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Silverstone Raven
May 8, 2009 by Lawrence Lee
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Product |
SilverStone Raven RV01
EATX Tower Case
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Manufacturer |
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Market Price |
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Silverstone is a name that
immediately comes to mind for clean and elegant case design. Their cases are usually well-constructed with good
fundamentals minus frivolous aesthetics and features. The Raven (RV01) is perhaps their first
departure from this course and it is certainly a dramatic one. It looks nothing like a typical Silverstone case, a radical change from their
sleek, minimalist look. The exterior isn't the only thing that's changed either —
the interior flies in the face of convention.
The box, cat not included. |
The box is unabashedly gigantic, sturdy enough to support the largest of
cats. You have probably already guessed that it's one of those
enormous extended ATX towers that gamers and enthusiasts salivate
over. More mainstream users find such cases too bulky.
The case is cushioned with foam rather than styrofoam, making it less
prone to breakage upon removal. |
The Raven is a very large case with a small side window and plenty of air filters.
The exterior molding is dramatically angled, like the USAF radar-invisible Stealth bomber or a Transformer / Deceptacon. Besides the overall
aesthetic, what makes this thing so radical? It's what's on the inside that
will really flip your lid: the motherboard tray has been rotated 90 degrees
clockwise. If you take the traditional tower design as a reference point the
Raven's top is actually its rear.
The core concept of this design is simple: It's an attempt to employ the heat rise of natural convection for more effective cooling. The intake vents and fans are at the bottom, blowing up, and the exhaust vents are at the top. Whether the arrangement is superior in practice is probably difficult to assess, but in theory, it seems like a good idea .
The accessory box contained very little: a manual, a single zip-tie,
a bag of screws and standoffs, and a set of brackets for mounting an external
radiator. |
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