SilverStone RV01 Raven Case Review

Exterior Impressions Con't

As mentioned earlier, this is a bottom mounted PSU case and as such the rear plastic panel does not cover this area. However, in what we are coming to believe is a trend the PSU area is more of a separate section and one could argue the PSU area seems to be added on as an after thought. In any case, the PSU area does not hinder nor take away from the striking angular looks of the RAVEN; rather SilverStone has been able to use it to their advantage and help accentuate these strong bold styling of the unit.


Except for the small oddly positioned window on one side, both side panels are mirror images of each other. Usually this means both are boring flat slabs of metal whose only job is to keep air in (and out) and to keep prying fingers away from your computer’s goodies. We are actually very glad and impressed to say this is not the case with Raven. The side panels of this case remind us a lot of the flaring of a muscle car where air could be sucked into the engine in the most aerodynamically friendly way. In many ways this analogy is spot on as the lower quarter of the these flares are meshed to allow fresh air to be sucked greedily inside.


The biggest reason we are in love with these side panels is the fact they are darn near bullet proof and easily make up a good portion of the weight of the case. To say they are made from thick metal which does not flex or bend with handling is an understatement is say the least. You really have no worries about these bending or otherwise becoming deformed during normal installation and removal.. As previously mentioned, the bottom area of these side panels is heavily meshed and does have some plastic moulding on it as well.

Like all well thought-out filtration systems, these mesh filters are removable so you can easily keep them nice and clean by just removing a whole bunch of screws. As an added bonus removing these screws also allows you to yank off the plastic molding.


These case panels may be heavy and while that is unusual and nice to see what really makes this case’s side panels unusual is not their weight but their installation and lock up. With most cases you either slide the panels in or swing them into position all in a horizontal plane (i.e. they move side to side not up and down), with this case they pivot along the lower length of the case and swing down and then up and out.

This unique motion does take some getting used too and so does the whole removal and reinstallation procedure. These doors do not have any hand holds or any way to easily hold onto them. You almost need to hook a finger and push them out of position and let gravity do the work for you as they abut up against the top plastic modeling. Then when they are a couple inches away from the case you then have to grab the door and lift it out of its track. Compounding the hassle factor is the two latch mechanisms which hide underneath the top plastic cowling/sheath. To unlatch a door you do need to first take off the top cover then slide the lone latch (per side) to the unlock position and then pry the door out. This is not overly bad, but reinstalling it means doing all this in reverse, and no slamming it home will NOT work.


Gently flipping this case on its side reveals are fairly well-constructed bottom. One large external piece of mesh covers the PSU area and helps keep dust out of the system. To clean this piece, you simply slide it out the back of the case, wash, let dry and reinstall. Trust us when we say your PSU will thank you for this as long as you keep it clean; otherwise it can reduce the amount of fresh air your bottom fan mounted PSU can suck in to keep itself cool.


The other mesh filter is internally located and the only reason we can see it is due to its mounting tags which stick out. This covers the rather large intake vent located towards the front area on the bottom of the Raven. When we get to the internal details we will go over this filter more.


As you can see, the four feet of this unit are large molded plastic diamond shape pieces with rather large diamond shape rubber strips glued to them. These feet will certainly keep the Raven stable and allow it to stay in one place, but we are not fond lovers of non-replaceable feet with glued in inserts. It has been our unfortunate experience that this style has a tendency to wear out faster and role up like a Fruit Roleup after awhile. Only time and testing will tell if these feet are different but in the mean time I thinks it’s a safe bet to give the SilverStone engineers the benefit of the doubt; after all this is an high price case and I doubt SilverStone will besmirch their good name over something as small and simple as poorly designed feet. At least we hope...