SilverStone's Temjin TJ06 full tower case
Standing ATX on its head
by Tuan Huynh — 12:01 AM on March 3, 2005

THE ATX specification was first introduced to the PC world ten years ago. Since then, it has had no problems keeping the latest and greatest processors cool, at least on the AMD side of things. However, Intel's portable space heater, er, Prescott has pushed the cooling capabilities of ATX. Intel introduced BTX to help control Prescott's burgeoning thermal envelope, but the form factor has thus far received lackluster industry support.

BTX does have some good features, including a front-to-back airflow path for cooling the processor. This airflow path allows colder outside air to reach the processor first, ideally keeping the CPU cooler while generating less noise. Disappointingly, the BTX specification is apparently incompatible with Athlon 64 platforms (due to placement of the DIMMs too far from the A64's on-board memory controller.) However, a BTX-style airflow path can be employed in ATX systems.

SilverStone has borrowed BTX’s airflow path to create the new Temjin TJ06 enclosure. The TJ06 brings BTX-style cooling to the tried-and-true ATX platform by flipping the motherboard upside-down and moving a few things around. And unlike BTX cases, the TJ06 works with existing ATX hardware. Is it a cooler, quieter, potentially better take on ATX? Read on to find out.

   
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