time and money to a case that’s already the most expensive we’ve reviewed.

On the other hand, the TJ07 should be capable of cooling just about any combination of components. It
is designed to provide fresh air to as many components as possible, and has
many, many possible configurations. Its screw-based construction and its huge
size make it of interest to modders who can tinker to their hearts’ content.

In this respect, the TJ07 represents a somewhat outdated approach to
computing: Performance comes first, never mind thermals. This
is a case that could cool dual Pentium Extreme Edition processors — and even
stand a chance at doing it relatively quietly. Unfortunately, such system are not common, the era of unfettered thermal increases appear to be behind us, and the TJ-07 is overkill for
a low or midrange system.

It’s somewhat surprising that more care or special consideration was not made for dual video cards. We didn’t test with dual video cards, but the basic setup for video card coolinbg is not much different from the Antec P180, which also does not have special consideration for dual vidcards. Perhaps, like the P180, the TJ07 was designed prior to the launch of nVidia’s SLI. Still, the plethora of fans in the case should be able to cool even a hot dual vidcard gaming rig

We would have given the TJ-07 a more positive reception a year ago when hot
processors were much harder to avoid and “performance-per-watt” had not yet been coined. Today, with the upcoming release of lower-power chips from
both Intel and AMD, a case with extreme
cooling is much less compelling than in the past. For good acoustics, damping, soft-mounting, and sturdiness remain essential in a PC case.
The TJ-07 delivers handsomely with its cooling capabilities, but it
does not offer much of interest to silencers.

Many thanks to SilverStone
for the Temjin TJ-07 Sample.

* * *

Articles of Related Interest

Antec P180: The Whole Nine
Yards
SilverStone Temjin TJ-06
Cases: Basics and Recommendations

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