Silverstone Raven: A New Concept in Case Cooling
by Christoph Katzer on February 6, 2009 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Introduction
Silverstone has had some interesting innovations for its customers, for example the FT01 designed for optimal cooling using positive air pressure. Today we are looking at another new cooling concept from Silverstone. Just as positive air pressure is nothing revolutionary -- search through any tech forums and you're likely to see some discussions about the topic -- the new concept with this case is that Silverstone change the direction the motherboard faces. Instead of having the I/O ports on the back, they will now be at the top of the case. If that immediately makes you worry about wires cluttering things up, don't: Silverstone has a cover to help keep the look clean.
The case looks like it came directly from the Transformer factory, and that's likely something you will either love or hate. Silverstone told us that the general feedback from customers so far is very good, and since the case is already available they apparently have sales to back up that statement.
As far as changing the direction the motherboard faces, the goal is simple. Silverstone wants to use a chimney stack effect where cool air comes in at the bottom and naturally flows upwards -- hot air rises. By designing a case where all of the air enters at the bottom and flows out the top, cooling should be improved and perhaps noise levels will be reduced at the same time. There are still fans to help out, but the natural airflow will hopefully reduce fan speeds. We can't actually prove that the stack effect is better or worse than other cases, since this case is only designed to work with the effect being active.
Silverstone has invested a great deal of time explaining how different cooling effects work, which you can see on YouTube and their own internal website:
Stack Effect Cooling (YouTube video)
Positive Air Pressure (YouTube 1, YouTube 2)
| Silverstone Raven Specifications | ||
| Motherboard Formfactor | ATX, Micro ATX, Extended ATX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 5x 5.25" |
| Internal | 6x 3.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | - |
| Rear | - | |
| Top | 1x 120mm exhaust | |
| Side | - | |
| Bottom | 2x 180mm intake | |
| Expansion Slots | 7 | |
| Front I/O Port | 2x USB, 1x Audio, 1x Micro , 1x IEEE1394 | |
| Power Supply Size | Standard ATX | |
| Weight | 15kg | |
| Dimensions | 280 x 616 x 660 (WxHxD in mm) | |
Now let's see if this case can actually live up to Silverstone's promises and stand out from the crowd.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
49 Comments
View All Comments
Visual - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
i really don't fancy the idea of intake fans on the bottom. there's going to be a huge amount of dust gathering down there.and expansion cards and cables at the top, really? maybe it can work if i hide the case under the desk, but what if it is on top?
weevil - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
But you would never have to sweep the floor.HelToupee - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
I really like the idea of the layout of this case. It's the perfect arrangement for an under-the-desk setup. You are right that the intakes on the bottom of the case are a terrible idea. They'll clog with dust, and need cleaning constantly, and are in the most inconvenient place they could possibly be. Maybe if they add some kind of ducting along the back to direct air underneath the case and raised the case off the ground a bit.What I really like is the cable management. Where the cables come out of the power supply is right next to where they plug into the motherboard. If you look at the pictures of the system assembly, there are no cables at all routed over the motherboard. All the cable mess tucks nicely away into the bottom front of the case where it's not visible, and not in the way of airflow. Perfect. Plus, when the case is sitting under your desk, all the ports are the closest they can be to where you want them -- rear top of the case. I love the idea of having access to the back panel (now on top) of the case by just rolling the case out a bit. Lighting will be better, cables will not be strained and crimped around corners. Very convenient.
I hope other (cheaper) options appear with this configuration. I may have to consider picking one up.
Dreamwalker - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
A very interesting case, but I do wonder how you manages the cables that are coming at the top, the VGA cables and all the other stuff. A picture would be great here. Can't realy imagine how it looks like all the cables coming at the top rather than from the bac side.Anyone got the Lamborghini Reventon in his minde when looking at he pictures?
weevil - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
Looks like an F-117 Stealth fighter to me, Love the interier but the outside is ugly. But at least it will evade radar, I could replace the fairing on my Harley with this and the CHP will never see me.strikeback03 - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
Personally, I think the person in the previous look who compared it to a Jawa Sandcrawler was dead-on.Bigjee - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
That's the first thing that came to my mind.The lamborghini Reventon.
This case perfectly portrays it. The lines make it look like its been designed by the same person who designed that car.
soydeedo - Friday, February 6, 2009 - link
With dreadlocks.maxnix - Thursday, April 28, 2011 - link
Had this case two years now and it has been rock solid except for a bad fan that would rattle when installed. Replaced with an even quieter one and all is well. Not overclocked yet, so acoustic signature could increase when it is. Access is great and easy. Case is heavy.Now the Raven 3 is out.
By the way the filters while rudimentary, are a lot better than nothing in most other cases.