Silverstone Raven RV03: User review, lessons learned, and build log

Imitation said:
I'm liking this case a fair amount but the raven's and FT02's really aren't as watercooling friendly as I'd like. If i had my choice I would have made it an inch longer, and added a second grating on the back for another fan to allow a dual 120 rad to be mounted there. that'd solve not only my wish for a more watercooling friendly case, but it'd allow you guys to put an intake blowing directly into your video card intake like you wanted.

Oh well, not like that's going to change anytime soon. :(
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I really wouldn't use this case for watercooling. It just doesn't have enough space for the type of internal watercooling setups I prefer. That TJ11 has plenty of space, but it is mucho expensive.

I agree the rear panel could be tweaked to give air and water coolers some additional options. Making it an extra 25mm long would allow you to install fans in the rear without interfering with the 8th expansion slot area.

Although, come to think of it, you could install the fan on the outside of the case and route the fan cable through the top pretty easily (probably without needing an extension), and use a screw-on fan filter if you so desire. You'd have a fan hanging out the back, which wouldn't be as streamlined looking, but it would let you have the extra fan in the rear and still use the 8th expansion slot if you need it for some reason.
 
Thanks a lot for the great hands on report. Very insightful. I had my eyes set on RV02-E but when I saw this case I got interested.
Do you think I can fit a mobile HDD tray/receiver mount with the length of about 9 inches fit in the front 5.25 bay with some clearance to the right side of the motherboard or the CPU heatsink? I really would like to know this so that I can go with one that does(either RV02 or RV03).
How much space does it have lengthwise for the front 5.25 bay?

Again, I really appreciate your report here.
 
No way you'll get a 9" deep 5.25" device into a RV02-E or FT02 w/o losing some mobo slots, they've got about 7" depth to the end of the mobo. RV02 has slightly different guts, so I'm not sure about that. And no idea on the RV03.
 
I wonder if the RV03 has little more room(length) in the front bays than the RV02. I hope Balthazor measure the length and post it here.
BTW, I'm pretty sure RV02 has little more length in that section. I know they have almost the same interior but RV02 is actually little longer(deeper). One of the reason I scratched FT02 although I like the style and material of it better. There are some reviews complaining about this at Newegg. Not as much with RV02.
 
blix9 said:
Do you think I can fit a mobile HDD tray/receiver mount with the length of about 9 inches fit in the front 5.25 bay with some clearance to the right side of the motherboard or the CPU heatsink? I really would like to know this so that I can go with one that does(either RV02 or RV03).
How much space does it have lengthwise for the front 5.25 bay?
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You've got 205mm of depth in the topmost 5.25 bay, and 220mm of depth in the lower six bays. That would be after removing the fan brackets, and 220mm takes right to the edge of the motherboard.
 
This review has some comparative temp charts, RV02E vs. RV03.

RV03 is the same or better when it comes to everything but HDD cooling (right tray mounted, under motherboard.)

RV03 is a bit better for GPU and MB cooling in some scenarios, and the same in others. This may be due to the better compartmentalization of PSU and HDD heat, but I'm just guessing.

It looks like they used a single 570 GPU, P55 mobo, core i5 CPU OCed to 4 GHz, a single 500GB 7200 RPM HDD, and only stock fans (i.e., 2 x 180mm intake and 1 x 120mm exhaust.)

I think cooling of conventional HDD drives on the right tray behind the motherboard will be largely dependent on cable routing and # of drives.
 
Balthazor said:
You've got 205mm of depth in the topmost 5.25 bay, and 220mm of depth in the lower six bays. That would be after removing the fan brackets, and 220mm takes right to the edge of the motherboard.
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Thank you, Balthazor. That clarifies a lot.
 
footman says the bottom fans are quite noisy at high-speed setting. I wonder how bad it is.
I have read many RV02 user saying their fans are very quiet at low speed and still not that loud even at high although RV02 has an extra fan at the bottom. RV02 has three AP-181 fans at the bottom while RV03 has only two of them and they are the same kind of fans I believe. I find it strange and wonder why.
I know it's' very subjective observation but I wonder which one is louder and quieter at high and low setting respectively.
 
blix9 said:
footman says the bottom fans are quite noisy at high-speed setting. I wonder how bad it is.
I have read many RV02 user saying their fans are very quiet at low speed and still not that loud even at high although RV02 has an extra fan at the bottom. RV02 has three AP-181 fans at the bottom while RV03 has only two of them and they are the same kind of fans I believe. I find it strange and wonder why.
I know it's' very subjective observation but I wonder which one is louder and quieter at high and low setting respectively.
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I find my FT02 (older fans) pretty quiet. The fans are audible on high but the tone they make fades into the background and you don't notice it when using the PC. And it's dwarfed by the GPU fans when gaming anyway.

I suspect the reason you get different responses is that different people have different levels of noise tolerance for their PC's. If you're expecting a noiseless PC you might find my FT02 pretty loud.
 
Yes, the noise level perceived will vary by person to person. It would be nice if some kind of objective noise level testing was done among these cases in a same controlled setting.
I think FT02 is quieter than either RV02 or RV03. Since it has almost identical interior layout and fan configuration as RV02-E I think it's due to the sound absorbing material used on one of the side panel. I might try getting RV03 and applying same kind of material on one of its side panel.
BTW, FT02 was one of the top recommended choice at silentpcreview and it WAS my first choice.
 
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Zarathustra[H];1037139315 said:
I see you have an NZXT LX. Have you found it able to drive all the fans at max speed (if needed) with the 6W per channel limit?
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It will run them at 1800rpm top, the fan controller is a POS tbh. It jumps up and down in 100rpm bumps, so you miss the extra 50rpm's at the top. The screen is better than the Aerocool.

Biggest disappointment is a stupid reset button, just under the fan adjustment button, that resets ALL settings and time if pressed and no way to lock it in place!!!! Stupid NZXT.....
 
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Zarathustra[H];1037148289 said:
You mean like that window tint stuff? Thats a pretty good idea. I hadn't thought of that.
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I've done this to a couple of cases, modded them with an adhesive plastic from 3M that looked like carbon fiber, awesome for hiding windows, not so good on curved surfaces, but great on flat ones, let me see if I can find a link...

http://www.coolbulbs.com/carbon_fiber.asp

http://www.customautotrim.com/vinyl/carbon_fiber_vinyl.htm

http://www.protechcomposites.com/carbon-fiber-sheets

This is real carbon fibre sheeting, so can be expensive, looks awesome when modding pc cases or cars, for cheaper vinal look here,

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...on_Fiber_Modders_Vinyl_-_Black_-_48_x_48.html
 
blix9 said:
footman says the bottom fans are quite noisy at high-speed setting. I wonder how bad it is.
I have read many RV02 user saying their fans are very quiet at low speed and still not that loud even at high although RV02 has an extra fan at the bottom. RV02 has three AP-181 fans at the bottom while RV03 has only two of them and they are the same kind of fans I believe. I find it strange and wonder why.
I know it's' very subjective observation but I wonder which one is louder and quieter at high and low setting respectively.
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I've owned the RV02 and RV03, both were quiet at low speed, the RV03 definitely pushes more air at both low and high speeds than the RV02, however the fans are louder at high speed than the RV02 fans were at high speed....

I have not seen a significant differentce in internal temps at high speed, this is most likely as I have added rear 120mm fans to the hard drive cage and also 120mm fan to the rear left of the chassis by the pci slots of the mobo...
 
Does the RV02 or RV03 able to install Antec Kuhler ? I bought this to cool my i2600k and I'm thinking of getting the RV03 or RV02, but Im not sure the Antec Kuhler is compatible with these cases.

edit: NVM. Antec Kuhler 620 fits perfectly on RV02.
 
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Just ordered one from FrozenCPU and will probably use the Antec Kuhler 920 with this build.
 
footman said:
I've owned the RV02 and RV03, both were quiet at low speed, the RV03 definitely pushes more air at both low and high speeds than the RV02, however the fans are louder at high speed than the RV02 fans were at high speed....

I have not seen a significant differentce in internal temps at high speed, this is most likely as I have added rear 120mm fans to the hard drive cage and also 120mm fan to the rear left of the chassis by the pci slots of the mobo...
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Do you think they put different fans in RV03? I thought they are the same fan. Could they have changed the fan speed?
 
blix9 said:
Do you think they put different fans in RV03? I thought they are the same fan. Could they have changed the fan speed?
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Didn't the earlier RV02s have a different fan? Their website lists the original RV02 as having these fans: 3 x 180mm intake fan 700/1000rpm, 18/27dBA

The RV02E has the same fans as the RV03, the AP-181, 3 x 180mm intake fan 700/1200rpm, 18/34dBA.

So they're faster.

If you use a fan controller or mobo-controlled header you can reduce them to be as slow as 500, and up to 1300.
 
The older 180mm fans, the FN-181, lacked the fan grille and rotated slightly slower at high speed (1000 RPM vs. 1200 RPM on the newer AP-181.) The counter-rotated grille on the AP-181 is supposed to direct the air better, which apparently works, but are also louder.

Thanks to FaRKle0079 for posting his review of these fans.
 
Zarathustra[H];1037147996 said:
Well, I emailed Silverstone sales about the fact that I couldn't find a windowless version of this case anywhere, here is their response:
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Originally Posted by usasales
There is only one version available in US and is the one with the clear side panel window there are no plans to bring the one with no clear window

Thank you
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Then someone needs to tell Silverstone to take the windowless version off their specs page:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/r-spec.php?model=RV03&area=usa



To the OP and anyone else who has the Raven RV03...I was wondering, with the HDDs mounted behind the backpanel instead of traditionally in the front--- how would you rate the HDDs for noise? Does the backpanel mounting make any difference compared to a conventional case? Is there any way to elastic suspend a HDD?

Thanks.
 
Peat Moss said:
To the OP and anyone else who has the Raven RV03...I was wondering, with the HDDs mounted behind the backpanel instead of traditionally in the front--- how would you rate the HDDs for noise? Does the backpanel mounting make any difference compared to a conventional case? Is there any way to elastic suspend a HDD?
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I'm just using SSDs on my back panel, so there is no noise. But the hard drive mounts there do have rubber expandable/bouncy grommets for mounting and vibration absorption, so I would imagine conventional drives would do fine there as well.
 
Is there room on the back panel to put two normal SATA drives beside each other? I have a Raid 0 that I like to keep paired up (just for my own satisfaction!)
 
You can put up to four 3.5" HDDs on the back panel, one in each of the 'quarters' of the panel. So you could put your pair of RAID 0 drives on the left or right side, if you like. Or both top / both bottom, if you prefer.

I suppose the ideal configuration for heat would be to put one on the left and one on the right, but I really don't think HDDs generate enough heat to matter one way or another.
 
Thanks for the info Balthazor.

How is the overall temperatures in the back panel area? With a bunch (I have four in total HDDs) I would imagine it might be warm to hot overall. I guess for you it isn't an issue with SSDs.
 
Mysticode said:
Thanks for the info Balthazor.

How is the overall temperatures in the back panel area? With a bunch (I have four in total HDDs) I would imagine it might be warm to hot overall. I guess for you it isn't an issue with SSDs.
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My SSD temps in that area are in the low 20s, and those are the only sensors I have back there. I'd expect them to be high but probably reasonable.
 
How is the case after a few weeks of usage? Are you discovering anything new? Quirks? Inconvenience? Something good you did not notice before? Noise level getting higher or lower? Oh, and how is dust situation? Does the filter do a good job? Any dust build-up? It does not have the filter for a rear vent and a side vent for HDD compartment I believe.
 
ordered my RV03 from Sundial Micro on Friday, should receive in a few days.
Hope to post pics within the next week
 
blix9 said:
How is the case after a few weeks of usage? Are you discovering anything new? Quirks? Inconvenience? Something good you did not notice before? Noise level getting higher or lower? Oh, and how is dust situation? Does the filter do a good job? Any dust build-up? It does not have the filter for a rear vent and a side vent for HDD compartment I believe.
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I've only actually used the system for a few days, and then put it away until I have more time to 'play' with it. Because of this I can't really give a good verdict on dust or most other issues. I'm kind of swamped with work and move stuff still.

I did like building the system; the additional room behind the motherboard tray made cable routing pretty easy.

I ran some brief tests using a furmark-style GPU loading program, and to my surprise running the 180mm fans on high did little to reduce temps, while greatly increasing the noise of the system. Running the 180mm fans on low seemed sufficient to keep the GPUs within their operating temps. On high, the 180mm fans are definitely the loudest part of the system, far louder than the fans of the 580 GTX cards I'm using. In this tri-sli setup the hottest I could get a card was 88C (the middle card.) Running the 180mm fans on high dropped the load temps a few degrees, so I found the added noise wasn't worthwhile.

I didn't test any sort of CPU load.

I don't think the lack of filters on the rear or side is going to be an issue, as the case is designed for positive pressure; you have more air coming in through the 180mm fans than is being exhausted, so dusty outside air should not infiltrate the case through any of the nooks and crannies. If you mount intake fans on the side or rear then a filter would be needed if you wanted to keep dust to a minimum. I'm using a Silverstone magnetic filter on the outside of the rear intake fan.

The power light on the case is a bit brighter than I prefer; the whole chevron-shaped plastic bit on the top/front of the case lights up.

Overall I'm quite happy with the system. I expected a tri-sli setup to be much more noisy, but during a few gaming sessions the noise was really quite modest, and temps appear to be in check while running all case fans on low. My intent for this system was to be a powerful but relatively quiet gaming/work rig, and I think the case helped contribute to the success to the system. I'm sure a traditional motherboard orientation and tri-sli would result in higher GPU temps, with correspondingly faster fan speeds and more noise.

I'm coming from a water-cooled quad-fire setup using dual 5970s, and overall I think this Raven system is quieter in its current configuration.
 
Bal, I have been reading from a lot of people that the top cover assembly of the case is made with some rather low quality plastic, and in reviews a few people have reported that when they removed the top, one of the attachment pieces broke/bent. Any view on this?
 
Mysticode said:
Bal, I have been reading from a lot of people that the top cover assembly of the case is made with some rather low quality plastic, and in reviews a few people have reported that when they removed the top, one of the attachment pieces broke/bent. Any view on this?
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Well, I just bought and setup my own RV03 (No pics yet, coming), and I tell you what that's really my main gripe. I have already broken 2 tabs, one from the top cover, and the ther from one of the "Fan Holders" on the front of the case. The plastic is somewhat thick, but it's def brittle if you get a tab in a bind it will snap off.

Having said this, I simply love the design of this case. It works really well once put together. My advice is if you buy one, to take your time, slow down, get plenty of room when you start taking it apart, in addition on the top cover make sure you do not pull up in such a way you catch 1 tab in a bind by pulling up on just one end, try to keep something of an even pressure and don't yank it off. I have already contacted silverstone, they are going to replace my top cover I hope (They asked me for an invoice copy, after I sent that too them I haven't heard a response that it's going to happen), I haven't contacted them about the tab on that front fan holder where it connects to the HDD cage. I might try doing that tonight, ugh leave it to me to break stuff /facepalm.:rolleyes:
 
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Ruh roh, that sounds no good Mosher :( If a lot of top tabs are breaking, we might have a defective part on all cases.
 
After assembling a handful of systems in different cases, I think one rule is: if it feels like something is too hard to remove, or too hard to put back, then you might be doing it wrong.

If you don't line up the top cover into its correct slots, then I'm sure you'd break a tab off pretty quickly. As long as you take your time to put the cover over its four slots then you're good. All my tabs are still intact; same goes for the fan brackets in the 5.25" bays.

I was struggling to remove the 'rear' fan brackets in these bays for a few minutes, and then took a moment, breathed, and realized you couldn't simply un-snap them and remove; they were screwed in, unlike the 'front' brackets, which come just snapped into place. If I had persisted in trying to pull the brackets out I'm sure I would have 'succeeded', though, and probably broken something in the process.

What Mosher said about the top cover is exactly right, too: you don't want to lift the cover up by one side, but try to pull it off straight up. I tend to pull it off by the front (raising it slightly) and then lift off the back, then straight up. No issues so far. Replacing it is done by aligning it on the top and pressing down. Cables that run out the back have to be centered slightly to avoid getting in the way of the top cover.

I really like the case, though.

BTW: the extra case fans you can install are really unnecessary. If you really want to add a few, some low-speed fans would add a little cool air, but the case is pretty good as it is. I think depending on your hard drive configuration on the rear panel and your cable management some users may consider a fan in this area to get a little more air to their HDDs.
 
I received the case last week and took the cover upper part off and so far I havent break any yet. I've done it a few times already and it easily comes off, but if you're being careless and yank it the wrong way, I can see the tabs breaks. It's not a cheap quality plastic perse, it's a [H] plastic, but if you pulled the cover on just one side, the tab will tend to break.

I havent really take the case apart fully yet since I dont have all my Sandy Bridge parts, but I'm going to do a test run tomrrow to install my PSU to make sure it fits. I'll take some pics and post it here this weekend.
 
Balthazor said:
BTW: the extra case fans you can install are really unnecessary. If you really want to add a few, some low-speed fans would add a little cool air, but the case is pretty good as it is. I think depending on your hard drive configuration on the rear panel and your cable management some users may consider a fan in this area to get a little more air to their HDDs.
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Yup it's true, I added the four fans almost purely for the look. It does look cool too imo. :D

It adds some air I am sure, but I'm just looking at making it look a certain way and I like it with all the fans in. I have some plans >.< Nothing too exciting but I just put 7 Red Led fans in, and I'm liking the look.
 
I think the optional rear fan might be useful with certain types of GPU coolers. And I suppose the front fans could be useful if you want a lot of air blowing over your CPU, or if you want to put in several hot hard drives in the 5.25" bays a couple of fans in the front brackets could help cool them.

In my current system they are unneeded, though. I have them slowly rotating at 500 RPMs bringing in a little extra outside air into the case, but some basic testing showed them to not really contribute to the cooling of the system as I have it configured.
 
Balthazor said:
I think the optional rear fan might be useful with certain types of GPU coolers. And I suppose the front fans could be useful if you want a lot of air blowing over your CPU, or if you want to put in several hot hard drives in the 5.25" bays a couple of fans in the front brackets could help cool them.

In my current system they are unneeded, though. I have them slowly rotating at 500 RPMs bringing in a little extra outside air into the case, but some basic testing showed them to not really contribute to the cooling of the system as I have it configured.
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Here are a couple pics of my setup.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa409/mosherwrx/IMG_1303.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa409/mosherwrx/IMG_1302.jpg

I like the way it's looking, I wish that my camera took better pictures >.<

I really don't think they help cooling too much, I added em anyway though lol.
 
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Interesting placement of the optical drive between the two sets of fans. And you have four sets of fans in the front 5.25" bays?
 
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