The Raven has finally landed! I’ve been looking forward to this case with great anticipation since the Silverstone people told me about it when it was in prototype stage. It was such agony to keep quiet about it even though I was so excited by this completely new concept that Silverstone had come out with. Before I start the review, I'd like to send out a big huge thanks to Silverstone Taiwan and Inter-Asia Technology Sdn Bhd for providing me with this case.



Introduction
I was really looking forward to the new layout of the motherboard placement which now has the I/O ports on the top of the case. I’ve always had a liking for non conforming layouts as I’ve always felt that the ATX standard is being left behind by PC components which are getting more powerful and much hotter by the day. In fact, a quad core + SLI rig is more like a nuclear reactor sitting in our homes. We enthusiasts need something better than ATX for sure. The new layout draws in cool, clean, filtered air from the bottom of the case and pushes it upwards through the motherboard and graphics cards and then exits straight out the top of the case. What better way to cool a PC than to follow one of the basic laws of physics in that hot air rises up.

Let’s get on to the case now. My first impression is how humongous this thing is. I had planned to go pick up the case from the Silverstone sole distributor in Malaysia(Inter-Asia Technology Sdn Bhd) using my MPV. However, on the day that Inter-Asia called me, the MPV was already in the service centre for its scheduled maintenance. So I had no choice but to go pick it up in my sedan. Would you believe it wouldn’t fit in my car? The only way I could do it was to remove the Raven from the box and put it in the boot.













The box had to be folded up and put in the back seat area.








I’ve always had a thing for opening up a big huge box filled with Silverstone goodness whenever a new one arrives at my house. I used to enjoy the whole process of making the very first cut on the box to the most exciting part where I lift the big bad wolf(Ooops! Sorry, it’s a Raven this time) out of the box. I’ve had no such joy this time as I had to do the whole thing out in the parking lot. Oh well, no pictures of the box this time. I’ll just start off with an overall look at the case.















Specifications



This post has been edited by ianho: Mar 12 2009, 04:03 PM

The front panel



The front door opens by pushing it in and sliding down until it clicks into the locking position right at the bottom. To close it, just press down on the click lock and it will release the door to slide back up. It’s quite hard to explain this so I made a video of it.



Pretty cool huh? I sat there and played with the door for a few minutes. It’s so mesmerizing, the way it slides up and down.







The rear panel
Here’s how the rear panel looks like.



The I/O ports are on the top now, there’s nothing on the back. It’s just a plastic cover. There is a really cool feature behind the cover though. It’s very easy to remove by taking out one screw. This is how it looks like with the rear cover taken off.

Look closely and you will see that there are two holes in the back for water cooling hoses. It also comes with a mounting kit for a radiator. I don’t have a 3x120mm radiator on hand but it certainly looks like it will take a big huge 3x120mm radiator on the back there. A very nice feature indeed.








The PSU mount is located right at the very bottom of the back panel.










Below that is an air filter that slides out for easy maintenance and cleaning.

The top panel
Here’s how the top panel looks like.









In order to gain access to the I/O ports and also to remove the side panel, these two knobs on the top need to be turned. Here’s a picture of the knobs in the locked position.








Turn it to the unlock position like this to release.







The rear piece covering the ports slides off after unlocking the knobs. This section of the top panel is generously vented as the heat from the graphics cards and 12cm fan exhaust through it. This is the main exhaust area.

Top panel with cover removed.



With the top cover removed, we now have full access to the ports. The PCI slots are covered with Silverstone’s Aero slots. Kudos to Silverstone for including these really nice vented slots instead of making it optional equipment. The 12cm exhaust fan is located up here too. It’s a low noise fan rated to run at only 950rpm.







This is the front part of the top panel. The on/off and reset buttons are located here.










Flick open the flap and it reveals the extra USB, firewire and audio ports.










Inside the Raven
This is where the case really looks outstanding. If you thought the exterior looked awesome, wait till you see the insides. Immediately upon taking off the side panel, all I could say was “WOWeeeeeeee!!!!!!”. Look at how the motherboard tray is rotated 90 degrees to the right. That’s what makes this case so unique. The graphics cards and CPU cooler can now vent straight out the top of the case. Perfect solution in terms of thermo dynamics since hot air rises.

Here’s an overall look at the inside of the case.



The horizontal bar with the Silverstone logo embossed in it is the graphics card support bar. It has clips to hold the graphics cards securely so they don’t fall out of the PCIe slots. I suspect most people won’t be using this bar though. I certainly won’t be using it as I need all the space I can get to fit in a giant CPU heat sink. Besides, most modern graphics cards have pretty thick PCBs which are resistant to bending and shouldn’t have problems staying in the PCIe slots provided we lock the thumbscrews securely to the case.








To remove the top panel just push on this lock next to the top exhaust fan to the open position and slide the panel off.

Panel on.






Panel off.











This is the other side of the case where we can see the motherboard tray’s wiring provisions.



The motherboard tray is awesome. Look at all those wire management holes and clips. It’s the perfect solution for wire management freaks like me who try to make the internals look like its wireless. This layout is going to make my life so much easier as everything is provided for. I don’t have to modify the tray in any way. Just route the cables through the back and hold them down using the provided clips. Wire management has become simple as 1,2,3. The most difficult part of wiring management for me has always been the wires at the bottom of the motherboard that connects to the power, reset, USB and audio ports. It’s now so simple to just push the wires through the holes at the back and route them to the top panel.

This post has been edited by ianho: Mar 12 2009, 03:01 PM

The DVD ROM slots have a very nifty design. All it takes is a click and the mechanism releases the lock. Here’s a picture of the new ROM slot locks.












Another really impressive feature is the hard disk compartments. The quick release feature is elegant and it works a treat. Here’s how the HDD compartment looks like.











To open it, click and pull the lever down.











After that, pull the tray outwards and the HDD comes out easily like this.







HDD hot swap connector.



This first tray that I’ve chosen to show in the pictures comes with a hot swap SATA connection. If required, you can buy the optional hot swap modules called CP05 and make all the HDD trays hot swappable. With the CP05, the HDDs can be swapped between the Kublai, Fortress and Raven series cases easily.

Let’s take a look under the case now.




The intakes are completely filtered. There are no unfiltered intakes in this case. The bottom has two intakes. The rear intake is for PSUs with a bottom fan. The front intake is for the rest of the case to intake cool, clean air from under the case. Look a little bit higher up in the picture and you will see the two intake fans. They don’t look extraordinary in this picture though.
Until you see this!



They’re 18cm fans! The picture above shows a 12cm fan next to it for size comparison. Makes the 12cm fan look like a puny little thing doesn’t it? That 18cm fan is hugeeeeeeee. They are specified to run at only 700rpm so it should be as quiet as a church mouse while moving lots of air with those big huge blades. The rear 18cm fan blows over the motherboard area while the front 18cm fan blows over the HDD compartment.










Here’s a closer look at the filtered intakes.
Bottom intake with the filter installed.













Bottom intake with the filter removed. It’s very easy to remove, just slide it off the mount and it comes out easily for cleaning purposes.













Side panel intake.



Both side panels have intakes too. Unfortunately, these side panel filters are not easy to remove like the PSU and bottom intake filter. They don’t just slide off. These side intakes need to be removed with a screw driver. They really should have made some quick release filters for the side panels as well.







Conclusion
I love this case! It looks absolutely fantabulously beautiful and has a revolutionary thermal system plus a superb wire management system. I’ve been waiting anxiously for this case for such a long time ever since I saw the prototype and I haven’t been disappointed in any way. The only gripe I have is the side intake filters that are not quick release.
Build quality and materials used are top notch. The plastics are of a really high quality and the metal parts are heavy gauge steel. It’s a nice solid case worthy of protecting high end components for a superb gaming rig. I wouldn’t recommend it for LAN parties though, this Raven is one heavy bird. In summary, I give it a full kick ass rating for having style and substance. This Raven is one mighty bird!

This post has been edited by ianho: Mar 12 2009, 03:44 PM

very cun casing...i like the design..so cool...

sweet casing~! looking forward to see ur completed work

WOW....
nice casing...
looks cool also...><

this casing definitely a rich man's toy

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Mar 12 2009, 04:14 PM

i have got to pay a visit to ur house man

actually...the price is expensive yes...but not THAT expensive...especially when compared to the TJ07 or the higher end Lian Li models which are selling for above 1k... its selling for around 7xx in the garage sales section..i actually think its quite reasonable.

if i were to buy a case, id be torn between this and the CM ATCS840. both are around the same price....

This post has been edited by mADmAN: Mar 12 2009, 04:17 PM

rm7xx huh?guess i have to start saving for my future rig's home

saw a lian li armoursuit selling for rm1.2k in garage sales.the design not tht attractive as this

This post has been edited by ZeneticX: Mar 12 2009, 04:30 PM

not going to put some hardware into that beauty ?

beauty case. look fantastic. like stealth fighter jet.
the most genius is, all black interior just like spedo. but this is more beauty.
overall, i still prefer CM Cosmos S.

nice .
out of the box design. not like usual one.

but the cable management will be darn hard.

and i like it if it is not a made in plastic.
brush aluminium would be great, but than the price will goes up.

what the advantages if their design position like that arr?a bit weird la design...

omg,dream case.. really-really-really love the front panel.. the way on how to open it.. so nice! not like open door like other case..

hmm,RM7xx eh? im saving my money for this hot bird!

Thank you uncle Ian for completing thie review.. This will give me a better reason for purchasing this hot mama or not..

this is more worth that than temjin07 i think lol. look at that bottom fan big buttt buddy..i like the pwr/rst button much
the mobo tray is not removable right

@ianho, why dont u put some screenie about cable management inside
this is reventon version case. i personally will take ft01 over raven, didnt really like the futuristic design.

wat a great opportunity u hav there uncle ianho... really jeles at you, can be said the 1st person in LYN to touch the very nice casing... any update together with i7 installed inside?

This post has been edited by omara86: Mar 12 2009, 08:54 PM

nop, the first guy touched raven was cstkl1

wah so garang this casing .

This post has been edited by aBc!!: Mar 18 2009, 02:12 AM

too bad not for lanparty-goers.
im imagining it to become shrinked in size, with some bays cutoff....

cant do.
besides, can the thermal system in the raven even works in a small sff?
but the design is so cool....

mean lookin case

finally uncle Ianho come out with his part 1 review....
hope to see how's the cable management done later
good effort bro~

How i wish that the light is not blue but red...

Hardware will go in soon. I've been too bz of late so I just do a review of the case 1st. Will update with the hardware install later.




Actually cable management should be very easy.





Advantage is that the hot air goes straight up instead of S flow here n there.






I wouldn't say it's anywhere near the TJ07's quality n prestige. TJ07 is in a whole different class. TJ07 is like the Porsche Turbo n Raven is like the Porsche Boxter(built to sell in big volumes).





I will show the cable management once I get my hardware inside.






Even waaaaaaay back during prototype stage, the Silverstone engineer was telling me about this case while we were having dinner, I was oredi rubbing my hands n waiting impatiently for it to launch. It was torture not being able to share with u guys earlier due to my obligation to keep quiet before official product launch.





LOL, being 1st to post pics doesnt mean 1st to touch. There r many things that the reviewers n sponsored people know n touch that the normal people dont even know exists. We keep quiet about it only because of NDA.









Howzabout some modding? This is a modding forum after all.

waa tis case sure sejuk 1
dude cant wait 2 see da Hw inside.....

uiks,where is cstkl1 post about cons of this case??

The con of the case i think is the cable management, abit hard

raped

Moved to Silverstone League. There is no point to a review within a review. It would be more useful for his views to be heard in the League thread as all people interested in everything Silverstone will naturally go there n read up about Silverstone users POV in there. Also, the local distributor reads up on users POVs in there n will be updated accordingly n will improve on service or any grouses ppl have with the brand or products.

This review thread will naturally fall back to the back pages n no1 will read it after a while when a newer case comes along. In the Silverstone League as with all the other leagues, all POVs whether good or bad, will be in there for a long time to come(usually up to a year) n will always stay around the 1st few pages for easy reference by all.

This thread is still alive?

1 casing = 1 thread?

Seriously if you have any grudge against ian, pls file a complaint in "Main Site/Forum Feedback and Helpdesk" sub forum instead of whining here. This is a review, and let's keep it that way.

@ianho,i won't call this a review without hardware fitted inside and some cooling result comparison with the TJ07 of your own
More like a first look

This post has been edited by OC4/3: Mar 17 2009, 02:00 AM

@Gd Stuff...slack part is no mobo tray removable
ianho faster finish the review hehe..wanna see the cooling result..

rly cool loking. maybe i shud start saving for this

i will consider this or haf932

this will by more mahal abit . ^^ But still nice.

This casing gonna kill me...haishh...

BTW this casing looks kewl and awesome...

Vary futuristics this case.

a very good casing i would say for the price of RM700+.

cool design with lots of features to play with.

at first i find this casing quite interesting,but there are a few flaw the way they oriented the motherboard,and the most important part is the cable management kindda horrible on this casing,which doesnt even give you that clean look feature,and for that price i suggested an alternative casing such as thermaltake spedo advance package which is superior in cable management and massive air flow which retailing around rm7xx..

i make a decision buying my thermaltake spedo advance system after a long considering side by side with raven with my hardware on hand...there is too much incompatibility that come with that mobo orientation,as a consumer my self i really suggest people to do a side by side comparison at your local shop to see what im talking about,anyway for anyone who interested there are small review written by me a month ago,just check it out,and im not sure the stock available or not for the time being as i grab this unit when it first arrived in malaysia and there are only 2 unit available at that time... check your local distro for more information.

the review might not be that good as im not a professional writer or from any shop,im just a normal user like the rest of you guys who just started to review some worthy stuff.
neway here is a link.

THERMALTAKE SPEDO ADVANCE REVIEW.

Bro, if Cooler Master ATCS 840 vs CM HAF vs thermaltake spedo advance package, who will be outstanding in term of air cooling part?

very cool casing must be more expensive..hehe

will it fit huge coolers like Cooler Master V10..... and some other huge giant cooler?? ths case is bigger then HAF92 and Antec 1200....... but the interior.... =.=

the inside looks like 3 storey house... got partitions... kewl...really aggressive looking casing...

Just wanted to ask , is this case silent ? where is the power button ? nice to click ?

silverstone build nice and quality casing... sure nice...

this casing make me crazy..
nice design.

Anymore review on this casing ? silent ?
Any picture on cable management for this casing ?

Hang on for the 2nd part with hardware installed. I had to wait till after PC Fair coz my King Kong rig needed to be at the Silverstone booth. Now I can take everything out n install into the Raven.

wow... 2nd part

looking forward to that

give url if got 2nd part!!!

Thanks , waiting for the second part of it.
What king kong ring at Silverstone booth ? mind share with us the ring at Silverstone booth ?

King Kong is the name he gave for his current TJ07 casing and rig (not ring)


go to the worklogs section and search for king kong and ull find a more detailed answer.

damn macho this casing....
hmm...cant wait to play with this casing..
nice review uncle ianho...waiting for the 2nd part....

It is gud looking casing but too bad it is not allu case at this kind of price should get lian li full allu case. =.=

maybe u are rite
i did state it at 1st page

but...

this is the 1st type of it own...
the 1st one to have the design like that....
for the price, it should be good... from the review, the quality are not bad also...

maybe i will regret saying this but... here goes...
this case pawn lian li for the price and the design

My opinion is, this case only can pawn lian li with its design, price is about the same as for a tower, n 4 material lian li sure pawn it back. This is what i think. Mayb u guys think in the other way is up to u. I m here to listen n accept. ^^

ive bought the case and used it already... its a nice case... satisfying..

Where and how much you bought ? =D

From inter asia? RM699?

i bought 670... at lowyat..!!

Au, the best price at PC fair was 699. Then what the fair for sucking extra RM20 more from customer?

PC fair stuff normally wont be cheap. Buy at lowyat better

Get it, will go for the fair for the display unit. will not buy there. SAD

I bought one.
Noise are so low for me.

But the fans are crappy.

two big 180mm 700rpm are just crappy if you guys live in Malaysia and don't have aircond like me at home. I just can't even feel anything

Same goes to its 120mm fans. I've changed it to higher speed fans.

I don't really care much about fans noise as it will be nothing when I opened mp3s via my woofer.

Other than that, I have a very nice looking casing to cover my hardware. Everyone drooling on it when they came to my house


Any recommendation on high speed 180mm fans please?

so big,i dun think can fit the kancil...sigh...

So far, i dont see any 180mm case fan selling here...Coz not many casing can fit 180mm fan...

Wow. That's a humongous machine.

wow.. what a nice casing...
if only ive enough money...

damn nice de design. got the stealth fighter vibe goin on ther...

Wokeh........... finally installed everything after working on it for 4 days trying out all kinds of cooling possibilities. Will sort out pics n update soon.

@ianho

wait for you updating this thread long time ago....wanna get more review about rv01 and the cable management..

This post has been edited by yoonyin: May 4 2009, 01:13 PM

Btw, can you give me a shot of the front LED? I wanna see if it can be mod from blue to red..

A picture for your imagination.Taken from CEX thread- http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=928856&hl=Raven

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll142/cstkl1/IMG_0080.jpg

This post has been edited by super_evil_alien: May 8 2009, 05:49 PM

i owned this case & seriously wut destfull is true! +1 for u bro...

that big 2 fans really crap...but i still dunno wut fan match for that size..

do you have any suggestion destfull?....wut fan u change to?...

btw i really love this case even though the fan craps lol....

yeahh go Raven !

Feel free to view my worklog people...

support him...he is going to spray the black ravern to red

Huh? Red raven? Dont u think it's very weird look?
Anyway, it's a good try...

wuttaa Raven in RED!!..

go support him!...

just change to the normal 120mm fans... but higher speed la...

Added some pics to this thread





Urm, here goes the pic.. but not the fan

how much is this casing?

RM699 before nego

RM 630 at kinkin

yup kinkin lowest price i think...i bought at him too last time ..

btw destfull cant see lo ur 120 fans ...

thats ur whole case lo

Im thinking either this Raven RV01 or Cosmos S

The only problem about Raven is that it has too much of plastic

plastic won absorb hot lik steel does??

yes

In crossroad to decide between this case (raven) and CM ATCS 840. Any thought guy ?

840 for the classic looks, quality and aluminium...
raven fot the concept and the price

i personally will choose the 840, if i ever have the budget

omg..

saw u pic..

i feel my shame my RV01..

look...




but do you encounter the front slide door have slip up problem??