SilverStone explains why the TJ11 is so expensive
The TJ11 is an enormous case, but SilverStone says there are other reasons why it's so expensive
When we reviewed the TJ11 back in April, it could have been easy to hail it as the long-awaited replacement for the venerable and much sought-after TJ07. However, while it offered vastly superior air cooling to its predecessor, the TJ11 also retailed for more than double the price of a TJ07 at the time.
The first snippet of information SilverStone told us was that it actually takes far more time to make a TJ11 than it does to make a TJ07. In fact, it's only able to get five TJ11s out the door in the same time it takes to manufacture 50 TJ07s.
A part of the reason for this is that the case is bigger and more complicated - this much we already knew. However, the TJ11's internal aluminium parts are also sand-blasted and anodised, while the TJ07 only receives chromate treatment. The TJ11's dual-layered aluminium panels also play a part in its price tag - it's a beast of a case that will certainly stand the test of time, but the panels require much more work.
We'll be back soon with a feature on SilverStone's unibody manufacturing process, variations of which are used in both the TJ11 and TJ07. In the meantime, we've also spotted one of the first modding projects to involve the company's giant case - recent Mod of the Month winner Kier is current hard at work on his latest project, which is simply called Silverstone TJ11 Carbon.
What do you make of the TJ11? Do you think SilverStone went a step too far with the price tag? Let us know in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyRemember these.....?? http://www.trustedreviews.com/Asetek-VapoChill-XE-II-Refrigerated-PC-Case_Peripheral_review
now that was a case....a bit ugly yeh but u got all the cooling kit with it..... and they were around the price of a TJ11.....so why pay soooooo much for an empty box?????
Always buy the best and make sure to have a backup monitor, kb and mouse ready to be plugged in if the primary one fails!
S*D
Which slaves are making these things? Chinese, Vietnamese or the almost never mentioned Japanese slaves? I just looked it up. They're Taiwanese, so that means Chinese slave labour. How many kilo's of rice do you think these cases are actually worth to you, my dear readers? Especially when your rice pilaf is colored with the blood of the downtrodden and oppressed?
Whenever you buy that item with the "Made in China" label, you're financially supporting the system that destroys so many lives, each and every day. As long as you pay the master, the slave will surely suffer and die.
Ain't a "free economy" grand? Enjoy!
The link is on the 1st line, http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/04/08/silverstone-temjin-tj11-review/1 but I agree... sloppy writing/editing given that the price/value is up for discussion
It's £474.90 now so you can save a whopping 28 pence... w00t
In fairness I think many of us (some of us anyway) get upset not so much at the given price of something, but at the fact that many products simply cost 30-35%+ more here than in other countries - and that's after all taxes have been stripped out and you're comparing the ex. VAT prices. It obviously doesn't happen on all products, but it happens enough to be damned irritating. And not just on hardware, but on software too: stuff that is downloaded (hence no shipping fees) doesn't need translating, and so has absolutely no excuse for the huge mark-up.
That's what winds me up anyway.
I understand your point re: the Rolls Royce analogy, that value is obviously a subjective thing with diminishing returns the higher up the scale you go, but even with a Rolls Royce you can still compare values. You can't fairly compare it to a Honda Civic like azazel suggested, but you can compare it to similar class cars: a Bentley, a Mercedes S-Class, a Maybach 57 etc. If the Rolls cost £285k, with the Bently £133k, the S-Class £165k and the Mayback £280k, then you can look at it and say the Rolls is dear, but it's reasonably priced compared to the competition - whereas if it cost, say £585k, you can say it's bad value for money full stop - even for a high-end luxury product with an expected premium.
I think Bit-tech are right to include value scores - people can easily enough look at the other scoring criteria and decide whether it's worth the premium to them...
The issue is, they missed the "high end" price level altogether. Sorry for using german euro prices as a base for comparison, but i find hard to find UK shops which sell all the stuff i'm going to compare.
TJ11B-W with window is 559,90 EUR, while Lian Li PC-V2120X Big-Tower is 399 euros and Lian Li PC-X2000FB TYR - 379 euros ? True, they don't have a window, but does a 160-180 euro price bonus really justifies that ?
Simply, Silverstone overestimated what people will and can buy (or justify to buy), and now dislikes that their sales are not where they expected it to be.
Dear Silverstone, if it is so hard to produce, so expensive to produce, maybe it is time to create TJ11L aka Lite. Use the older, cheaper technology, use single layer panels etc etc...
Get the price down to the usual high end case price range (300-400 euros max), and you will get customers. At 500+ euro price range, you will whine why customers aren't buying.
You know, the most ugliest part of the case is that hole in middle. I mean, seriously ?
Me too, at least on the first two as I needed a case that could hold 2 psus and do water cooling too, But when one is disabled and receiving SSI-D(Supplemental Security Income - Disability here in the USA), It would take Me a while before I could buy it, so it's the less expensive route for Me to just buy an add-on case instead.
Yup or they just don't care about the price
BTW sandblasting and anodizing don't take that long if you do it right
All I can say is they probably screwed the pooch on the manufacturing end. 1/10th the build time is way off base, unless it was completely hand-built or offered revolutionary performance.
Also whatever happened to those phase changers, at those prices it would be neat to see a phase change unit again. I remember thinking "whoah" when I saw the vapochill back in the day... now the case seems dated and the concept dead as you can hit 4ghz on air.
http://www.overclock.net/case-mod-work-logs/1061529-build-log-project-supernova-tj11-fully.html
It's just gonna get dremeled anwyay :P
Nice link to the Vapochill rig. I remember my XE II unit all too well....
The pricing is simply a supply and demand thing.
If you don't buy, they will be forced to reduce their costs and in turn do their job better. Why should the consumer subsidize lazy manufacturing....?
The analogy of 50 to 5 is irrelevant because the TJ07 was at the end of it's life cycle, and has been optimised as this is where THEY have chosen to invest.
This item has been priced to make them money, which in the current clime is somewhat insensitive, but a valid and well practised tactic.
£500 for an ali case is ridiculous though. At least they haven't said "it's the price of aluminium" which is a standard response.
A business makes a product and then sells it to make a profit, and you call this insensitive?
What do you suggest they do?
Well, clearly they don't sell them enough, if they whine about people whining about price :).
This move prices them out of the mass market and turns them back into a low volume high premium manufacturer. There's a market, but I for one certainly am not going to be party to their consumer mugging.
THIS.
Just because you linked to your review with the price in it doesn't mean we all should have to go click on it to read what should have been in the article in the first place.
The TJ11 is not marketed towards 'Average Joe' and although I am not privy to sales figures I would be willing to bet it is hitting targets. Christ, even the TJ07 wasn't aimed at Average Joe.
And where do you get the £200 price tag for Lian Li's?
Some examples
X500 £250.78
X1000 £275.98
B71b £287.96
P80b £292.76
X900b £335.03
X2000 £357.25
X900r £359.99
A77FR £383.96
2120x £399.97
X2000FB £400.39
This case is not marketed at people like you.
I suggest you do some research before you make wild assumptions.
I think even Lian Li can see a market for high end ultra expensive cases.
So Silverstone puts 20% premium over the other most expensive highend case (X2000FB) and you say they have their pricing right ?
And about hitting targets - do you really think this news post would be there if they would be "hitting their targets" ? It is clear that they are not satisfied with the number of sales, otherwise they wouldn't complain about users complaining about the price.
Yes
Yes, unless you can show me the sales and target figures of the TJ11?
Even bespoke build Little Devil are cheaper than that, imported from Lithuania or somewhere (or now from Specialtech.co.uk)
The only thing that makes these cases this expensive is the name Silverstone, and that is on this specific model. Other models of theirs are more expensive, but not priced this wide of the mark.
The "cost to produce" quote is misleading - the price they are charging has nothing to do with the cost which goes into producing the case, and likewise it has nothing to do with the "market value" as it is WAY outside of that. What was your point?
This case has a downright bad value, since you can get a lot of cases with just about the same features and quality for a substantial lower price. You will have to lose one or two fearues, such as the 90 degree turned motherboard tray, but that won't justify the price difference.
There is a marked for it however, there will always be people who don't care about the price, and people who need a 90 degree turned motherboard tray, room for a shitload of radiators and 2 PSU, but it still won't make it good value.
and superb quality. when you mod a case, how many times do you dismantel and place back parts? with the TJ11 this is real easy to do.
Ok it's a lot of money, but this case is certainly modders heaven
I wouldn't pay £400 either for it - quite happy with my £160 Coolermaster ATCS 840 thanks.
Coolermaster 690 II Advanced here. Happy with mine too.
The issue is that there are better cases for less and better cases for around the same price.
In marketing terms they have exceeded the market value of a PC case with this product and therefore this will have an effect on unit sales, reagardless of them coming out crying 'we can;t make it any cheaper' because that being the situation, this case should not of been released.