Product Listing

SilverStone Raven RV04 - A Flight of Fancy?

By Wong Chung Wee - 30 Aug 2013
Launch SRP: S$249

Exterior Design

Exterior Design

The immediate exterior of the Raven RV04 is made from reinforced plastic while its main body is made from steel. The color of the case is matte black and sports a concave facade, in the form of a hinged front cover. Although the front cover appears simple, the company has paid attention to the little details of the cover. There is a fastening magnet , which is hidden behind the plastic panel, located at the bottom of the chassis. This allows the hinged cover to latch somewhat securely to the chassis.

The casing sports a unique looking facade. It is actually a reinforced plastic front cover that swings open at the hinges.

The cover opens to reveal two external facing 5.25-inch drive bays, together with a pair of its bundled 180mm front intake cooling fans. There is a fine mesh dust filter located in front of the fans to reduce internal dust accumulation. Their operations are controlled by a pair of switches that are found below the last 5.25-inch drive bay.

At the bottom of the hinged cover, there is a piece of metal (marked by the red circle) that is attracted to the magnet (marked by the red rectangle) beneath the plastic front panel.

 

One of the fan control switches is seen below. It is a three-speed control switch and the other switch is located to its left.

This switch controls the top 180mm front intake fan, and the other switch, to its left, controls the bottom fan.

The top plastic cover of the chassis features a rather intricate design, with an embossed pattern that resembles the barbs of a bird’s feather. The ventilation holes are meant for the intake fan of the power supply unit that will be mounted at the top. Near the front, there are two buttons; one for power and the other is the reset button. With the cover open, the actual buttons are revealed beneath.

The top view of the Raven RV04. The chassis doesn't have options to mount any cooling fans here.

The reset and power buttons are located at the top of the chassis.

With the hinged cover open, the reset button is seen on the left; while the power button is on the right.

Next, we move to the side panel of the chassis where there is a large clear acrylic window. The casing's I/O ports are located at this side as well. They consist of two USB 3.0 ports, together with audio and microphone ports. Some may balk at the lack of easily accessible USB ports; these days several casings offer four USB ports. However, this minimalist approach is in-line with the Raven series. The Raven RV02 has two USB 2.0 ports too, on top of the same audio ports. Perhaps it's time that Silverstone revised their design code to appeal to its customers and today's heavily USB-focussed peripheral connectivity?

 At this side of the Raven RV04, we see the I/O ports, and the large clear acrylic panel.

The I/O ports of the chassis are located at the side, near the pair of 5.25-inch drive bays.

Moving to the rear of the RV04, we can see that the power supply unit (PSU) will be mounted at the top. There is an option to mount a rear 120mm outlet fan. Other notable mentions are support for eight expansion slots and a removable dust filter at the top panel.

At the top of the chassis, near the option to mount the PSU, there is a removable dust filter.

The removable dust filter that is located at the top panel of the chassis.\

This is the top removable dust filter of the Raven RV04. It has a fine plastic mesh that feels sturdy to touch.

There are no dust filters at the bottom; instead, we were greeted by the rubber padded feet of the chassis, and numerous options for securing screws. These can be used to secure 3.5-inch drive enclosures, or a pair of 2.5-inch drives. We will see these options in detail in the latter sections of the article.

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7.5
  • Aesthetics 8.5
  • Functionality 7
  • Usability 7
  • Value 7
The Good
Aesthetically unique
Fits practically any mobo form factor, including certain server boards.
The Bad
No cooling options besides the front and rear
No bundled drive adapters for 2.5-inch drives
No cushioning found at 2.5-inch drive mounts
Not completely tool-free usage
Limited front I/O control and options
Hot-swap drive bays not accessible from front
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