Silverstone Raven: A New Concept in Case Cooling
by Christoph Katzer on February 6, 2009 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Appearance
The case is all matte black with small windows on the left side panel where users can see their motherboard and components. We are rather pleased that Silverstone didn't include a larger window, since this allows you to show off your graphics card(s) and a few other items without worrying about showing the power supply and all of the extra cables that might be present. The top of the case is rather bulky, since there needs to be room for all of the cables that would normally be at the back of your case. The left side also features additional air intakes that bulge out on the bottom of the case; in fact, the case is somewhat reminiscent of HP's Blackbird design, with some obvious changes. The front of the case sports a horizontal clear plastic part at the top that glows blue when the system is powered up. If you use the appropriate motherboard connector, you also see a small red flashing light in the middle of the blue illuminated bar for hard drive accesses.
The front door is quite cool: it slides down into a recess when you push it. It will stay there until you tap it again, at which time it will slowly slide up to its starting position. Above the door in the horizontal glowing bar you find the power and reset buttons. Behind these buttons is a door that you might not at first notice, which provides access to some standard I/O ports -- USB, audio, and FireWire.
Moving to the rear of the case, things take a dramatic turn from what we are used to. You are greeted by a smooth surface, since all the connectors are now at the top of the case. The one exception is the power supply, which is located at the bottom of the chassis. We think this design will appeal particularly to people who have their PCs sitting next to (or under) their desk on the floor. It's possible to hide much of the cable clutter that you would normally see if you're careful. Of course, the flipside is that you would want to have this case sitting on top of something like your desk, as then everyone would see all of the cables hanging down from the top of your chassis.
Opening the top of the case to get all of the cables and expansion ports is very easy. You turn both knobs at the back of the top and then you can lift that part out of the way. You will then have access to all of the expansion slot ports. The removable section is perforated to allow airflow through the top of the chassis, and in fact airflow would probably be better if this perforated top didn't even exist (although then we wouldn't have hidden cables). You'll also need to remove the top panel anytime you want to access the side panels, since the two lovers that open the sides are underneath the top panel. When you push the appropriate lever towards the front, the respective side panel will open.
Another noteworthy feature is that Silverstone installed filters on all of the air intakes, which should help tremendously in keeping the interior of your case free of dust bunnies. Since the case will likely be sitting on the floor, this is an even bigger concern. Just remember to clean your air filters on a regular schedule.
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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.