System Builder Marathon: High-Cost System

Features
By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Case: Silverstone Temjin TJ09-BW

We didn't have many choices when the time came to select a case; only the Silverstone Temjin TJ09 or TJ-10 would do the job. These chassis differ only in front panel design, and we picked the one without the external drive cover.

What makes the TJ90/TJ-10 special is its ability to support our liquid cooling configuration, which is something no other unmodified case can do. We needed an assembly that anyone could replicate with simple hand tools, and we weren't about to pay huge money for a pre-modified case.

While our previous choice of case with pre-installed liquid cooling system was completely inadequate from both quality and design perspectives, the Silverstone Temjin TJ09 has no such problems. Every panel is smooth, every edge polished, every joint bind-free, and every feature thoughtfully placed.

A pop-up panel at the front of the TJ09 allows easy access to two USB ports and one IEEE-1394 FireWire port, plus microphone and headphone jacks. The design works well in both desk-side and desktop system placement, though desktop use does require reaching up quite a distance.

While the TJ09 provides a vast amount of space for motherboard and card installation, the first thing we noticed was a hole that runs all the way through the lower front portion of the center.

The hole is part of a noise dampener assembly, which is one of only a few steel chassis members. A fan inside the chrome-plated dampener draws air from holes in the side panels and blows it directly towards expansion cards.

Warm air is exhausted by up to three 120 mm fans. Silverstone includes a single exhaust fan on the rear panel, while builders can add their choice of fans to two top-mounted fan holders.

We'll cover the internal components of Silverstone's Temjin TJ09 in more detail as we install our liquid cooling system.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • TDL
    Thanks for the great article - I'm having fun building this - I do have 3 questions though - the fan duct assembly fan has 3 wire sets, 1 has the 3wire motherboard connector, the second taps into a regular power lead. The third is a single wire - the case documentation does not describe that one - what is that little single lead for? Also the motherboard sound card has some connectors on it - I assume one is for the case headphone/mic lead? Third, should teflon tape be used in the dual radiator threads if not how tight is tight enough for the O-rings? Thanks great article!
    Reply
  • Dax3000
    Hi Thanks For The Great Article - I Am Also Building A System With A Few Modifications I Loved Asus Boards But Can Never Seem To Overclock Them At All So I Am Going With A EVGA 780i FTW when they come out, THat Processor IS Sweet But No Way CAn I JUstify PAying $1060 or more here in canada for 1 Pc Component when i already own three computers, I was thinking maybe a Q6850 when they come out, i have changed the middle fan in my case already and i am just waiting on my 120 rad to get here as i already have the other parts from another computer i built that i couldn't use so that saved me a few dollars:) and i can't find that power supply anywhere so i am gonna do with a X3 1000 watt from ultra i hope it's good enough. and since i am not a really good overclocker no point in risking a high end system by messing around with 2 expensive graphics cards will 2 9800GTX+ work for me ? and omost importantly after my system is finished and filled how do i top it up if it needs more water do i have to take the top rad down to fill it everytime or can i just add water in to the same rad. thanks alot of your help and keep up the great work.
    Reply
  • DaveCharleson
    I've been installing and have three questions. First, there seems to be no pump in this system - have I just missed something?

    Second, the twin fan radiator seems to draw the air from inside the case up through the radiator and then out the top of the case. Wouldn't you want to draw cooler air from the outside past the radiator?

    Third, I don't see any connection to the video card although the 880GTX card is built for water cooling. Wouldn't you want to include this in the loop?

    This is my first build with water cooling so sorry if the questions belie this.
    Reply
  • jimwalk
    The Arctic Silver instructions for applying to Intel Quad Core CPU W/Heatspreader are at http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appinstruct/as5/ins_as5_intel_quad_wcap.pdf
    Reply