Raven RV01 Chassis (SST-RV01B-W), Elegance updated

Final Thoughts & Conclusion

The SilverStone Raven RV01 has stood the test of time so well so rather than end-of-line the chassis SilverStone updated it a bit and left the popular chassis on the market. Some products like the Raven are just timeless in their style and will always draw envious looks when built and displayed properly. The tool-less 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 inch drive bays hold drives solid but with vibration dampening efficiency. The low RPM 180mm and 120mm fans move air quietly but efficiently through the top of the chassis. How efficiently you might ask, previously we had a Dual radiator water cooling setup on the Asus X99 Deluxe and clocked it to 4.35GHz using an old school BCLK overclock. We ran stress tests on the X99 Deluxe with the water cooler in place in a less well vented chassis, then switched to the Raven under full load with dual radiator the temp hit 74°C in the Raven maxed out. In the older less vented chassis we hit 77°C under the same ambient room temp. The thermal design of the Raven gained us 3°C overclocking overhead in the harsh desert environment of the lab.

The two things we found lacking in the Raven were the top cowling release dials, they are somewhat over engineered and it’s hard to release the top cowling without feeling like your going to break it, The wiring amenities in the Raven are somewhat lacking but with effort you can do a decent wiring job. There’s room for improvement in the wiring amenities on the Raven but the stylish Fighter jet inspired chassis has a sleek modern look. It’s a bit of a trade-off looks vs better wiring amenities but generally you wire a chassis once then look at it for years so it’s not a bad trade-off.

The bottom vent and removable filter are a nice touch with the recessed PSU area. The combination of the vent and recessed area serve to keep the PSU heat from the motherboard chamber and exhaust its heat out the back. The removable filter is water rinse-able and drip dry but we suppose if you were in a hurry a blow dryer on low would do the trick. The big selling point for us is the 90 degree motherboard design, the I/O plate on the top prevents a lot of straining to get behind the machine and at the same time orients everything to let the heat escape naturally through the top.

The Bear Facts: The SilverStone Raven has a timeless Fighter Jet inspired design the likes of which many have tried to copy and failed, even 7 years after it’s release it’s still one of the best looking cases on the market and will serve you well both in style and thermal properties.