Missy Elliott once said something about “flip it and reverse it” and I guess somebody at SilverStone took it to heart. As our first piece of wild conjecture, we’re going to assume some engineer somewhere within the company decided to see what would happen if you put the standard back vents in a case on the top, just for kicks. Heat rises after all, so why not move all the hot air out the top instead of the back?
It must have been a good idea, or at least a good question. At CES this year we got to see the answer to that question in the form of the SilverStone Raven RV01. It’s a massive case with pretty aggressive styling but it was quirky. SilverStone won accolades for innovation but nobody gets things perfect on their first try and SilverStone was no exception. We’re glad they weren’t discouraged because today we have the SilverStone Raven RV02.
The Raven RV02 is a refined take on the RV01’s concept. Gone are the ridicucrazy mecha-angled styling cues, the cute but impractical bay door, and massive footprint. Instead we get more fans, a better motherboard tray, and svelte looks.
Here are the specifications:
Material: Reinforced plastic outer shell, 0.8mm steel body.
Color: Matte black
External Drive Bay: 5.25″ x 5 or 8 (without hard drive)
Internal Drive Bay: 3.5″ x 3 (w/ suspension system), 2.5” x 1 for SSD
Cooling System: Top 1 x 120mm exhaust fan, 950rpm, 18dBA
Cooling System: Bottom 3 x 180mm intake fan 700/1000rpm, 18/27dBA
Expansion Slots: 8 with support for cards up to 10.5″ in length
Front I/O Port: 2x USB 2.0, audio, and x1 Mic
Net Weight: 12.5kg (27.6lbs)
Dimension: 212mm (W) x 503mm (H) x 643mm (D)
Inside the massive box we found the RV02 packed well in a soft protective bag, along with a handy manual and a box full of mounting equipment and screws. Sliding the slipcover off the case, we found that the RV02 is crazy long.
You’ll need over two feet of depth to slide this into your desk, compared to a usual case that requires less than 18 inches. In every other regard, it looks like a normal case. That is, until you realize the window is on the “wrong” side.
The Raven RV02's accessories.
The old Raven had problems with cable length, namely, most cables weren’t long enough. To rectify the situation, SilverStone mounts the motherboard in the RV02 on the opposite side of the case compared to your standard tower configuration. This puts the CPU and memory close to the back of the case where the PSU is and moves the motherboard’s front panel connectors and SATA connectors close to the front of the case and the drive bays. Such a simple change makes working in the RV02 much easier and increases compatibility.
Top o the Raven to ye!
Cards and cables come out the top.
Of course, in order to work in the RV02, you’ve gotta figure out how to get it open. The back of the case is bare save for a fan grill and filter. Same goes for the bottom of the case. It’s just a mass of air intakes. We had to get the manual out just to figure out how to open the case. Turns out, the vented top panel pops off with a firm tug, exposing the expansion slots, motherboard header, and a large 120mm exhaust fan. With the top piece off, the side panels were easily removed following the removal of two thumbscrews.
Inside the Raven RV02.
With both side panels removed, the case really opens up. There’s a ton of room in it. SilverStone says there’s so much room that users can fit massive over-sized enthusiast motherboards like the EVGA X58 SLI Classified and ASUS Rampage II Extreme. It’ll even take dual Xeon SSI-CEB form factor server boards if you’re game. Same goes for video cards; it’ll take a 10.5″ long GTX 295 or HD 4870X2 without issues.
The three 180mm intake fans.
With a unique case layout, it seemed like a good idea to read the directions once again when assembling everything.
The power supply went in first. Even with the PSU’s screw mounts located below the back cable guide/handle at the top rear corner of the case, SilverStone was considerate enough to provide small cutouts in the plastic to allow a screwdriver direct access to the PSU mounting screws.
The SilverStone crew seems to care a lot about PSU mounting–in the Raven RV02, the PSU doesn’t just mount with the four traditional screws. It also has a bracket to support the underside, and a hook-and-loop adjustable strap to fasten it to the motherboard tray! We didn’t use that stuff. Tested it, sure, but didn’t use it in the end. It works just fine, by the way.
Attaching the PSU.
Next to go in was the motherboard. It went in without a hitch. Same went for the DVD drive. After removing the 5.25″ drive bay cover using the tip of our screwdriver, we were a bit shocked to see that the Raven RV02 has metal plates that must be broken off. We see this on $50 cases, but on $200 cases it seems a bit vulgar. In any case, the offending plate popped right off and we were back in business.
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