The Case

The centerpiece of this system build is our chassis, the SilverStone Temjin TJ-07. So why haven't we gone with a Lian-Li PC-V series chassis?

In our last ultimate system build, we loved the PC-V1000, PC-V1200, and PC-V2000 chassis from Lian-Li. It had the proven Lian-Li fit and finish with the novel inverted design that provided excellent cooling. The problem is that the proven Lian-Li fit ended up failing.

While the Lian-Li continues to be the case that's used in my current workhorse system, one of the side panels has begun to warp and change its shape. While the panel still looks perfect, and most consumers won't even notice a difference, I'm having a much tougher time getting the panel to fit in properly. It's true that I open and close my case more frequently than a typical PC user, but it's still disappointing to see such an expensive case have panel fit issues. If the Lian Li is stable, it'll keep its Editor's Choice award. If the amount of warping increases in the next 6 months, we'll probably have to be more cautious in the future. With the need for in mind, the decision was made to go with the Silverstone Temjin TJ-07. This case reflects the next flagship for the industry.

Chassis rear view

Excellent Hard drive cooling

Front view

Top view

Side view

At first glance, the TJ-07 looks like a Lian-Li clone. There's the use of aluminum and the same inverted motherboard design. Look a little closer and you see that Silverstone has used traditional 3.5" drive cages instead of the rail system that Lian-Li used and that the basic Lian-Li designed was improved by the addition of a removable motherboard tray, two 120mm fans on the top, and two 120mm fans on the side instead of the front.

Look even closer and then your jaw will drop.

Aluminum unibody design

The TJ-07 is built as an aluminum unibody frame which means it's built like an Acura NSX. Instead of riveting or welding multiple pieces of aluminum together, Silverstone takes a solid piece of aluminum that's 5.3 feet in length and 4 to 8 mm in thickness. The company then folds the aluminum at two spots using automotive press machines to create a piece of aluminum representing the top, front, and bottom of the case. Since the weight bearing portions of the case are built from a single piece of aluminum, the TJ-07 should be exceptionally rigid.

Silverstone claims that this rigidity gave their engineers to place more 120mm fans in the case to improve airflow without generating the noise and vibration that would have occurred. We'd be just as happy knowing that the aluminum unibody design means that the panels should retain their fit better in the long-run. The panels themselves are actually quite flimsy, but because they're not carrying the weight as they do with typical cases, we think everything will work. Of course, a case like this is fairly pricey. Street prices are expected in the range of $350 to $400 and Silverstone isn't making very many of these cases. Silverstone already sold out their entire first batch of TJ-07s to retailers.

Silverstone Temjin TJ-07
$400 – http://www.silverstonetek.com