Hardware SilverStone Raven RV02 Case Review

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2009/11/17/silverstone-raven-rv02-case-review/1

SilverStone has re-invented the case by rotating the motherboard orientation. In the Raven RV02 your cards all sit vertically, allowing air to be sucked in from under the case and blown out the top. Will this make a difference to the cooling performance of the case? We test it to find out.

 

Would have been nice to see the case with some components in it, especially since its unique selling point is the orientation of the mobo and cards...

 

it's big yet cramped at the same time.

But at least its a bit different.

 

I assume the poor cooling can be attributed to a lack of balance between intake and exhaust (3 x 180mm Intakes vs 1 120mm Exhaust).

This case seems to be a good idea in principle but poorly executed.

 

The problem with mounting intake fans at the bottom of the case is that they're not so effective if you have underfloor heating...

How tall is the top shroud thingy? It looks as though it might be a tight fit to connect a VGA or DVI cable and bend it over so it comes out of the back of the shroud.

I'm not entirely convinced that spinning the mobo orientation around really helps airflow - surely any convection currents are going to be minimal compared to the currents created by so many fans? And surely that would be the same, whether your pulling air front to back or bottom to top?

 

How come there's no pictures with components in?

 

It strikes me that the roof that hides the cabling at the top probably hinders the exit airflow quite a bit, helping drive up those temps. Having a rat's nest of cables jammed in to hide them under that top plate I'm sure doesn't help. I wonder what the temps would be like with the top facia removed?

Of course, with the top plate off, the exposed cables sticking out all over would make your PC look like Medusa on a bad hair day . . .

-Tuthmose

 

It would probably help if the case was built out of a material that served as a heat sink rather than an insulator.

 

One wonders if Silverstone do the same sort of tests; got the same sort of results and concluded: that'll do?

It's a good idea orientating everything so that the heat generated is helped to go in the direction it wants to go -up- rather than trying to force it to travel horizontally. I know it might smack of doing Silverstone's work for them but might not Custom pc endeavour to find out why it falls down as opposed to just reporting the tumble?

 

I bought the HAF 932 a while ago and I think that, if cooling is important, it's a much better choice at the same price point [or lower depending on where you are, PLUS there's the 922 for even less]. The "unique feature" hardware mount turned by 90 degrees isn't that amazing after all, it seems, so I'd say:

Fail @ Silverstone. Sad, I liked the idea.

 

Come on Silverstone, pull your socks up and quit making quirky cases!

What I want to see is a larger version of the TJ09/TJ10, with revised intake, hdd bays and a roof which accomodates 3x120/140mm fans (without the weird holders).

They could also release a revised TJ07 which adds an upper chamber identical to the lower one, and replaces the 90mm fans with 120/140mm.

1. Almost endless watercooling possibilities
2. Vastly increased hdd space
3. Possibilities for both 1&2

 

I like the concept here, perhaps if there was a 120mm fan blowing air out at the top front drive bays area then cooling would be a bit more efficient.

 

It strikes me that one problem with the case is the use of 180mm fans. As the fan test showed, the most efficient fan technology is present in 120mm, with some of this moving to 140mm. With larger fans I think they need to have more depth and wider blades, so as to properly channel the air. Can this case take 120mm fans instead of the 180mm ones?

I know it's been said before, but it would really be nice to get an idea of the thermal dynamics of the case itself, rather than the case with the supplied fans. Any competant PC builder would know to save a little bit of the budget to get some decent fans, and as such I hope one day you change your mind and start reviewing cases using a set of control (read: performance) fans as well as the fans supplied. As you guys have said, it does add a chunk of time to the reviewing process but I think it would really give the PC building community on this site a better understanding of which case might suit their needs.

 

Personally I have never been a fan of the Raven series. Yeah they look pretty cool from the inside but I just see the internal layout as pointless and useless.

 

The PSU power cable is not a kettle lead...

Case is a nice idea but shame its not so great irl. Is this a problem with the concept, or a problem with the implementation? On the surface it looks good but in two iterations of the case you would have expected them to have got it working by now!

 

I wonder how the FT02 thermals will turn out because it has the same orientation as the RV02

 

Darn, I was really hoping the concept would pan out for SS. I really like motherboard mounting scheme as it would make cabling much easier to access for those of us that do a lot of switching around of external components. I'm curious to know if adding 1 more case fan to the roof of the case and making the legs taller to accommodate a little more airflow would make a large difference.

 

The problem is that there's only 1 top fan. However with this design it's pretty hard I imagine to get 2 fans on the top with all those things.

 

FAIL on all accounts as far as I can see...

There is nothing 'unique' about this case. It is not the only or even the first case to do this rotation. There have been several high end cases to take this approach. Once again anything outside of pure specification and BitTech gets it wrong.

 

Agree with Elton.

If this thing had had a conventionally mounted motherboard & three fans along the top I reckon it would've easily been champion material, but you just can't do that with a shifted mobo - not without making the case a Superfatman anyway.

The principal of top & bottom airflow is obviously thermodynamically sound, it just the poor execution that let it down. Plus as TWeaK said, there's a good chance 120/140mm fans would've been more effective at the moment too...