Raven RV02 or NZXT Phantom

[JJThomp]

Originally Posted by coleo

there are 2 ravens in this house. the old lady wanted a case just like mine but they were out of stock. she ended up liking the rv-01.
much of it comes down to what you want to put into it JJ.
what are your future plans? dual video card setup or just one.
to me that rv-03 case looks rushed. past expeirence has taught me that fans behind plastic covers creates more noise. and i dont know if the cooling will be as great with all them fans blowing in different directions.
oh and i think that top is fugly.... but that's me

I'm only gonna be on 1 monitor so I'm thinking high end single card (not ultra high end but 6950 or gtx 560)

I want to overclock so I'd like good cooling (not so much for performance but for fun).

[JJThomp]

Originally Posted by BrutalGreen

RV02 is miles better than the phantom at air cooling, however they are not even near the same pricepoint!

They are both priced at $150

If I get the phantom I'm going to get all the fans for it

IMO the phantom looks better but does the RV02 cool that much better?

[BrutalGreen]

Originally Posted by JJThomp

They are both priced at $150

If I get the phantom I'm going to get all the fans for it

IMO the phantom looks better but does the RV02 cool that much better?

yeah i saw after i posted that, the rv02 used to be 200$ range and I often c phantoms going at 110-120$. But yeah rv02 is the better aircooler, and the phantom well if you like the styling thats a huge plus for people like me who care about aesthetics. But thing is i actually prefer the looks on the rv02 so might be biased.

No matter how many fans u add to a phantom some parts of the rv02 will be noticeably colder as heat tends to get stuck under horizontal components like graphics cards as it rises on traditional cases... keep in mind tho the rv02 is a few mm too short for 5970s (can fit if u remove the fan grills) so 6990s won't fit. If thats a non-issue for u as it is for most people I would def recommend the 150$ rv02 even next to a 110$ phantom.

[JJThomp]

Originally Posted by BrutalGreen

yeah i saw after i posted that, the rv02 used to be 200$ range and I often c phantoms going at 110-120$. But yeah rv02 is the better aircooler, and the phantom well if you like the styling thats a huge plus for people like me who care about aesthetics. But thing is i actually prefer the looks on the rv02 so might be biased.

No matter how many fans u add to a phantom some parts of the rv02 will be noticeably colder as heat tends to get stuck under horizontal components like graphics cards as it rises on traditional cases... keep in mind tho the rv02 is a few mm too short for 5970s (can fit if u remove the fan grills) so 6990s won't fit. If thats a non-issue for u as it is for most people I would def recommend the 150$ rv02 even next to a 110$ phantom.

Thanks this has definately helped.

[AmuseMe]

I mostly just skimmed this all, but has anyone compared the build quality of the two? Or are we just looking at cooling potential and aesthetics? Again, I said I skimmed this thread so far.

SilverStone's quality stomps all over NZXT. Not saying NZXT doesn't make a nice case (hell, I love the Phantom. It's the only 'out there' case I actually like), but the Raven will feel 10x better - quality wise.

[BrutalGreen]

Originally Posted by AmuseMe

I mostly just skimmed this all, but has anyone compared the build quality of the two? Or are we just looking at cooling potential and aesthetics? Again, I said I skimmed this thread so far.

SilverStone's quality stomps all over NZXT. Not saying NZXT doesn't make a nice case (hell, I love the Phantom. It's the only 'out there' case I actually like), but the Raven will feel 10x better - quality wise.

VERY TRUE! i mean the phantom is pretty much all plastic, good plastic but still plastic...

[draemn]

Originally Posted by BrutalGreen

VERY TRUE! i mean the phantom is pretty much all plastic, good plastic but still plastic...

Yeah, the real win for the phantom is if you love the design & the fan controller is amazing :D Otherwise, it's got it's share of flaws (so it could fit in the $130 price bracket).

[xhrrcollector]

Raven does not have side fan which is an issue for graphic card. I didn't have raven 2 but i had raven 1. I loved the case but phantom's side fan really cool the graphic card.

[Mekaw]

Originally Posted by xhrrcollector

Raven does not have side fan which is an issue for graphic card. I didn't have raven 2 but i had raven 1. I loved the case but phantom's side fan really cool the graphic card.

dont think that's really a big issue as long as it's getting air from somewhere, typically from the front.

as not all cases have side panel with mesh for fan mounts

[rugox]

Both phantom and RV02 have VERY enthusiastic looking designs which I'm not a big fan of. I like my cases to be elegant and clean and slick rather than robot-looking. If you like RV02's innovative design, should also take a look at FT02. If I were to choose between the phantom, and RV02, RV02 definitely.