SilverStone Raven RV05 Review

SilverStone Raven RV05 Review

The Build

“Oh good, and accessories box, I wonder what’s inside?  Feels a bit light…..OH, a small bag of screws!”  Seriously SilverStone, was a box really necessary to house this small bag of screws and cable ties?  Thankfully the instructions are reasonable, although they do gloss over (as in totally ignore) matters such as how to remove the bottom air filter.

SilverStone Raven RV05 Review     SilverStone Raven RV05 Review

 

You don’t so much install the PCU as suspend it from the roof of the case.  Personal preference will determine whether you place the fan in or out and although you could make the argument that fan in will at least help extract some of the hot air from the roof we’ve chosen fan out to ensure the PSU gets a good supply of cool fresh air.  If you’re intending to keep the HDD rack installed Silverstone recommend that you do not use a PSU over 160mm in length.  As ours is 170mm and we have other plans for the base of the case we’ve taken the HDD rack out.

SilverStone Raven RV05 Review     SilverStone Raven RV05 Review

 

A large slot runs down the inside of the front of the case, through which exit all the front I/O cables.  If you’re looking for a tidy build you’re going to have to route these rearwards immediately.  It is a bit tight to have them make it round the corner behind the motherboard but with care it can be done.  With the Motherboard now in we can see how the RV05 favours the rotated motherboard set up.  The idea here is that air has a more direct path up from the base of the case towards the roof.  The reasons for this are sound as hot air rises and it’s hard to argue with physics, or though there are those out there that will try.

SilverStone Raven RV05 Review     SilverStone Raven RV05 Review

 

Space is at a premium inside the RV05, particularly so in the top right hand corner where it’s a real squeeze to get the 8 pin CPU cable through and turned back round onto the motherboard.  In the image below right we’ve put the top of the case back on, but as the rest of the roof and sides are actually an integral part of the side panels the roof area still feels very much open.

SilverStone Raven RV05 Review     SilverStone Raven RV05 Review  

 

We had to radically change our approach to cable management as conventional management holes are conspicuous by there absence.  It is though still possible to do a neat job back here.

SilverStone Raven RV05 Review     SilverStone Raven RV05 Review Â