SilverStone Temjin TJ11 Review

SilverStone Temjin TJ11 Review

Manufacturer SilverStone
UK price (as reviewed) £475.18 (inc VAT)
US price (as reviewed) $660 (ex tax)

If you've ever looked for a case with room to install a shed-load of water-cooling hardware, chances are you've considered, or maybe even bought the SilverStone TJ07. It's been one of the most desirable cases for water-cooling for half a decade. While it's not great for air-cooling, for those adventurous enough to put water inside their PC, it has nearly everything you want.

The bottom compartment allows you to install a triple 120mm-fan radiator without any serious modding - fitting a quad 120mm-fan radiator is possible too, with a little modification. There's also room for another radiator in the roof, and plenty of space for pumps and reservoirs. What's more, the TJ07 is a great-looking case, with sweeping curves and a clean appearance.

We heard rumblings of its possible successor last year, and posted a SilverStone TJ11 preview. Its enormous dimensions - 224 x 657 x 642mm (W x D x H) - make it nearly 100mm deeper and higher than the TJ07, and the TJ11 weighs an additional 4kg too. It has nine external 5.25in bays - two more than the TJ07 - and there's a smattering of 2.5in mounts too, which install to the sides of the 5.25in bays.


The exterior of the case is a mass of black aluminium that's both anodised and sand-blasted, which we found to be hardy and scratch-resistant. The textured finish barely reflects any light, so the case looks menacing, if a little understated.

At first, we thought SilverStone had placed the power and reset switches miles apart - a recessed button is located on the front panel and another identical one is found at the front of the roof section. Both are illuminated using subtle blue LEDs but both are wired to the power header cable - this makes it easy to turn on the case whether you place it on a desk or on the floor. The reset button is hidden away on the side of the roof section, along with two USB 3 ports, two USB 2 ports and headphone and microphone jacks.

Perhaps the most interesting fact about the TJ11, though, is that it's a culmination of SilverStone's unique designs of the past few years. The TJ11 has a compartmentalised layout akin to that of the TJ07, it has the see-through air ducts of the TJ09 and it also has the same rotated motherboard mounting as the Fortress FT02R-W and Raven RV02.


As with the previously mentioned cases, a part of the TJ11's roof panel detaches, providing access to the I/O panel. Meanwhile, a small slot at the rear of the case allows you to route the various USB, power and monitor cables fairly neatly out the rear of the case. The TJ11 also includes two Air Penetrator AP181 180mm fans, which are located above the mid-section of the case, drawing air from large openings in the side panels, and pushing it over your hardware and towards the roof.

Each Air Penetrator fan has a filter that can be removed without opening the side panel, which is a useful touch although it does result in the two gaping holes in the side of the case. These will aid airflow too, though, so we can't be too harsh on SilverStone here.

A single 120mm fan is located in the roof to expel hot air out of the vented roof panel, while two further 120mm fans are attached to the drive cages in the lower chamber to keep your hard disks in check (these latter fans also have dust filters). The side panels each have large mesh-covered vents to allow air to move from one side to the other in the lower chamber - great if you intend to mount a large radiator down there, as the warm exhaust air won't be passing over the rest of your hardware. Also included is a huge metal, textured mouse pad - as if the TJ11 won't take up enough space as it is.

Specifications

• Dimensions (mm) 244 x 642 x 657mm (W x D x H)
  
• Material Aluminium
  
• Available colours Black, black with window
  
• Weight 17kg
  
• Front panel Power, reset, 2 x USB 3, 2x USB 2, stereo, microphone
  
• Drive bays 9x external 5.25in drive bays, 6x internal 3.5in drive bays, 3x internal 2.5in drive bays
  
• Form factor(s) XL-ATX, ATX, micro-ATX,
  
• Cooling 2x 180mm mid-mount (fans supplied), 1x 120mm roof mount (fan supplied) 2x 120mm floor fan mount (fan supplied),
  
• CPU cooler clearance 171mm
  
• Maximum graphics card length 315mm
  
• Extras Removable dust filters, rivet-less construction, side panel window, hot-swap 3.5in bays