Hello guys,
Need help on deciding on a PC casing. Im getting a new pc and im having issue on deciding on which chassis to get.
these are my options : Silverstone Raven 02E or Cooler Master Storm Trooper

Website:
Raven02E_site
CM trooper_site
I need advice preferably from ppl who have these chassis above or have good knowledge on this. I need your opinion and experience about these chassis.

What I think:

Raven 02 E
Pros
Awesome airflow (90 degrees)
good, powerful fan
Dust filters
windowed
Cons
wires coming out from the top !!??!
only have 2 usb slot( not big issue)
not really nice design ( in my opinion)
has no extra interesting features

Trooper
Pros
Awesome design (in my opinion)
Allot of features (usb 3.0 and 2.0 slots /tool box/ more HDD slots/ light and fan control )
Good space inside
dust filers
Cons
Not so good cooling ( I think)
No window

If my pc specs important for you guys to help me decide ,these are the list:

1X gtx680 msi twin froz (plan for sli in near future)
Gigabyte sniper 3 z77
crosshair 750 W PSU
1X 1tWD HDD
1X SSD
crosshair h60 CPU cooler

PS:I dont mind if u suggest something else also (around rm 500 range full tower). But preferably the choice between this two.

I'll go for Trooper than Raven,

Raven has a simple airflow which is better in most cases, but it has a bad intake. the case draws air from bottom, which is going to make a little harder to vacuumed all the air, unless you lift your case a bit higher just to get more room for air.



dust will simply clogged underneath it despite having a dust filter.

trooper has a similar standard CM690 air flow system. im used to that kind of air flow, so itll be easier for me to know how much air is circulating inside.



your pick eventually.

i beg to differ on a few points:


at its current height it is good plus cleaning the table/platform where the Raven 02 sits on is just a simple matter of wiping it. so far the airflow is good. also, if really want, it is very easy to increase the height with various cheap DIY method.


dust will blog anywhere where there is intake. i would like to know how or what kind of indication determines the air circulation inside? i have not use the CM690 so i can't comment on it, no doubt, its a good casing. the RV-02 has a window and because of its airflow system, you can just put your hand on top of the casing and you will know...
- how much air is circulating.
- how hot is the air being exhausted.

szhafri,
depends on your criteria, space, and like of design, both casing i think are just as good. i give my 2cents on the RV-02 since i own it.

Raven 02 E
Pros
Awesome airflow (90 degrees)
agree! it cools my GTX590 well.

good, powerful fan
it is quiet too on all LOW setting, you can hear nothing at all, no hum, no whine, and my casing is 3-4 feet away from me at the same height. the moment you push to HIGH, you can hear a small hum.

Dust filters
i definitely love this! only one small problem though, every time i want to clean them, i have to open the side panel.

windowed
if you have beautiful inside, well and good cable management, i guess this is a pros. plus i brought from nic a LED temp reader which shows the internal air temperature.

Cons
wires coming out from the top !!??!
if you close the cover, it actually comes through the back and maybe some will like it and some will not, i am quite alright with it as i brought a 1 inch tube and wrap all the cables from the moment it exit the back to my table. three monitors and 5.1 system has a LOT of cables.
plus my wifi adapter is hide under the cover cause all the MB USB ports are at top.

only have 2 usb slot( not big issue)
i would have prefer four and it might have look nicer too.

not really nice design ( in my opinion)
no 2cents on this...

has no extra interesting features
its true, the CM690 seems to have more features than the RV-02.

in the end, you should get a casing that you like
unless you plan have a quad GPU setup or setup complicated WC later, then maybe it needs a lot more planning and consideration into certain elements. but your current setup, any of these two casing will be more than sufficient with cooling or maintenance.

This post has been edited by chaosneo: May 2 2012, 11:28 AM

You also may consider Colossus Window(Please confirm if they equipped with USB3.0 port) http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1896670 and THERMALTAKE OVERSEER RX-I http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/998780

Tropper got window version
u can find it in the Garage Sales
http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/chassis/Trooperwindow/

Thx for the advice Chaosneo . And Sadrax,im trying to find the windowed one but abit difficult (almost rare). The shop im getting from only has no window. How much roughly the colossus Hilmax?

---

Added on May 2, 2012, 8:33 pmk nvm , found it. its rm490 . Thx for the link

This post has been edited by szhafri: May 2 2012, 08:33 PM

szhafri,
i have to reply here because it won't allow me to post attachment in the PM.


it is cosair and not crosshair hehehe
i am using Cosair CPU cooler H80, i don't think it will block the air flow exiting. because of its design, which is to:
1. naturally flow hot air up.
2. it is POSITIVE PRESSURE system means more air into casing then exiting.

which putting a H60 will boost the exit of hot air. if you are not a overclocker of CPU then it should be alright because your radiator will be channeling hot air through its input rather than cold air. i don't intend to overclock my CPU as usage even in gaming is still low, i7 can still very well handle much of today games.


first,
i am not sure if H60 uses only one fan or it can put two fans. but either way, the radiator won't block as it. the natural flow of air plus the help of the fan in either push/pull configuration will help hot air exit.

second,
as long you don't use up all the slots, hot air can go out through there. plus a positive pressure system, you will find hot air will try to get out through any holes it can find.


i don't know how many cables you have but as for me, the list is here.
- three monitor cables
- audio/speaker cables (four in total)
- two USB cables, one for keyboard & another is extension (which is thick & comes with its own audio cables)

i believe it won't block as long you position the cables to one side & that it did not totally enclose the exit. the hot air not only exit through the 120mm fan slot above but also at PCIE brackets that are unused which is why silverstone uses brackets that has holes. there are also another mesh exit holes just after the power button. i assume this is for heat from HDD, but with tech moving towards SSD, i doubt that be needed too.

ps. the pictures here are around 300-400kb, sorry for the size.

the top of the casing, here are my cables.


the interior, i am still working on my raven so forgive for the messy-ness.


the back, this took me a LOT of effort to get them organize


ahhh my BF3 station.


This post has been edited by chaosneo: May 6 2012, 06:01 PM

THX for the Infos and images~!

Bro,
please post some pics once you done setup.

off topic. u using only one gtx590 to power up 3 monitor? how its performance? can u max bf3 setup?

This post has been edited by Ulysses: May 12 2012, 09:55 AM

i prefer a single card solution. less heat & power needed, and probably less noisy comparing to two GPU like GTX580 SLI.
i ran BF3 at 5040x1050, a FULL HD triple monitor would have been 5940x1080 so bear in mind my FPS are a for quite a little less pixel.

at all ULTRA settings:
multiplayer
32 players: averaging usually at 20-40fps depending on maps.
64 players: barely playable. you are looking at 10fps.
campaign: playable, with FPS averaging at 30-60. also depending on maps.

so i usually just lowered it to HIGH and play at that settings. highly playable on all maps and 64 player crossfire.
i assume you are a BF3 soldier, so you know, since where we got time to admire the scenery than they flashing of light of gunfire, explosives smokes from cannon shells, and death rockets from above, and the ever eager C4 planter.

This post has been edited by chaosneo: May 12 2012, 04:07 PM

Storm Trooper because i'm using it. The only thing i dunt like is cables for front panel,too many >.<

erkkkkkkkkk

CM Storm Trooper Window Edition, like mine :











Front - x2 120mm FAN (You can add 1 more 120mm fan if you drill a small hole.) which make it 3 x120mm FAN
Left Side - 2 x 120mm FAN (Custom Drill, if you have rotate your HDD/SDD slot to face the front.)
Right Side - 2 x 120mm FAN (Custom Drill, if you have rotate your HDD/SDD slot to face the front.)
Behind - 1 x 140mm FAN
Bottom - 2 x 120mm FAN
Top - 3 x 120mm FAN / 1 x 200mm FAN

==================================
Total FAN (mine) : 12 x 120mm FAN, 1 x 140mm FAN
==================================
* PS, Still not yet include the Cooling from processor, RAM cooler, vga cooler and PSU cooler*

If that is not cool enough, I don't know what it is.