SilverStone SST-TJ04 PC Case

Supplied by SilverStone Technology

The SilverStone Technology SST-TJ04 Gloria PC
case rivals the aesthetic
appeal of the likes of Lian Li. SilverStone’s goal is to produce
a product that has all the features a PC enthusiast would want plus be easy
to work with. The SST-TJ04 Gloria excels in some areas but may fall short in
others.

The SST-TJ04 has a brushed aluminum bezel with a high gloss “mirror coating”
chassis cover. The framework is steel and is the reason why the SST-TJ04 weighs
in at 11.3 kilograms. This is just shy of 25 pounds.

Specifications

The SST-TJ04 is a great PC case at first glance. It’s well-machined. The paint
is a high gloss and it looks impressive but that’s at a first glance. The rear
area features an 80, 90 or 120 mm. exhaust fan mounting.

The bottom grill area servers no other purpose except for a
pseudo look of additional cooling vents.

The side panel features two lockable latches top and bottom. Opening and closing
the side panel was trouble-free. Just make sure that the right side fits correctly
to the rolled metal “hinge” area.

There are four USB ports, a 1394 port and audio connections behind the push-latch
door. The front connection door present no problems opening and closing.

The bottom features four rubberized footpads with a band of faux aluminum.

This is one of those “at first glance” shots. At first glance there appears
to be a lot to the TJ04 and indeed there is. The four external 5.25″ drive
bays, one of the two floppy bays and the four 3.5: internal drive bays all
have screw less, quick-release mounts.

Begin with the 3.5″ drive cage. It’s removable. There are two thumbscrews
top and bottom. The drive cage slides out.

The drive cage was easy to remove and replace. The chassis guides are of better
design than some Lian Li cases which can be a bit troublesome when putting
the drive cage back.

The supplied 21 dBA 120 mm. fan is exposed but isn’t removable until the front
bezel is removed. It is recommended this fan be moved to the rear of the PC
case. Exhaust fans always do a better job at cooling a PC than an intake fan.

The drive cage was easy enough but it took some pondering when it came to
the 5.25″ bays.

Tool-less design is nothing new but how to remove the drive bay bezel plates?
On most cases of similar design the front drive bay bezel plates just pop out
with a nudge. On the SST-TJ04 they didn’t budge because they were secured in
place by one screw as seen in the image below. The bay covers easily popped
out once that screw was removed.

The drive bay cover came out so easily that it deserves attention.

The bar across the bay cover is like a spring latch. Reach inside the 5.25″
bays and the slightest finger pressure releases the catch and the bay cover
comes out with ease. In our opinion it’s a better design than Lian Li’s friction
mount.

It isn’t the same with the floppy bay and this is where the SST-TJ04 lacked.

There are two screws that hold the floppy drive covers into place; one for
top and bottom bays. The top screw was removed (which is hidden on right behind
the purple quick release catch) and it seemed natural to try to pop out the
bay cover from the inside.

Except it didn’t happen. The space is tight and awkward and that floppy bay
cover wasn’t coming out because there were bay cover screws on the opposite
side. Would this mean the cowling would have to be removed?

There’s a latch. It’s that flange with the word “PUSH” written on it near
the center of the preceding image. “Pushing” it didn’t help much. More screws.
There is one on the right side and below that secure the floppy cage to the
bezel.

A removable floppy cage is a welcome addition but SilverStone may need to
do a little reengineering to make the cage easier to remove and to reinsert.
The cage was troublesome to reinsert due to the process requiring the spring
loaded latch to be depressed and the mounts were a bit awkward to engage but
how often is the floppy cage going to removed anyway?

The cowling is removable by way of two screws on the side;
front and back. There are five more at the rear.

The cowling slides back and lifts off. Yes…it’s a one piece design.

Is a one piece cowling good or bad? If it is easy to remove and replace then
no. Having the top exposed and accessible is actually quite handy. There is
now access from the top to the 5.25″ devices or the PSU area.

The SST-TJ04 cowling wasn’t terribly
difficult to remove or replace.

The motherboard tray isn’t removable.

Some wiring could be hidden behind the motherboard tray.

The PCI area has the seven standard slots and SilverStone includes a generic
backplane guard for the motherboard.

The PCI slot covers are held in place by screws.

The PSU area has a lip either side to support the PSU. Just hold onto the
PSU while installing. Those lips are too close to the rear of the case and
the PSU has a tendency to tip back and fall down if not supported by hand during
installation. Best to lay the case on its side during this process.

There are six screws to remove the front bezel. They are
located three each side in behind the chassis bezel area.

The bezel is aluminum and very well machined. The face is brushed and the
edges have be routered. The sides have a bubble coat.

Behind the front bezel are the mounting screws for the 80-90-120 mm. fan.
The front bezel has to be removed to gain access. A suggestion would be to
get a thin filter pad from a hardware store and affix it to the fan area to
reduce dust intake.

Filter material should not be too thick because of the wiring for the power,
reset and LEDs on the inside of the front bezel.

Installation

The SST-TJ04 Gloria has a few quirks. The first is the motherboard tray.

The review sample came with five screw in stand-offs in place but ATX motherboards
typically have six attachment points. The center mounting point and right side
mounting points could not be utilized. SilverStone did not include the proper
clips or the motherboard tray was poorly designed. Here is why.

Most have seen the snap-in motherboard mounts but the holes are the wrong
shape. The included mounts in the parts bag are useless.

The other quirk is with the quick releases. Tool-less design is very handy
but this particular design requires some fiddling around with.

The mechanism has a locking tab. This is good. Once the drive is installed
it can be locked into place. The quirk is with the actual installation. The
mechanism works by way of two teeth that line up with the screw holes on the
device being installed. Slide the tab all the way to the OPEN position and
the two teeth are forced up out of the way. The latch feels like it is a two
position mechanism but it isn’t. This can be deceiving when attempting to install
a drive. If the latch isn’t pushed all the way to the OPEN position then the
drive could be troublesome to slide in. The teeth aren’t completely out of
the way and could catch the drive at the wrong places. This design requires
“eyeballing” the alignment of teeth to drive screw holes.

It’s tool-less and does not require brackets to be screwed to the side of
a drive but can be a bit “fiddly.”

The third quirk is minor and could be easily remedied by a simple label. The
front USB, 1394 and audio wires are overwhelming for the novice PC builder.

There are a lot of connections but which is which? the USB wires and 1394
wires have VERY tiny labels that anyone would have to squint to see.

The remedy for this would be larger flag labels to designate which wire goes
to what.

Conclusions

Two words; slick and black. There’s no question that the SilverStone TJ04
Gloria looks good. This case must have black-faced devices installed. Beige
just won’t do. A black brushed aluminum rheobus would be a good addition to
tame the 120 mm. fans when not required. The SST-TJ04 is also a fingerprint
magnet. Small children with grubby little hands should stay away. Get the glass
cleaner and a soft cloth (no paper towel lint on this case) after setup is
complete.

The missing mounts on the motherboard tray require immediate attention by
SilverStone. It doesn’t present a huge problem but be aware of it when pressing
down on the right, unsupported side of the motherboard. The SST-TJ04 isn’t
completely tool-less. A few screws on the drive bay covers still need to be
removed before device installation but these may be more for shipping purposes
rather than operational. The removable floppy and hard drive bays are great.
Nothing makes life easier than installing devices OUT of the PC case. The tool-less
design of the hard drive cage and 5.25″ bays proved to be finicky when inserting
or removing drives. Hardware could catch on the clip teeth.

There’s no doubt that SilverStone is releasing product that has a formal and
classy appeal. These PC cases most certainly won’t be hidden under a desk.
They’ll be out in the open for all to notice.

Our thanks to SilverStone for
their support of this and many other sites.