Review: SilverStone Raven RV02 PC chassis - how does it stack up?

by James Smith on 11 November 2009, 23:09 3.55

Tags: SilverstoneTek, PC

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Whats good?



Some effort has been made to dampen vibrations transmitted through the case, as illustrated by the 3.5in drive-cage being fitted with rubber anti-vibrations mounts. Additionally the chassis also has anti-vibration shims mounted at the very bottom.



One useful feature of the newer Raven is the 2.5in SSD drive-cage that mounts out of view, on the side of the 5.25in drive-bays. Although it's theoretically possible to fit a spindle-based hard-drive here instead of an SSD, the lack of airflow around it doesn't make it a long-term solution, we feel.



As seen in the picture above, all the intake fans - including the PSU, where applicable - have easily removable fan filters. This should help the internals stay relatively dust-free, and not present too much of a chore to periodically remove the them for cleaning.



An increasingly popular and useful feature to have on a case is a cut-out on the back of the motherboard tray. This assists with the fitting and removal of large CPU coolers, which require mounting through the motherboard with a back plate.



If you've got a couple of dual-slot graphics cards and at least one other card installed, as some enthusiasts do, then free expansion slots begin to become a bit scarce. The addition of an eighth expansion slot, as is the case here, can therefore be rather handy.