Product Listing

Let's Get Vertical - SilverStone Raven RV02

By Kenny Yeo - 12 Aug 2009

Conclusion

Unique, but not without Drawbacks

There's no doubt that the SilverStone Raven RV02 is unique amongst similarly priced competitors. From our experience with the Raven RV02, mounting the motherboard vertically does seem to work for good airflow ventilation as the top panel felt really breezy. But as we've also seen, there are some drawbacks. Installation was pretty troublesome - specifically the PSU - and we didn't like that you needed four system fan headers to power the Raven RV02's fans. Should you need any adaptors on your motherboard's rear I/O panel, you probably may not be able to close the top casing cover any more, which kind of spoils the design.

Fortunately, the Raven RV02 does have a couple of things going for it. For starters, and perhaps most importantly, the cooling principle behind the Raven RV02 seems to work. By working together with the natural flow of warm air, it felt as if the Raven RV02 was expelling warm air much quicker than traditional casings. Also, the way air is drawn into the casing, via intake fans, at the bottom, means that, over time, your system internals would be probably cleaner so long as you keep the area at the bottom of the casing clean. This is further aided by the fan filters that SilverStone has conveniently provided. This is a nice and easy maintenance touch by the Taiwanese hardware manufacturer.

The SilverStone Raven RV02 is unique with its vertical-mounting approach, but it has its share of flaws.

The Raven RV02 will go on sale locally for S$249, and that puts it squarely in the sights of the similarly priced Cooler Master Storm Sniper and HAF 932 - both of which we've previously reviewed. To be honest, it really depends on your individual preference. Are you going to stick with the tried and tested method? Or do you want something out of the ordinary? The Raven RV02 works, but it is not without its imperfections. And if you can see past them and would like a radically different casing for your system, the Raven RV02 is worth a shot.

** Updated on 17th August 2009 **

We just received word from SilverStone that the Raven RV02 was supposed to come with a 3-pin to 4-pin Molex fan adapter cable that would have allowed the three intake fans to be powered by a single Molex power connector. It seems that our review unit did not come with this cable, leading us to believe that you needed to connect the fan's 3-pin power connectors to headers on the motherboard or purchase an adapter.

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