Specs and initial thoughts
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Model name | SilverStone Raven RV02B-W | |
| Case type | Midi-tower | |
| Dimension(W x H x D) | 212mm x 503mm x 643mm | |
| Weight | 12.5kg | |
| Available colours | Black
(without side-panel window) Black (with side-panel window) |
|
| 5.25in drive bays | 4-5
(with one or more 3.5in drives installed) / 7-8 (without any 3.5in drives installed) |
|
| 3.5in external drive bays | 1 (occupies a 5.25" drive bay) | |
| 3.5in internal drive bays | 3 (occupies 3 of the 5.25in drive bays) | |
| 2.5in internal drive bays | 1 (only suitable for solid-state drives) | |
| Expansion slots | 8 (7+1) up to 10.in in length | |
| Side panel | SST-RV02B
(no window) / SST-RV02B-W (windowed) |
|
| Material | Reinforced plastic outer shell, 0.8mm steel body. | |
| Front I/O panel | Audio / 2 x USB 2.0 | |
| Cooling fans | 1 x
120mm (exhaust, top) 3 x 180mm (intake, bottom) |
|
| Mainboard support | mATX / ATX (12in x11in maximum) / SSI CEB | |
| Tool-less design | Partly, some 5.25in drive-bays and side-panels | |
| Protection | Rubber
grommets
for routing the water-cooling tubes to and from a
radiator, plastic edging for cable routing. |
|
| Maintenance | Removable and washable filters | |
| LED | Red - HDD, 2 x bright blue - power | |
| Price | £103.44, including VAT and delivery | |
Discussion
Keeping you waiting by looking at the specs, it's clear to see where some of the compromises have been made in terms of functionality when compared to its larger brother, the RV01.
Firstly, half of the 3.5in drive bays have been axed, and none of them are removable/hot-swap.
In addition, as the chassis is now a fair bit smaller and motherboard support has been slightly restricted. That said, the typical 12in x 9.6in- and 12in x 10in-sized ATX boards will still fit fine. One final cost-cutting measure is the removal of the front FireWire port.
It's not all bad, though, as a new inclusion is a single 2.5in drive-bay that's suitable for solid-state drives.
What's more, the anti-vibration drive-mounts on the drive-cage are of a better design, and SilverStone has also found room for an extra 180mm intake fan, as well as an eighth expansion slot.
On paper, the Raven RV02 should offer a compelling alternative not only to its bigger brother, but also to similarly priced midi-tower rivals.
