SilverStone Raven RV03: Streamlined Bird of Prey
by Dustin Sklavos on July 20, 2011 1:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- SilverStone
- Full-Tower
Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock
For cases with adjustable fan settings like the Antec Sonata IV and NZXT H2, we're using the intermediate setting since in both cases it offered the best balance of noise and performance. The SilverStone Raven RV03 also includes a fan controller for the two bottom fans, but this is a bit tricky: there's no way to disconnect these fans from the controller, regardless of whether or not you're also using fan control from the BIOS, and all three fans that ship with the Raven RV03 use three-pin connectors.
The fan controller has two settings for each of the bottom fans, "High" and "Low," and so the RV03 was tested with each. Note that there's a frankly staggering number of fan configurations you could conceivably use in the RV03 and addressing each one would push this review out quite a ways, so we're sticking with the stock setup.
Temperatures are among our best, but the RV03 really needs to be running at high fan speed to separate from the rest of the pack. It's at this point that it's worth reminding you that airflow in the RV03 is very specifically directed; while the In-Win BUC is pretty much wall-to-wall ventilation, the RV03 very specifically pulls air from the bottom and blows it out the top, creating a positive-pressure wind tunnel.
Unfortunately the RV03 also separates from the pack in another way: it's among the loudest cases we've tested when it's running at full bore. I personally checked other reviews of the RV03 from reputable sites and their findings largely jibe with mine: noise, along with airflow, is directed out of the top and thus closer to the end user. In the RV03's defense, though, the character of the noise is different: it's audible, but the noise is very low-pitched and hollow. It's not a jet engine, and thankfully you still get decent thermals when running the fans at low speed.
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yelped - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
Great job on the review!Thanks.
tzhu07 - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
Do these industrial designers have any taste at all?That thing looks like crap. So tacky looking and lacking any kind of grace.
If there was a Razzie award for industrial design, this thing would be nominated for sure.
B3an - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
Exactly! Why is it SO ridiculously hard to find cases in this category that actually look good? And not like they've just got a load of ugly random plastic parts and glued them all together?I mean just look at the first pic on page 1, thats one seriously ugly case, but almost all cases like this look just as bad (or close anyway) and cheap/home-made looking.
For a long time i've been looking for a case with good cooling, loads of space and features and theres such extremely little choice as 99% of them look like cheap tacky shit even when they cost hundreds.
Impulses - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
I feel like a lot of case manufacturers are trying to solve non-existent problems... While ignoring the real issues. CPU heat output hasn't increased all that much over the last ten years, the latest HSF tower designs have largely kept up with the demand and other components have become much more efficient (PSU, HDD, SSD, larger fans, etc.)... The one outlier is the GPU(s).Silverstone's internal design does address that to an extent, but I think they're over-complicating matters. The tried and tested ATX design of old still works wonders, especially if manufacturers stop insisting on throwing in so many useless drive bays that the majority of people just aren't using (5.25" particularly).
People with multiple GPUs aren't usually running a server or a RAID 5 array inside the same rig... Cases don't need to be huge to cope with multiple video cards, just deep. Take any mid-range case that allows you flexible placement of 120mm fans across the front bays and line up those fans so that they each push air directly past the CPU and GPU independently and you don't even need discrete thermal zones, because the airflow creates it.
As far as external design... It's a crying shame Silver stone has forgotten their CM ATSC roots, the understated design of those old AL cases would still sell like hotcakes today imo. Corsair understands that to an extent, tho I think they could go even cleaner.
piroroadkill - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
I disagree with the many drive bays thing - I think it's very useful to fit as many internal 3.5" bays as you can - I have an Antec P182 and I'm running 9 drives - an SSD that I cable tied in, and 8 3.5" hard drives (no optical drive).However, we live in a world where CPU cooling issues can be fixed with something like a Noctua NH-D14, and will be almost silent under any condition, as long as you put a 120mm fan in line to exhaust the heat, that problem is solved, so I completely agree with the GPU cooling issue, since that's the thing that will cause the most heat and noise inside a case.
The0ne - Monday, July 25, 2011 - link
Yep, I like having as man internal drive bays as I can for my main computer. But recently, with USB3.0 and such I've started to lighten up as more devices comes out to make use of it. This is because for the most part most of the HDD are storing data, backups, movies, music and TV shows. Still, it is very convenient to have all the drives in one case and at full speed.This case is not attractive.
EnzoFX - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
Agreed. I too would like a compelling reason to upgrade. I think a layout re-design would be great, and easy for them to do, yet they waste all their time into ugly exteriors and features no one really cares about.How about something with positive air pressure? (Yeah this and other cases do, but most are negative). Get rid of all those 5.25 bays! Fine if you need one, keep one, but make the ones you do put on there have a secondary function, and not just it be wasted space. I also dislike when they add features that other people may add through 3rd party manufacturers, like card-readers, etc. but they are no more better integrated than theirs. If it's coming direct from the case manufacturer, how about integrating it so that it isn't wasted space, or a mess of wires to handle, etc.
SamVimes - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
Right,at the moment most of the cases can be classified into the two main looks, the KITT (Knight Rider) look (with moving lights on the front) and the Transformers look.
When I see the RV03 I'm afraid of pushing the wrong button, not booting my machine but making it convert into a robot, ...
FT02 wft!
sam
gramboh - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
Chiming in to agree with you here. The FT02 is a nice, subtle, high quality looking enclosure. Excited for a new product from Silverstone, I took one look at the first picture of this thing and didn't even bother reading the review.There is a big segment within the enthusiast sector that wants high quality materials, sleek, understated looking cases like the Antec P180/182/183, FT02, Corsair 650D etc. Personally I prefer an option for a window-less side panel as well.
I get there is still a bling contingent who like the hideous stuff that Thermaltake and others put out.
Zoeff - Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - link
I don't understand the reason why this case exists when you can get the RV02-E if you pay 10 more euros. (This case is mostly identical to the FT-02 that the reviewer mentions)This is what I did and many of the flaws of this case don't exist. The mechanical HDD's are properly cooled by a 180mm fan, the PSU length is of no concern and the design is much more simplistic which would appeal to a wider audience. How a case looks like isn't usually what makes or breaks a decision for me but that's just too flashy for me.