Issues with Silverstone TJ09?

[Blackstone]

I am considering the Silverstone TJ09 for my next build. I am also considering using this case to build systems for a few friends.

Would any of the owners of this case like to comment on this case. Are there any issues with the case that you have encountered? Any design flaws? Overall, how satisfied are you with the case?

 

[sn_85]

i own the TJ10, which is basically the TJ09 with a few adjustments here and there but the main difference is the door. i love the case. it might not be the perfect case but i think the looks are stunning and it is a high quality case. a few things though. the side panels are kinda thing so i had a vibration problem at first, although that is gone now. it's probably not the best case for cable management but it's workable. and probably the biggest issue is getting the middle intake fan out. thats the only intake fan there is in the case and to take it out you to pretty much take down the case piece by piece. the case is 100% modular, meaning that there are no rivets and it only uses screws so that you can break down the case into it's pieces. it's just a pain having to remove everything to change that fan out or clean it.

now those are the biggest gripes but if you can get past those, then i think it's an absolutely gorgeous case.

 

[E.T]

That kind very small holed mesh in front of intake fan very has high impedance both decreasing airflow and creating turbulence noise.

Also whole HDD compartment looks like slapped in emergency solution when someone started wondering how are they going to get it into case.
Possible vibration insulation of rubbers trips is negated by screws needed to attach drive into cage and then there's direct noise escape path in both sides for making sure noise won't stay inside...
And unlike in TJ07 that direct noise escape path isn't even utilized for sense making cooling but instead only cooling is from fan in cramped and restricted position between cages, sideways to sensible airflow path.

 

[yenniedn]

The TJ09 was/is one of my favorite cases and I just got rid of it to so that I could finally move on to something newer. It's hard for me to use a case for more than a year but I think I had the TJ09 for longer than that because I kept going back to it because I could not find anything to displace it. It is a beautiful case with great, classic styling that won't age as quickly as other cases might. It is also extremely well made so it holds up well over time as well.

The drawbacks to this case are relatively minor and are things most can live with:

* It is not very conducive to really clean cable management but with some work, you can make it relatively clean. There is not a whole lot of places to hide/route cables; the bottom location of the PSU means you'll have a wad of cables there with really nowhere to tuck them. There are just about zero specialized cut-outs for cabling - but there are many openings built into the design for you to run your cables.

* The side panels are surprisingly thin - especially compared the really thick & solid front panel. Not a deal breaker by any means but they could've made it about 1mm thicker.

* The single intake in front of the GPU area isn't the most effective design as the metal mesh in front of the fan is pretty restrictive. The look of the intake vents themselves have put off a fair number of people but I didn't mind them. With this one intake fan, I had a noticeable increase (some 6 to 8*C) in CPU temps if I ran the system with the side panel on - so I left it off most of the time. That just kills the clean look of the case but provided better performance. Though I never tried it, you might consider put the front most top fan as an intake to provide more cool air to the CPU area b/c the GPU intake fan by itself isn't enough. Taking this center intake fan and its module out can be tricky the first time you do it but once you know how to do it, it's not bad. You'll need/want a long, skinny and MAGNETIC philips head screw driver to make it easier.

* The HDD cages are tricky at best. While it's a nice design to keep the HDD's isolated from the rest of the compoents, they are impossible to cable cleanly. The cages also use specialized screws that I found didn't hold the HDD's as securely as possible. If you have noisier drives like Raptors, you'll definitely hear them b/c the only thing between you and them is a thin mesh.

* Lastly, while the style and quality of the TJ09 remain top notch, it definitely is showing its age somewhat since there are many other cases that have more innovative and more effective design features now. Other high end cases now incorporate larger (quieter) cooling fans, vibration dampening, advanced cable management features, etc. that make them more appealing options. Also newer technology like eSATA and hot-swappable drives are becoming more prevalent in many cases but are, of course, lacking in the TJ09.

All in all, though, it's still one of the best cases out there. I would love to see a TJ09 v2 that updates the design and features of an otherwise very refined case . . . that's something I'd definitely buy (again).

 

[Blackstone]

The TJ09 was/is one of my favorite cases and I just got rid of it to so that I could finally move on to something newer. It's hard for me to use a case for more than a year but I think I had the TJ09 for longer than that because I kept going back to it because I could not find anything to displace it. It is a beautiful case with great, classic styling that won't age as quickly as other cases might. It is also extremely well made so it holds up well over time as well.

The drawbacks to this case are relatively minor and are things most can live with:

* It is not very conducive to really clean cable management but with some work, you can make it relatively clean. There is not a whole lot of places to hide/route cables; the bottom location of the PSU means you'll have a wad of cables there with really nowhere to tuck them. There are just about zero specialized cut-outs for cabling - but there are many openings built into the design for you to run your cables.

* The side panels are surprisingly thin - especially compared the really thick & solid front panel. Not a deal breaker by any means but they could've made it about 1mm thicker.

* The single intake in front of the GPU area isn't the most effective design as the metal mesh in front of the fan is pretty restrictive. The look of the intake vents themselves have put off a fair number of people but I didn't mind them. With this one intake fan, I had a noticeable increase (some 6 to 8*C) in CPU temps if I ran the system with the side panel on - so I left it off most of the time. That just kills the clean look of the case but provided better performance. Though I never tried it, you might consider put the front most top fan as an intake to provide more cool air to the CPU area b/c the GPU intake fan by itself isn't enough. Taking this center intake fan and its module out can be tricky the first time you do it but once you know how to do it, it's not bad. You'll need/want a long, skinny and MAGNETIC philips head screw driver to make it easier.

* The HDD cages are tricky at best. While it's a nice design to keep the HDD's isolated from the rest of the compoents, they are impossible to cable cleanly. The cages also use specialized screws that I found didn't hold the HDD's as securely as possible. If you have noisier drives like Raptors, you'll definitely hear them b/c the only thing between you and them is a thin mesh.

* Lastly, while the style and quality of the TJ09 remain top notch, it definitely is showing its age somewhat since there are many other cases that have more innovative and more effective design features now. Other high end cases now incorporate larger (quieter) cooling fans, vibration dampening, advanced cable management features, etc. that make them more appealing options. Also newer technology like eSATA and hot-swappable drives are becoming more prevalent in many cases but are, of course, lacking in the TJ09.

All in all, though, it's still one of the best cases out there. I would love to see a TJ09 v2 that updates the design and features of an otherwise very refined case . . . that's something I'd definitely buy (again).

You mentioned other high-end cases. Would you care to suggest a few that you feel compete with TJ09? I am doing a few builds for friends and I want to get it right.

 

[lostnkonfused]

* The single intake in front of the GPU area isn't the most effective design as the metal mesh in front of the fan is pretty restrictive. The look of the intake vents themselves have put off a fair number of people but I didn't mind them. With this one intake fan, I had a noticeable increase (some 6 to 8*C) in CPU temps if I ran the system with the side panel on - so I left it off most of the time. That just kills the clean look of the case but provided better performance. Though I never tried it, you might consider put the front most top fan as an intake to provide more cool air to the CPU area b/c the GPU intake fan by itself isn't enough. Taking this center intake fan and its module out can be tricky the first time you do it but once you know how to do it, it's not bad. You'll need/want a long, skinny and MAGNETIC philips head screw driver to make it easier.

Yeah the best way to improve airflow in the TJ09 would be to use the front top fan to be an intake. When I first had the case, cpu temps were higher if I utilized the top as both exhaust. It was an airflow problem and the fans were being starved of air to push out because there was inadequate intake. The fix was the top front fan as an intake that resulted in a drop of around 4-5c. Also having a dual slot gpu that exhausts its own air is beneficial as well.

 

[Blackstone]

Isn't the fan at the back of the case an intake? I know on my TJ07 the two rear fans are intakes and the top fans are exhaust.

 

[yenniedn]

You mentioned other high-end cases. Would you care to suggest a few that you feel compete with TJ09? I am doing a few builds for friends and I want to get it right.

Just about any of the newer mid to high-end Lian Li case will give the TJ09 a run for its money. Even Silverstone's own FT01 and upcoming FT02 incorporate a lot of new features the TJ09 doesn't have. The appearance of the TJ09 is great - it just needs a refresh with updated features.

Isn't the fan at the back of the case an intake? I know on my TJ07 the two rear fans are intakes and the top fans are exhaust.

No, the rear fan is typically set as an exhaust because having it as an intake would negate the fan(s) on the CPU HSF, which typically blow hot air out the back of the case. Theoretically, you could set the rear to intake and have the HSF exhaust towards the top but this is not the standard setup.

 

[E.T]

Even Silverstone's own FT01 and upcoming FT02 incorporate a lot of new features the TJ09 doesn't have.

In FT01 they've blocked front intake fan with way too dense HDD spacing (four max with cooling space) and restrictive cage/plastic trays system:
However, the graphics card misses out on much of the cool air from the top 180mm, which is swiftly removed by the 120mm exhaust and because the front 180mm intake is significantly blocked by the large drive cage assembly the GPU performance suffers terribly as a result.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2008/10/20/silverstone-ft01-review/5

FT02 again has very good airflow for motherboard area but takes only three HDDs with cooling and that only if you don't use lowermost 5.25" bay.
Silverstone seems to have serious problems in making balanced designs.

 

[jterp7]

Assuming you don't use over three HDs, you can remove the top tray and cooling is perfectly fine. If you have a need to have 4 or more HDs you're probably a LL guy anyways. Seriously ET, the FT01 is great for 90% of the buyers looking at it, though I'd consider the FT02, the FT01 is a more conventional design that most builders would be used to. That and I didn't need to create a handle to move the thing.

 

[NMFord]

I haven't got a TJ09 but I do have TJ10b and the only annoyance is the lack of dust filters and the centre fan gets very dusty and removing it is a lengthy process

 

[jterp7]

That's the one thing about the FT02 that I love; the three intake fans have very accessible and easy to remove filters. For the the FT01, the upper filter requires some finesse to remove, but so far its been fairly clean, the bottom one I've already cleaned a few times, but thats very easy to get to. The interior is spotless after 4 months even though it sits on the floor of a carpeted room.

 

[Ockie]

Hard to clean
Drive area can be congested
Cabling is a little more trickier
Case is heavy
Big case for what it holds


Otherwise it's a great case. I owned all the TJ's out there and aside from the 07, this one was my favorite. There are other options such as corsairs new case, which looks quite promising.

 

[Blackstone]

Does TJ09's mid section fan and exhaust actually provide any actual videocard cooling benefit or is it just theoretical?

 

[Blackstone]

My other question is, do you think I could successfully clean up the cables from a large nonmodular power supply like a PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750 in this case?

 

[Dan_D]

Does TJ09's mid section fan and exhaust actually provide any actual videocard cooling benefit or is it just theoretical?

Minimal if anything. About the only thing that does is bring some fresh air into the case. That's not all bad really, but the benefits are minimal or even close to non-existant. Really what you get with that fan setup is turbulence which generates some noise. The mesh grills at the front allow you to hear your hard drives quite nicely. I had Raptors, then Velociraptors in mine so I wasn't exactly pleased there. Finally I have SSD's and the problem is much more minimal.

I have a TJ-09 and its a great case with few faults. Among those faults are:

1.) Thin side panels. Not a massive deal, but you can't run too much wiring behind the mobo tray without warping the side panels.
2.) Due to the location of the side mesh/vents, it is easy to hear the hard drives being accessed. It is kind of annoying at times.
3.) Side vents are ugly.
4.) USB/microphone popup panel could be better. It feels rough, and it noisy. It could have been made to operate more smoothly. This could be a fault with mine specifically, but this is the only one I've worked with thus far so I can't say.
5.) At the bottom of the motherboard tray there is a large and very thick support bracket. This prevents video cards from hanging off the last expansion slot. Since many X58 boards place their last PCI-Express x16 slot at the very bottom edge of the board, this slot becomes useless for dual slot cooling solution equipped cards.
6.) Drive cages use special screws. Misplace them and life sucks. (Trust me I know.)
7.) Hard drive cage cooling could be improved. The location of the fan in between the two cards allows for too much air restriction. However this is offset by the open mesh side vents on either side of the drive cage. This creates extra noise, but adds ambient airflow. 8.) Drives do stay adequately cool, but it isn't a sensible system. Especially when all bays are populated.
9.) Rear/side support brace makes card installation and removal harder than it needs to be without removing the motherboard tray. It is really hard to remove the cards with certain screw drivers. Namely, all my favorite screw drivers.
10.) Cable management needs desparate improvement. (It isn't the worst I've seen, but I have seen much better. )

It is a good case and it really has more going for it than against it. I'm really nit picking. In fact over the last few months or so I've had this case, I've only recently run into many of these issues. Complaints 5 & 6 are examples of that. The bulk of the issues are things I've only run into on occasion. #9 being an example of that. This is only a problem when changing cards, which I don't do too regularly. I did do this quite a bit switching between my Geforce GTX 280 OC SLI setup and my 4870 X2 CrossfireX setup.

 

[E.T]

Does TJ09's mid section fan and exhaust actually provide any actual videocard cooling benefit or is it just theoretical?

"Design by marketing clowns for marketing clowns."
It's supposed to allow better intake airflow than front intake but does it look like that intake fan has much chance for giving good airflow with that very tiny holed restrictive mesh in front of it?
http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/articles/2007/01/14144018454l.jpg

Advertising is legalized lying so instead of reading ads they're best used for wiping rear and only looking actual pictures tells are those features real and even beneficial.

The mesh grills at the front allow you to hear your hard drives quite nicely

It's not only about direct noise escape path but hard screw mounting is even more responsible for HDD noise by amplifying vibration noise.

 

[Blackstone]

Right now I own a TJ07 but I like the aesthetics of TJ09 better. I am doing some builds for some friends and I would like to present them with something really impressive looking. I feel like TJ07 has a face only an enthusiast could love whereas TJ09 looks more polished and clean.

 

[Dan_D]

It's not only about direct noise escape path but hard screw mounting is even more responsible for HDD noise by amplifying vibration noise.

I don't believe that's the case. The HDD cage has the rubber along the sides of the drive and the screws, when tightened securely are no worse than any other solution I've seen.

Right now I own a TJ07 but I like the aesthetics of TJ09 better. I am doing some builds for some friends and I would like to present them with something really impressive looking. I feel like TJ07 has a face only an enthusiast could love whereas TJ09 looks more polished and clean.

I can agree with that. I really never liked the looks of the TJ-07 or really any of Silverstone's cases until I saw the TJ-09.

 

[E.T]

I don't believe that's the case. The HDD cage has the rubber along the sides of the drive and the screws, when tightened securely are no worse than any other solution I've seen.

Question is not about loose rattling or like that, those good old non-elastic screws already conduct vibration to cage structure and that always amplifies noise.
Even relatively small and sturdy metal piece is enough. That was one of my problems with Stacker. Before installing new drives I tested them on soft surface: very near silent. After putting them to sturdy and quite heavy steel cage of Stacker rotational noise was very easily noticeable.

 

[-=WooDWorKeR420=-]

I have owned this case for a little while now, and from the moment i first installed everything i loved this case. However there has been one small issue that has plagued me from day one. I have mounted 4 120mm fans around this case, one over the HDD, 2x at the top, and one at the back near the top.
There has been a constant rattling noise when the pc is on. I think it is caused by the fans in the rear @ the top exhaust b/c these are the only fans that are pressure fit, in those fan mounting brackets, however the noise stops when i put any pressure anywhere on the case, so its a bit more diff. to be sure of where the noise is actually coming from.

 

[jterp7]

sounds like something is loose..easiest way is to check out the problem with the side panel off.

 

[lostnkonfused]

I have owned this case for a little while now, and from the moment i first installed everything i loved this case. However there has been one small issue that has plagued me from day one. I have mounted 4 120mm fans around this case, one over the HDD, 2x at the top, and one at the back near the top.
There has been a constant rattling noise when the pc is on. I think it is caused by the fans in the rear @ the top exhaust b/c these are the only fans that are pressure fit, in those fan mounting brackets, however the noise stops when i put any pressure anywhere on the case, so its a bit more diff. to be sure of where the noise is actually coming from.

I had the same problem. It was vibrational noise from the motherboard tray/side panels screws because they were not tight enough. Also it could be the rear fan not being screwed down tight enough as well.

 

[Blackstone]

The vibrational issue is not specific to TJ09. I have a TJ07 and I have the same problem from time to time. I found tightening the guards protecting the rear fans on the back of the case helped.

 

[-=WooDWorKeR420=-]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have investigated with the case side off, and still have had limited success. I did discover one day that a substantial amount of vibration and noise was coming from the fan located above the hard drive, as this fan also "snaps" into place. I will try tightening the fan in the rear, and its respective fan guard, as well as double check all thumb screws to ensure they are tight. I will update you on my findings.

 

[Dan_D]

I haven't had the vibration issues some mentioned here with mine.