SilverStone Raven 4 Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅27-07-13
Exterior

Moving in for a closer look we first come to the front of Raven 4. The front fascia is plastic, acts as a door and is split into four sections with distinct lines carved in a vertical arrangement. The Raven emblem is found at the top of the case.

Around the back the PSU mounting region is found at the top of the case – the opposite of what you’d expect from a typical computer chassis. Below this there are a series of eight PCI expansion slot covers, each with ventilation and thumbscrews for easy removal. Found at the bottom is a perforated mesh section giving place to an optional 120mm rear exhaust and beside it the rear IO for the motherboard.


The front and back of Raven 4


With the front fascia on Raven 4 acting as a door this reveals many different features. Due to the front door being quite close to the ground care needs to be taken to avoid asserting too much pressure to the top-side as this can cause the door to collide with the floor. This front door isn’t especially robust and is somewhat flimsy, we’d have liked to see more ground clearance and a sturdy design executed.

Opening this door out reveals a removable dust filter which uses SilverStone’s “HighFlow” Technology. This filter covers two gargantuan, dual 180mm Air Penetrator AP181 intake cooling fans which are solely responsible for airflow within Raven 4. The theory behind using just intake cooling fans is quite simple: intake cooling fans will force strong airflow across the system and even help with dispelling heat from the CPU cooler. SilverStone have opted for only an optional rear exhaust fan to obtain the best noise : performance ratio. These fans also come with a three-switch fan controller which are situated just above where the fans sit - 600/900/1200RPM.

Also in this region are two 5.25” drive bay covers.


Front door opens to reveal lots of features



Three speed fan controller for either 180mm cooling fan


The power and reset buttons on the Raven 4 are found on the top-side of the case whilst the front panel connectivity runs vertically along the edge of the front. This area features dual USB 3.0 ports which connect to the motherboard header and headphone/microphone jacks.


The front panel connectivity sits on the edge


That top panel is again plastic in its construction and has a section of ventilation towards the back – this is to aid the PSU, since this is mounted at the top of the chassis and will have its fan facing this ventilated region. There is a handy dust filter will can be removed from the case whilst it is standing, with a simple pull. This top panel can be removed, but requires both side panels to be detached first because they lock the top panel in place.


The top panel with ventilation for PSU


Finally the underside of the case has four rubber feet to prevent Raven 4 from slipping on smooth surfaces. There is no need for any ventilation or dust filters at the bottom since the PSU is mounted at the top.


The bottom of Raven 4


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