Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
Personally, I have been so accustomed to installing, reinstalling, and uninstalling computer components in and out of different chassis, it has become a habit already. To be honest here, this has got to be the easiest and neatest cabling job I have ever done, since the Raven RV03 provides you with plenty of working space, as well as additional room on top of that behind the motherboard tray. With the motherboard installed first and out of the way, there really isn't a specific order in which components have to be installed. SilverStone specifies CPU coolers should be no more than 163mm tall. This means coolers as large as the Noctua NH-C14 should come with little issues, if any. Motherboards like the Gigabyte G1.Sniper should not have any issues either fitting into the case, even though it may measure to an extra 2cm wider than standard ATX boards. I have decided to hide my HDD at the back of the motherboard tray, just to add the extra kick in terms of cable management neatness without pulling an extra long one through the front. I have had absolutely no problems routing the cables at the back, since there was plenty of space here to work with. As well, if you have some empty hard drive trays, you could easily hide some cables here to keep them tugged away and out of sight.
After a quick 30-minute job, I have my system ready to be booted up. Save for what goes on behind the window, your system should look pretty similar to what I have here. Pressing the power button fires up my computer, it turns on the Green Lantern glow emitted from my Gigabyte G1.Sniper motherboard, as well as the white power indicator glow emitted at the front top edge. With both of the bottom mounted 180mm fans running, you would presume that they would be quite loud, especially both of them are running at maximum speed. On a scale from 0.0 to 10.0 where 0.0 is silent and 10.0 is the loudest, both fans running at their lowest setting comes in at around 2.5/10 in my personal opinion. Cranking them up to maximum would bring the noise level to 4.5/10. Of course, these ratings are all subjective in accordance to the end user's preference. If you really have a hard time concentrating, you could always pull the plug on one of the fans. As discussed on the previous page, even if you run the fans at a slower speed, the SilverStone Raven RV03 has some of the most efficient airflow designs, and it is not likely your computer will overheat anyway.
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If you are really curious, here is the rest of the introductory paragraph of the poem to finish off the introduction: "While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping / As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. / 'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber door - / Only this, and nothing more.'" (The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe) Although I may not be a poet, I can still tell you quite a bit about the SilverStone Raven RV03. Consistent with my first impressions, the SilverStone Raven RV03 is quite the style, along the front and top plastic panels and its unique asymmetrical design. The top panel is easily removable to access the I/O ports and other features here while keeping some of the dust out, although it would be greatly appreciated if dust filters were implemented in this location. SilverStone does, however, tack on two magnetic dust filters on the underside to prevent most of the dust being drawn in by the two huge 180mm fans and the PSU intake fan, which makes it quite convenient to pull off when you decide to clean it out. What truly is different about this case in comparison to most standard modern cases is the Raven RV03 has the motherboard tray rotated 90 degrees clockwise, putting the I/O panel area at the top of the case, and significantly increasing the airflow efficiency of your system. It's not an easy job to go against the norm, and the RV03 is packed with innovation and ingenious designs. In addition, SilverStone gives you plenty of space all around without hindering you from doing your installation work. On top of that, it is made of steel for the most part that is 0.8mm thick. Although this may put on quite a bit of weight, this gives the chassis a solid all-around feel. If you think about it, you won't be moving your desktop around much anyways. But down to the real complaining part, I expected that since the Raven RV03 is so well built, the plastic sections still seem to be quite flimsy. The removable plastic top panel just does not give that feel in terms of build quality when removing it. Also, the plastic handle feels like it is about to snap off anytime due to the fact that it is held down by only two screws. Other than these two relatively minor factors worth considering, the SilverStone Raven RV03 is a cleverly designed case that's like no other.
SilverStone provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH:Renewal Award | APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that aren't likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.9/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
I don't know much about Edgar Allan Poe's Raven, but what I know is SilverStone's Raven RV03 is really unlike any other case -- it is unquestionably one of a kind, thanks to its brilliant design and really slick looks.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
