SilverStone Raven RV02

At the back of the SilverStone RV02 is a large air intake area that aligns with the power supply mount. To much satisfaction, this intake area -- as with the bottom fan intakes -- are protected by dust filters to cut down on the amount of dust that can build up inside. Opening up the Raven RV02 requires removing the top exhaust / port cover and then removing two thumbscrews from each panel. Removing the top cover is different from the RV01 design where now you basically just pull up for it to pop off where with the RV01 you had to move two plastic knobs and then pull back for its release. The RV01 also had plastic latches for securing both side panels while with the RV02 they opted to go with thumbscrews. At first, this took longer to remove the RV02 side panels compared to the RV01 with its latches, but it was not even 12 hours after receiving the RV02 that we went to go open up the RV01 and had one of the plastic latches break off! Therefore, the switch to using thumbscrews is welcome as that plastic latch breaking was the first time we have encountered part of a SilverStone case breaking. Another new addition with the RV02 is three small switches at the top of the case for adjusting the intake fan speeds.

When opening the case, the all-black interior is much the same as the original Raven, but with some prominent changes. The 90 degree motherboard orientation remains the same, while at the bottom of the case are three 180mm intake fans for providing necessary airflow. Removable dust filters protect these fans and the fans themselves are rated to run at 700RPM with 18dBA noise or 1000RPM at 27dBA. The lone 120mm exhaust fan at the top runs at 950RPM at 18dBA. At the bottom of the Raven RV02 are also two pre-drilled holes for any water-cooling tubes.

The ATX power supply mount for the Raven RV02 has also moved to the top of the case rather than at the bottom as found in the RV01. Another change with the RV02 is eight expansion slots rather than seven, to allow up to four dual-slot graphics cards to be installed. Cable management for the Raven RV02 is quite good with room to route some of the cabling behind the motherboard tray. The motherboard tray also has an opening for removing any back-plate from a CPU cooler, rather than needing to remove the entire motherboard. The HDD drive cage for the RV02 is secured by eight thumbscrews, which makes it a bit time consuming when installing or removing a new drive, but at least the cage is securely in place.