[nextpage title=”Introduction”]

The SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E is a small form factor tower case, supporting microATX and Mini-ITX motherboards, with a big 180 mm fan and an aluminum front panel. Let’s see if it is a good solution.

Figure 1: SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E case

Figure 2: SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E case

[nextpage title=”The Front Panel”]

The SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E has an aluminum front panel with two external 5.25” bays at the top and one external 3.5” bay at the bottom. Behind the big mesh you see in Figure 3, there is a 180 mm fan, model AP181, which works at 700 rpm/18 dBA or 1,200 rpm/34 dBA, depending on the position of a switch located on the right side of the front panel. Between this fan and the front panel, the case has an air filter that is really easy to remove from the right side of the front panel.

Figure 3: Front panel

Figure 4: Low/high switch

Figure 5: Air filter

The buttons and connectors of the case are located on its front panel. The case comes with two USB 3.0 ports, which use an internal connector. They are connected directly to the motherboard, thereby not requiring you to connect the USB cables to the USB 3.0 ports located at the rear panel of the board. If your motherboard doesn’t have this type of header, you can convert it into a USB 2.0 header in order to use the USB 3.0 ports as USB 2.0 ports.

Figure 6: Buttons and connectors

[nextpage title=”The Top, Bottom, and Rear Panels”]

The top panel of the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E can be seen in Figure 7. It has a mesh for the power supply fan, which comes with a magnetic air filter, making it very easy to remove and clean this filter. The bottom panel, shown in Figure 8, does not have any fancy features.

Figure 7: Top panel

Figure 8: Bottom panel

The rear panel and the interior of the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E are painted black.  The case has four expansion slots, using vented covers. These covers, however, are silver, and we think the manufacturer should have added black covers to better match the case.

There is a space for you to install a 120 mm fan on the rear panel, but the case doesn’t come with this fan. While some users may think this is a disadvantage, the presence of the big 180 mm fan on the front panel should be more than enough to cool down typical computers, plus it creates a positive air flow configuration (i.e., there is more forced air entering the case than exiting it). If you are building a high-end system inside the TJ08-E, then you may consider adding this second fan. Also, if you plan to install a sealed liquid cooling solution, you will use this space to install the radiator. In this scenario, you would need to remove the fan if it came with the case.

On the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E, the power supply goes on the top part of the case.

Figure 9: Rear panel

Let’s now take a look inside the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E.[nextpage title=”Inside the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E”]

Both panels are attached to the chassis using black thumbscrews. The first thing you will notice upon opening the TJ08-E is that its motherboard tray is “flipped.” On virtually all tower cases, the motherboard is installed against the case’s right panel, and we need to open the left panel to install the motherboard and components. This case, however, uses the opposite configuration: the motherboard is installed against the left panel, and you need to open the right panel to install the motherboard and other components.

The motherboard tray has a huge hole for you to access the backplate of the CPU cooler without having to remove the motherboard from the case, two big holes for you to route cables behind it, and several metallic clips for you to fasten cables using cable ties.

Figure 10: Overall look

Figure 11: A view behind the motherboard tray

In Figure 12, you have another overall look inside the case. Expansion cards are fastened using regular screws, but at least they are black. The SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E supports video cards up to 13.25” (336 mm) long and CPU coolers up to 6.5” (165 mm) tall, which is impressive for such a small case.

Figure 12: Overall look

At the bot
tom panel, this case has CPU cooler support. This support can be moved up and down to hold your CPU cooler. This is a very interesting device, especially if you have a big CPU cooler.

Figure 13: Support for the CPU cooler

As already explained, the power supply is installed at the top of the case. Note that it can be installed with either its bottom fan facing up or facing down, so you can decide if you want the fan of your power supply pulling air from inside the case or from outside of it.

Figure 14: Power supply compartment

[nextpage title=”The Disk Drive Bays”]

The SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E has two 5.25” external bays, one 3.5” external bay, four 3.5” internal bays and one 2.5” internal bay. The external 3.5” bay can be used by an internal 3.5” device.

Figure 15: Disk drive bays

The main hard drive cage is removable, as shown in Figure 17. The 2.5” bay is located inside the external 3.5” bay, below where the 3.5” device must be installed. To attach a 2.5” device, you need to use screws coming from the bottom panel.

Figure 16: Hard drive cage

In Figure 17, you can see the accessories that come with this case.

Figure 17: Accessories

[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]

The main specifications for the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E case include:

• Style: SFF (Small Form Factor)
• Application: microATX, Mini-ITX and Mini-DTX
• Material: Zinc-coated steel (SECC) body
• Power supply: Doesn’t come with the product
• Available colors: Black
• Side panel: Solid
• Dimensions: 14.7 x 8.3 x 15 inches (374 x 210 x 385 mm) (H x W x D)
• Net weight: 11.5 lbs (5.2 kg)
• Gross weight: 14 lbs (6.4 kg)
• Bays: Two external 5.25” bays, one external/internal 3.5” bay, four internal 3.5” bays, and one internal 2.5” bay
• Expansion slots: Four
• Maximum video card length: 13.25” (336 mm)
• Maximum CPU cooler height: 6.5” (165 mm)
• Fans: One 180 mm fan on the front panel (700 rpm/18 dBA or 1,200 rpm/34 dBA)
• Optional fans: One 120 mm on the rear panel
• More Information: https://www.silverstonetek.com
• Average Price in the US*: USD 100.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]

We liked the concept of the SilverStone Temjin TJ08-E. It is a good option for users who want to build small yet powerful computers. It could cost a little less, but we think its price is fair.

Strong Points

• Vented slot covers
• Air filter for the front fan
• Air filter for the power supply fan
• Two-speed fan controller for the front fan
• A huge hole in the motherboard tray for accessing the backplate of the CPU cooler
• Holes for routing cables behind the motherboard tray
• Support for five 3.5” and one 2.5” internal devices
• Bracket for holding the CPU cooler

Weak Points

• Doesn’t come with the rear fan (not an issue in most situations)
• Slot covers are silver, not black
• Could have used thumbscrews for fastening expansion cards