SilverStone TJ07-W

Verdict: Awesome for a water-cooled PC, but it can't handle an overclocked GTX 280.

The TJ07-W is one of the older cases included in this Labs test, having been in production for more than two years. This is a long time in the PC industry, so it's amazing that other manufacturers haven't integrated elements of the TJ07-W's revolutionary design into their own models.

The TJ07-W has two major selling points, only one of which can be seen from the outside of the case. The outer shell is made from a single sheet of aluminium bent into a U-shape so that there are no annoying joins or holes in the front panel. The end result is the best-looking high-end case we've seen in years, whether it's the black or silver version of the TJ07-W.

The second big selling point is the division of the interior into two separate chambers by a large aluminium shelf. The lower chamber is cooled by two 120mm fans that move air through massive grilles in each side panel, and houses two removable 3.5in drive cages (each holding three drives) and two PSU bays. The upper chamber contains the motherboard and seven 5.25in bays. This means that heat from the PSU and hard disks is separated from the motherboard and expansion cards. Rather than the usual front-to-back cooling system, the main chamber is cooled by two 92mm intake fans on the back panel and two 120mm fans in the roof. These provide excellent cooling for the area around the CPU socket, but also mean that the expansion slots don't have a direct source of fresh air from outside the case.

Due to its size and removable E-ATX-compatible motherboard tray, building or upgrading a system inside the TJ07-W is a pleasant experience. There are several different-sized holes in the shelf between the two chambers through which to route cables or water-cooling tubing. The reason the TJ07-W is so good for water cooling is that the 3.5in drive bay cages can be removed from the lower chamber, allowing the freed-up space to be used for anything up to a quad 120mm-fan radiator without interfering with the airflow in the upper chamber. You could even install a dual 120mm-fan radiator in the roof without much effort.

As suspected, the limited airflow around the expansion cards proved to be the TJ07-W's undoing. After 34 minutes of stress testing, the GPU became so hot (102ûC) that 3DMark06 crashed, although the graphics driver didn't crash and we were able to stably run 3DMark06 again straight away.

In contrast, the CPU peaked at an incredibly low temperature of 84ûC, while the hard disk peaked at an equally incredibly low temperature of 42ûC. These are among the lowest CPU and hard disk temperatures recorded in any case in this Labs test.

The infrared camera confirmed our findings - while the GPU became very hot, the rest of the system remained cool. The maximum temperature of the area of the motherboard around the CPU socket was 47.5ûC - one of the lowest in the test. The camera also shows how the single-piece aluminium main body acts as a giant heatsink, helping to cool the PC's interior.

What the infrared photo doesn't show is that the TJ07-W was the only case in which the PWM-controlled Intel reference CPU cooler didn't rev up to maximum speed, so we weren't subjected to the sound of the screaming banshee fan at full speed for several hours.

Conclusion

The TJ07-W may be showing its age, struggling to air-cool a modern high-end PC, but it's still the best case for a water-cooled PC. Given how well it cools the CPU and surrounding area, it's arguable that you could use water cooling on your graphics cards while using air cooling for the CPU. Even so, the disappointing graphics card cooling means that the TJ07-W is no longer worthy of a Premium Grade Approved Award. The TJ07-W is still king of water-cooling cases, but it's no longer the king when it comes to air cooling.