Thanks for the review lawrence.

Looks like those 18cm fans are now louder than before....

It's the new "Air Penetrator" fans... they sacrificed low noise to appease... other crowds.


And someone really needs to give SilverStone a good smack in the head. External USB 3 cables? Really? What, are they really that ....!! cheap that they can't include an internal 20 pin connector? Even on the 600+ USD TJ11?

That alone is enough to make me disregard them. Either do it right, or don't do it at all.

Thanks for the review! One upside to the rotated motherboard is no more worries about video card droop/warpage

The rise in southbridge temps make me wonder about the mobo VRM temps...is there a way to monitor VRM temps? This also makes me wonder about load power ...can load power be added to the case comparison tables?

Maybe.

Good points. We could start tracking load power now, but almost impossible to go retroactively -- too much work to duplicate those builds, even if all the cases were still available.

Going forward, as long as we're using the same components, the PSU AC power draw will be a good indicator of how hot the VRMs are running (if we can't monitor the VRM temps accurately). Especially when other temps are similar, the power draw will tell us about the VRMs.

Yeah - we're on the same page. Thanks!

What's the point in testing an EATX/CEB case with only an ATX motherboard and minimum configuration (except crossfire)?
There are numerous excellent ATX cases out there.

If the goal is to minimize the noise as much as possible regardless of the case footprint, you should probably test something like this
viewtopic.php?t=59779&view=next

You can put Raven RV03 inside with full suspension.

Maybe this guy can help you out.

> Bottom Center 14cm (high)

14cm?

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1244-page5.html

The Raven's design is interesting, but wouldn't fans on the bottom be possible with a normal design (with PSU on top) too?

Just a minor rant here, and not particularly direct at this review, but is anyone else annoyed by the over-emphasis of natural convection? I was taught in all my fluids and heat transfer classes that any time you have forced convection in a system, you can pretty much ignore the effect of natural convection. Its influence is negligible at that point. I'd say the great performance of this case has more to do with the straight airflow with few obstructions than any sort of natural convection effect.

Otherwise great review. Can't say I'm a fan of these giant cases myself but it looks like a great option for those who want one.

Haven't taken any such classes, but I think you're right.
Would the straight airflow matter though? I think 2x 18cm matters (most).

Ironically, SS offers an part for the FT02 that upgrades its front connections to USB 3 with the internal header.

I can't help but think that the FT02 would be much quieter, given its sound absorption material.

for those wondering, RV03 came out back when internal usb 3.0 headers were relatively uncommon, probably in half the newer 1155 boards sold at the time. Like most other case makers at the time these chose to implement the extension setup.

Later on, when internal headers became more common, the FT02/RV02 were updated with the setup with internal headers, and looks like they forgot about the RV03...

That's hardly an excuse.

1. Only the lower end H61/67 and the cheapest P67 motherboards didn't include USB 3 headers (even the base Asus P8P67 has one), and who in their right mind would buy a "high"-end case like this to use with a low/mid-end motherboard?
2. They could have included both methods. A pass-through cable with an adapter for internal headers.


Even if you find reason #1 debatable, reason #2 is not.

definitely not an excuse, I am as appalled by it as anyone else.
What I meant was they made a disagreeable decision back then, and now they haven't reached the point of the product cycle where they can revision and implement the proper connectors. (or probably went through the last one without anyone pointing out the issue during the meeting)

pedantry alert: "reined in," not "reigned in."

Great review as always, Lawrence.

Seems like a pretty positive review overall. So, is the Raven 03 an SPCR Recommended case, or an Editor's Choice, or neither? The article doesn't mention anything.

You are indeed right: http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articl ... Cooling-89