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

Hey guys,

I am wondering, would the Corsair AX1200 PSU fit with Raven 03?

The spec of the RV03 says Limitation of PSU : 180mm

but the dimension of the PSU is 150mm(W) x 86mm(H) x 200mm(L).

As we can see the PSU is 20mm longer than the limitation, but does it have to be exactly 180mm?

can I just fit the psu into that slot?

Thank you in advance guys :D

ขอบคุณครับผม
 
Balthazor said:
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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Yup I am using 4 fans in the front, and the placement of the optical drive was a matter of cable length actually.... but then I decided I liked it there :D
 
Peat Moss said:
hey Mosher, do you have regular HDDs behind the back panel ?
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I have sn OCZ agility 2 (120GB) and 1.5TB regular 6gb/s Seagate behind the back panel. I put it on the top rear mount where there are vents.

I would get a picture of the wire management, but frankly it's kinda like the closet you stuffed everything in and shut the door behind real quick to keep it from spilling out rofl. I'm going to keep working at it when I have some time.
 
Mosher said:
I have sn OCZ agility 2 (120GB) and 1.5TB regular 6gb/s Seagate behind the back panel. I put it on the top rear mount where there are vents.

I would get a picture of the wire management, but frankly it's kinda like the closet you stuffed everything in and shut the door behind real quick to keep it from spilling out rofl. I'm going to keep working at it when I have some time.
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Thanks, I've been asking around trying to glean a clue about the noise level of any HDDs placed behind the panel.

Also, could anyone tell me if the USB 3.0 is a pass-through or not?

Thanks !
 
I'm not sure what you mean by USB 3.0 pass-through; they have standard USB male connectors on the end of the cables for the FP.
 
Balthazor said:
I'm not sure what you mean by USB 3.0 pass-through; they have standard USB male connectors on the end of the cables for the FP.
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And it's nice to just plug them in on the top since that's where all the MB ports are
 
Balthazor said:
I'm not sure what you mean by USB 3.0 pass-through; they have standard USB male connectors on the end of the cables for the FP.
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It's a cable that you use to connect the front USB 3.0 port to the rear port of the mobo to feed the front one, in the absence of a header. It's usually a long thick ugly blue cable.
 
They are black cables, and they have the external USB male connection instead of a header, like virtually every case that supports USB 3.0 currently.

You can see the cables in a few of the pictures. I routed them through the water-cooling grommets on the top of the case, then around back of the motherboard, and connected them to a USB 3.0 device that came with my Gigabyte motherboard that itself has a USB 3.0 header and two female USB 3.0 ports. This way I still have the USB 3.0 ports available on the top of the case, and the FP USB 3.0 ports are connected via the internal mobo header.

But as Mosher pointed out the motherboard orientation allows for easy access from the FP USB 3.0 cables to the back of a motherboard.
 
got my RV03 build finished up for the most part this morning, just a few details left...

will post pics tomorrow
 
I wish Silverstone would come out with a new Fortress case using the interior design of the RV03 but an exterior high quality build and look of the FT02. I would buy it in a heartbeat.
 
So I've been pretty busy; I have yet to update the original review with other impressions gleaned over the past couple of weeks. I have pictures taken but still have to upload and link them. Once I get some 'spare' time I'll get to it.

In the meantime, one thing I noticed is that the front panel audio jacks require quite a bit of pressure to get the jacks to detect that a plug has been inserted. You really have to jam it in there. A user with this case on another forum noticed this as well, so it may be a systemic issue with this particular case.

I took the front panel apart and couldn't see any obvious way to adjust these jacks, but I'm not particularly skilled with disassembling electronics or audio equipment, so maybe someone else will have more luck.
 
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Balthazor said:
So I've been pretty busy; I have yet to update the original review with other impressions gleaned over the past couple of weeks. I have pictures taken but still have to upload and link them. Once I get some 'spare' time I'll get to it.

In the meantime, one thing I noticed is that the front panel audio jacks require quite a bit of pressure to get the jacks to detect that a plug has been inserted. You really have to jam it in there. A user with this case on another forum noticed this as well, so it may be a systemic issue with this particular case.

I took the front panel apart and couldn't see any obvious way to adjust these jacks, but I'm not particularly skilled with disassembling electronics or audio equipment, so many someone else will have more luck.
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I have the same issue with my current NZXT Apollo, you really need to j-j-j-jam it in! Kind of annoying.
 
Ordered, should be here Saturday or Monday, you guys have really got my hopes up for this case.
 
Balthazor, how much clearance is there between the mass of modular/non-modular cables running out of the Antec HCP-1200 and the right side panel?

I'm hoping an AX1200 will fit even though it is 20mm more than the recommended maximum PSU depth of 180mm.

The gold stripes really put me off at first, but this post shows they can be removed easily. I think applying these on them would look perfect.
 
shimeng said:
Balthazor, how much clearance is there between the mass of modular/non-modular cables running out of the Antec HCP-1200 and the right side panel?

I'm hoping an AX1200 will fit even though it is 20mm more than the recommended maximum PSU depth of 180mm.
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My cables press against the right side panel. Not tightly, but the panel touches them at their 'bend' as they go into the rest of the case. A 200mm PSU would physically fit but you'd have to mod the panel to allow for the cables to come out of the PSU and lead into the case.

The 200mm is not a recommendation; it is a limitation. This is the wording Silverstone used in their manual (page 20 of the RV03 manual, available on their website.)

Fortunately there are still excellent 180mm PSUs available, but some very good 200mm models will not fit without some modding.
 
Yeah that's another thing putting me off from picking up this case is the PSU limitation. I have an Enermax 1250w Galaxy EVO at the moment which is a beast of a power supply but no way it will fit and so I'd have to get a different PSU with the case.
 
I just finished installing everything into my shiny new RV03. Things are off to a pretty bad start though, I am missing the box of accessories.
 
darkstarcow said:
I just finished installing everything into my shiny new RV03. Things are off to a pretty bad start though, I am missing the box of accessories.
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Contact Silverstone support, they should take care of you. A Silverstonetek rep haunts these forums, so post your results of any support requests, especially if you don't get satisfactory results.
 
Balthazor said:
Contact Silverstone support, they should take care of you. A Silverstonetek rep haunts these forums, so post your results of any support requests, especially if you don't get satisfactory results.
Click to expand...

yep, just spoke to David @ Silverstone yesterday. I've had my case a couple of weeks now and noticed that the top cover wasn't locking in on the back right corner. Come to find out my case shipped w/ only 3 of the pieces that "grab" the cover itself.

you can call 909-465-9596
or [email protected]
 
Some folks may be interested to know that an AX1200 can be installed in a Raven 3 chasis.

The grill "cheek" on the right side panel provides enough clearance for the modular cables. The fit is a little tight, but the side panel does not bulge.

I removed the sleeving on the cables to make routing easier. I'm trying to figure out what's the best way to cover the "cheeks" from the inside - that mass of cables sure look unattractive.

Does anyone else feel that the quality (especially the plastic parts) has been compromised?

IMG_0357.jpg

IMG_0358.jpg

IMG_0360.jpg


The gold trim had to go...
IMG_0362.jpg
 
Edit: Silverstone came through finally, I am finally a very satisfied customer.
 
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Is it possible to remove the gold trim? I have one of these cases coming in on Friday and if it can be removed it would be perfect.
 
Removing the trim is easy - they are held in place by plastic tabs.

The ones on the top cover are the easiest to get at - just flip it around and pry the tabs back to release them.

You will need to remove 2 screws on the top "cowl" which houses the power/reset button to get at the tabs underneath.

The front bezel is secured to the chasis by 8 small self-threading screws (4 on each side). These need to be removed before you can pull the the bezel off. Note that one of these screws are located in the PSU bay; the PSU needs to be moved out of the way to access it.
 
I posted this question in the H60 review thread, but think I would get a better answer here or in cooling. I have the H60 with the radiator mounted up top, is it better to have the fan push or pull the air out the top of the case.
 
darkstarcow said:
I posted this question in the H60 review thread, but think I would get a better answer here or in cooling. I have the H60 with the radiator mounted up top, is it better to have the fan push or pull the air out the top of the case.
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If I were you I'd put the fan to push air out the top, so it works with the intake fans to create a column of air through your case (instead of working against the bottom intake flow.)

I don't think you'll see substantially cooler temps mounting it to intake outside air from above the case. You could always try it both ways to see if it makes a huge difference. But your air inside the case on the CPU side should be close to ambient, as the airflow is just really passing over relatively cool RAM before hitting your CPU and H60 rad.
 
That's what I was thinking, I decided to have the fan push air through the radiator and out the top.
 
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Thanks Shimeng, appreciate the info on the AX1200 fitting. Haven't gotten around to unboxing my RV3 yet, but it's nice to know I won't need to do any real modifying to get that psu into my new case. Really handy to know, since spare time is something I don't have now.
 
Balthazor said:
If I were you I'd put the fan to push air out the top, so it works with the intake fans to create a column of air through your case (instead of working against the bottom intake flow.)

I don't think you'll see substantially cooler temps mounting it to intake outside air from above the case. You could always try it both ways to see if it makes a huge difference. But your air inside the case on the CPU side should be close to ambient, as the airflow is just really passing over relatively cool RAM before hitting your CPU and H60 rad.
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darkstarcow said:
That's what I was thinking, I decided to have the fan push air through the radiator and out the top.
Click to expand...

This is what I was considering doing with an Antec Kuhler 920, but now that Corsair has launched the H80 and H100, I may go with one of them...

Problem is the H100 requires a dual fan slot, which means this nor any other Raven case will work... :( (unless i want to put it on the intake side, which I don't)


Decisions...
 
I am eagerly awaiting the chance to grab a gentle typhoon to see what that does to help drop temps on the H60.
 
Well my case came in with a good looking box but case itself was a mess. The drive bay covers wouldn't lock in place and the HD cage was loose. The top had a missing tab on one of the front locking clips and the front panel has some small scuff marks on the bottom. Amazon is shipping a replacement for me that should be here tomorrow. Lets hope this one is in better condition.
 
I just got my rv03 from Amazon but like darkstarcow I'm also missing the box of accessories. I'm contacting them. In the meantime I should be able to get by with the screws from my existing case.
 
Silverstone really needs to work on QC, the number of people missing their box of assembly hardware seems to be unreasonable.
 
I would love to see a guide to remove the trim, and also where that guy got his carbon fiber material and how he cut it etc.
 
I ended up getting a box with the screws, zip ties, and drive cover sticky thing. I was still missing the fan splitter so had to send an email about that. I also mentioned that I messed up the rubber grommets on one of the hard drive holders and was told they would send 4 of them. I got the fan splitter, the grommets are little rubber ones that are for the drive cage i guess. I probably should of clarified that I need the ones for the side mounts.

Edit: The fan splitter was very important due to only have a cpu and 2 case fan headers on the motherboard. I was running without the front ap180, now that I have the front Ap180 running, my H60 is about 5 to 8c cooler when running prime.

Edit #2: I really do want to know how they ship a case without the accessory box.
 
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