Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
Generally speaking, if you have taken a quick look at the front and top sides of the Raven RV03, you may have noticed it utilizes multiple V-shaped designs, which quite simply reminds me of aggressive birds, at least to my interpretation. Taking a look at the front here, we can see gold strips down the sides, with the seven external 5.25" bays situated between them. When not in use, they are simply covered up by plastic covers with the V-shaped design as aforementioned. Six of these bays can be easily be converted to internal 3.5" bays via the adapters, in which we will take a closer look at on the next page. As well, at the top of the case, there are the power and reset buttons on the left and right corners, respectively. A very cool looking semi-transparent V-shaped plastic is also found here, and will light up to let you know that your computer is turned on. Under the hood, SilverStone has integrated the HDD light behind this piece of plastic, and will flicker a small red light in the center to indicate drive activity. Personally, I find that SilverStone has really put some thought into this area to keep the looks simple and sleek without ignoring the basic functions, and I really like that.
The left side features quite a large window, so that whoever passes by can easily take a sneak peak at your fancy internal components, or to simply show off your neat cabling skills. A small mesh design is slightly bumped out in this location, with holes that are quite large, so you can stick your you-know-what in there (Yes, I'm talking about your finger, what were you thinking about?). Actually, it is there so you may turn your PSU that is installed here on or off without taking the panel off. Keep in mind that if you get your finger stuck, insurance will not cover for lost body parts, haha. Other than these features, SilverStone claims the steel panels are 0.8mm thick. Personally, this isn't too bad in terms of weight, but since almost all sides are made of steel, the sum of it comes out to a whopping 11.4kg, which is quite heavy once you have all your components installed. The Raven RV03 measures to 235mm in width, 522mm in height, and 570mm in length, making it quite a large case in comparison to other ATX models. But it is the quality that counts, right? The SilverStone Raven RV03 feels very solid. Looking at the top edge, it is clear to me SilverStone modeled the design of the Raven RV03 with a very prominent 'raven' overtone, as its name suggests. For example, a look at this area from the side reminds me of the raven's feathers that are sticking out on its back, haha.
Featuring the revolutionary 90 degree rotation of the motherboard tray, you won't see the typical I/O panel, exhaust fan, expansion slots, and thumbscrews at the back of the Raven RV03. Instead, SilverStone provides you an option to install a 120mm fan near the top. There is an array of openings on the left side to provide some ventilation to the back side of the motherboard tray. The other side panel is almost identical to the first side panel, but instead of having a window, you are provided with yet another optional 120mm fan bay. As aforementioned, these two sides are also made out of steel. At the top edge, you are provided with a decently sized opening in which you could use to carry the case around, but in reality, is mainly used to feed your cables through to the I/O panel that is situated near this location, because of the 90 degree rotation.
Here's a quick look at the top panel with the V-shaped designs and ventilation, as well as the gold strips running on both sides continuing from the front panel. The very first thing that comes to my mind is whether or not it has dust filters. Taking a closer look, you are unfortunately provided with none. This has been quite an issue for me, especially when I am not at home and the computer is off, because this area can easily attract settling dust. It would be much appreciated if SilverStone provided some dust filters here to save the hassle of cleaning the case interior in the long run. To access the I/O panel, you will need to give the plastic panel a little nudge upwards. An additional problem I found here when removing the plastic panel is that it seems to be somewhat flimsy. The clips that keep this panel attached to the case felt like they were ready to snap every time I tried removing it. I would have expected SilverStone to have added some reinforcement here just to be on the safe side. Near the front, you will notice a small opening where you can easily access the fan controller for controlling the bottom case fans, in which I will touch upon later. A small flap covers up the USB 3.0 ports and 3.5mm audio jacks.
The bottom panel features four supporting feet at each of the corners, with each mounted on by two screws. One neat thing I found in this area is the SilverStone Raven RV03 uses two magnetic dust filters on its plastic frames to cover up all the ventilation openings on the underside. This makes it easy to take off and put back on for cleaning purposes. Shifting our focus a little bit here, you will notice there are two 180mm fans that comes with the Raven RV03 out of the box. This will generate quite a bit of airflow at the intake, but being mounted at the bottom only gives dust a good chance of entering your system in addition to the PSU intake, especially when over carpet areas and the such. Having the removable dust filters here is a great addition to the SilverStone RV03. Also provided near the front is a small opening for you to stick the power cord to provide power to your PSU, where it is just situated right behind.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
