CoolIT Boreas MTEC Chassis Review

Exterior Impressions Con'td

The front of this unit is probably the one area where the Boreas TJ07 differs from a regular TJ07 as this customized version has only room for three 5.25” drive bays. This may be considered a negative by some, but for most people 3 bays should be more than enough room for future expansion. As you can see, the front panel is very clean and devoid of any garish or extraneous goo-gaws which are found on some other models. Some manufactures think that an expensive case needs lots and lots of bells and whistles, where as I prefer the simplicity and elegance which Silverstone is so well known for. Please don’t get us wrong all the standard features like USB, headphone and power buttons are there its just that this TJ07 has a very clean look to it.

These clean good looks are in part do to the fact it only has 3 free drive bays, but what is more important than this number is how the unusable space has been covered up. In a cheap custom job the drive bays which are occupied by the Boreas would just have blanking panels over them. However, CoolIT in their normal perfectionist M.O. instead had a custom front done up and the metal which the front is made up. I am sure this was not a cheap option as it means a whole new front has to fabricated for their product but this really does underscore how much time, love and attention to details CoolIT lavishes on all their products.


As we continue our walk around of the case, we come to the other side panel. This side panel is not just a flat slab of a metal panel as you find on some cases, rather it plays an important role in the internal air flow (aka Fluid Dynamics) of this case. As with all TJ07s, the bottom of the case has another mesh portion which usually allows the hard drive fans to exhaust hot air out the side of the case. As mentioned earlier the Boreas Chassis has two exhaust fans for the TEC unit so this other side panel needs an extra vent or mesh grill or some other means of allowing hot air out of the case (otherwise the internal temps would skyrocket from all the hot air the Boreas “produces”).


This is another great example of CoolIT taking the time to go that extra mile and not only keep the elegance and good looks of the TJ07 but to actually enhance them. As we said, they could have simply stuck another fan grill here or had some holes punched and this would probably have been acceptable. However, instead of taking the easy (and cheap) way out CoolIT went for the full meal deal. As you can see CoolIT cut a hole which is just big enough for the exhaust fan to sit flush with, and yes it does then have a metal grill protecting it. They then went ahead and had a another piece of that extra thick Plexiglas mounted around it so as to turn what could have been an eye sore into an asset. This level of quality and level of fit and finish really makes this a true custom job and goes along way to explaining the cost of the unit. Work like this takes time to do and it more importantly it takes skilled labor who are not being rushed to do this consistently from chassis to chassis.


The top and bottom of this unit are typical to all other Silverstone TJ07 cases. This is not a bad thing as you get very neat and down right beautiful lines on the top as well as more of the high quality mesh hiding two 120mm top intake/exhaust fans, as well as some really good and sturdy feet. We merely are pointing out the top and bottom to give you a full 360 view of this amazing piece of kit; but also to highlight that CoolIT’s engineers know when to NOT mess with perfection.


The back of the case is just like the top and bottom of the case as it has not been modified by CoolIT. At the top you have where the motherboard resides and next to it are two 92mm fans (as with all TJ07s all fan locations come filled and ready to go!). While it would have been nice to have seen 120mm fans here, it is really not necessary as there are plenty of great 92mm fans on the marker today, Two 120mm fans on top and two on the back should create more than enough air flow to keep even the hottest, passively cooled motherboard happy.

Continuing down the back you have room for your peripherals and a large rectangle stamped opening to allow for passive air movement. At the bottom of the case you have room for two power supplies, but if you are going to use two, make sure they are the older style which cools from front to back and not the newer style which sucks air in from a larger top-mounted fan.