arctic_blizzard
n00b
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2009
- Messages
- 44
Hey everyone - I just got my Raven 2 yesterday, have installed all my hardware, and thought I would post my impressions on this case - with pictures
So...here it goes:
The case:
First off - this case is pretty large (not so much in height of width, but definitely in depth). It measures almost 26" long! The case is pretty muted aesthetically compared to its older brother - I was put off by all the odd angles and sharp corners on the raven 1). Except for its length and the top cover, it could easily pass as any other gaming-grade case.
Here are some pics of the case:
Front side of the case
Back side of the case (w/ PSU exhaust)
Top, with IO cover on
Top, with IO cover off
Materials:
The case is constructed of steel and high grade plastic. The side panels and frame are steel, the front bezel is made of a thick plastic. The removable top piece however, feels a little flimsy (it is a lighter plastic).
The case has an awesome flat black finish inside and out, the outside seems pretty forgiving on dust and fingerprints/smudges, whereas you need to exercise some caution on the inside of the case because it does scratch (I created a few while installing my parts - not huge scratches, but scuffs in the paint job).
Features:
This case features a 90deg mobo
(the IO panel is pointed towards the top of the case). Silverstone did this to allow free air movement from the bottom of the case to the top. Whether or not this will increase cooling - I have yet to test.
At the bottom of the case are three massive 180mm fans (which all have hi/low selector switches at the top of the case)
The RV02 also has a HDD cage, with the 3 HDDs installed on their sides with rubber grommets to help absorb vibrations.
This case also has a nifty SSD mounting bracket you can use to mount your SSD (2.5") to the backside of the motherboard plate. I wondered if a regular 2.5" laptop drive might be able to be installed there but there might be trouble with cooling.
There is also tooless 5.25" device installation (except the top slot, which was a bummer for me because I always install my drives from the top slot ).
Also, there is a large cutout for easy CPU cooler installation - however, it did not match up completely with my motherboard (Asus M2nSLi-Deluxe) - I installed my CPU cooler outside the case anyway, and don't plan on changing CPU's or cooler anytime soon.
Installation:
Overall, the installation of my hardware was not too difficult. For such a large case, there is definitely a premium for component space on the inside - after installing my CPU cooler, and 2 dual-slot GPUs, there wasn't much room to maneuver inside the case. Some forethought is needed in installation - make sure you have all your motherboard header pins connected, your HDDs/DVD drives, and the PSU in before you add your CPU cooler or GPU.
Many might worry about the installation of a PSU in the case (as it is vertically mounted). Silverstone adds two components that add to the secure mounting of the PSU. First, you screw the PSU to the case (like any other PSU), next, you add a PSU strap (velcro), that wraps around the PSU and anchors it to the case. You are also able to install a "PSU shelf" - a plastic piece that you screw to the case, and supports the PSU from the bottom corner (see picture below)
The PSU seems installed pretty solid, but I definitely won't be lugging it around to any LAN parties.
There is no removable motherboard tray, so if you are a fan of them (I haven't had the opportunity to use one yet), you might be disappointed. Also, there is no motherboard standoff diagram, so you will have to check on your motherboard to correctly place the standoffs.
Cable management was great - there was plenty of holes to route all the cables. There was also plenty of room on the backside of the motherboard plate to allow thicker power cables (the side cover will still fit on )
Backside of the motherboard plate after installation of all hardware.
All the fans on the case are connected to the motherboard via 3-pin connectors - so make sure your motherboard has enough fan headers! Silverstone does send along adapters so that you can plug some of the fans into your PSU's molex connectors.
One caveat on the motherboard orientation - because of the way the mobo is placed in the case, some pieces of hardware will be closer to their mobo connectors, while other will be much farther away (I had to buy a longer IDE cable for my DVD drive) - Be sure to check your mobo layout and cable lengths before purchasing this case.
If you decide to install a 5.25" drive to the top slot, there might be some clearance issues because of the IO backplate of the case. My DVD drive is 7" long and I barely had enough room to put all the connectors in.
Here are a few final pictures with all my hardware installed.
Performance:
Noise in this case is really really quiet. The 180mm fans on high move a decent amount of air (not wind tunnel strength), and are pretty quiet. When the 180mm fans are on low, they are almost silent, just a small "woosh" of air is audible. Some might worry that having the IO at the top of the case might increase the noise level, but if you have your computer under your desk (like me), alot of the sound is blocked.
I have not had much time to stress test the rig, and get temp results, but I will do that in the near future - I am excited to see how much the mobo orientation will affect cooling performance.
Pros:
Cons:
Overall, I am very pleased with this case, and dig its aesthetics as well as motherboard orientation. Installation was near painless, with a few minor issues in clearance. But the rig is very very quiet (a big plus for me), and has potential to be my best gaming rig ever.
So...here it goes:
The case:
First off - this case is pretty large (not so much in height of width, but definitely in depth). It measures almost 26" long! The case is pretty muted aesthetically compared to its older brother - I was put off by all the odd angles and sharp corners on the raven 1). Except for its length and the top cover, it could easily pass as any other gaming-grade case.
Here are some pics of the case:
Front side of the case
Back side of the case (w/ PSU exhaust)
Top, with IO cover on
Top, with IO cover off
Materials:
The case is constructed of steel and high grade plastic. The side panels and frame are steel, the front bezel is made of a thick plastic. The removable top piece however, feels a little flimsy (it is a lighter plastic).
The case has an awesome flat black finish inside and out, the outside seems pretty forgiving on dust and fingerprints/smudges, whereas you need to exercise some caution on the inside of the case because it does scratch (I created a few while installing my parts - not huge scratches, but scuffs in the paint job).
Features:
This case features a 90deg mobo
(the IO panel is pointed towards the top of the case). Silverstone did this to allow free air movement from the bottom of the case to the top. Whether or not this will increase cooling - I have yet to test.
At the bottom of the case are three massive 180mm fans (which all have hi/low selector switches at the top of the case)
The RV02 also has a HDD cage, with the 3 HDDs installed on their sides with rubber grommets to help absorb vibrations.
This case also has a nifty SSD mounting bracket you can use to mount your SSD (2.5") to the backside of the motherboard plate. I wondered if a regular 2.5" laptop drive might be able to be installed there but there might be trouble with cooling.
There is also tooless 5.25" device installation (except the top slot, which was a bummer for me because I always install my drives from the top slot ).
Also, there is a large cutout for easy CPU cooler installation - however, it did not match up completely with my motherboard (Asus M2nSLi-Deluxe) - I installed my CPU cooler outside the case anyway, and don't plan on changing CPU's or cooler anytime soon.
Installation:
Overall, the installation of my hardware was not too difficult. For such a large case, there is definitely a premium for component space on the inside - after installing my CPU cooler, and 2 dual-slot GPUs, there wasn't much room to maneuver inside the case. Some forethought is needed in installation - make sure you have all your motherboard header pins connected, your HDDs/DVD drives, and the PSU in before you add your CPU cooler or GPU.
Many might worry about the installation of a PSU in the case (as it is vertically mounted). Silverstone adds two components that add to the secure mounting of the PSU. First, you screw the PSU to the case (like any other PSU), next, you add a PSU strap (velcro), that wraps around the PSU and anchors it to the case. You are also able to install a "PSU shelf" - a plastic piece that you screw to the case, and supports the PSU from the bottom corner (see picture below)
The PSU seems installed pretty solid, but I definitely won't be lugging it around to any LAN parties.
There is no removable motherboard tray, so if you are a fan of them (I haven't had the opportunity to use one yet), you might be disappointed. Also, there is no motherboard standoff diagram, so you will have to check on your motherboard to correctly place the standoffs.
Cable management was great - there was plenty of holes to route all the cables. There was also plenty of room on the backside of the motherboard plate to allow thicker power cables (the side cover will still fit on )
Backside of the motherboard plate after installation of all hardware.
All the fans on the case are connected to the motherboard via 3-pin connectors - so make sure your motherboard has enough fan headers! Silverstone does send along adapters so that you can plug some of the fans into your PSU's molex connectors.
One caveat on the motherboard orientation - because of the way the mobo is placed in the case, some pieces of hardware will be closer to their mobo connectors, while other will be much farther away (I had to buy a longer IDE cable for my DVD drive) - Be sure to check your mobo layout and cable lengths before purchasing this case.
If you decide to install a 5.25" drive to the top slot, there might be some clearance issues because of the IO backplate of the case. My DVD drive is 7" long and I barely had enough room to put all the connectors in.
Here are a few final pictures with all my hardware installed.
Performance:
Noise in this case is really really quiet. The 180mm fans on high move a decent amount of air (not wind tunnel strength), and are pretty quiet. When the 180mm fans are on low, they are almost silent, just a small "woosh" of air is audible. Some might worry that having the IO at the top of the case might increase the noise level, but if you have your computer under your desk (like me), alot of the sound is blocked.
I have not had much time to stress test the rig, and get temp results, but I will do that in the near future - I am excited to see how much the mobo orientation will affect cooling performance.
Pros:
- 90deg mobo, no crawling under your desk to plug stuff in!
- Solid construction
- Plenty of space for cable management
- Enough space for large components
- Cool styling IMO
- Very very quiet!
Cons:
- Top cover feels light and cheap
- Only room for 3 HDDs (+1 SSD)
- Top 5.25" bay not tooless
- CPU cutout doesn't fit all motherboards
- Minor: No HDD activity light - there is one!, see update
Overall, I am very pleased with this case, and dig its aesthetics as well as motherboard orientation. Installation was near painless, with a few minor issues in clearance. But the rig is very very quiet (a big plus for me), and has potential to be my best gaming rig ever.
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