A Detailed Look – At the Outside
The Silverstone Raven 2 has a matte black finish that’s been added to its reinforced plastic outer shell. The motherboard configuration made Silverstone put the opening to the case on the right panel instead of the normal left panel that’s on most cases. This case doesn’t have many flat areas on it and Silverstone made every attempt to add lots of sharp lines that really give this case a lot of character.
One of the more disappointing aspects of this case is the front I/O panel that only includes two USB 2.0 ports, audio ports, and black power and reset buttons. This paltry offering of front panel devices is not what I would expect from a case in this class or price range. The front panel should have had, at a minimum, ports for firewire, eSATA, and maybe event temperature gauges to monitor the health of the system.
The top panel is removable and adorned with a very unique design that incorporates a lot of black mesh to help exhaust heat from the system. This integrates well with the Raven 2’s overall cooling design, which basically
The right panel on the Raven 2 has a large plexiglass window that is secured with rivets. This side profile really showcases the beveled edges around the case and the angled slope on the top panel.
The back panel has one hatch that’s used to exhaust heat from the power supply. If the power supply comes with a 120mm or larger fan it will be able to utilize this filter and reduce temps in the overall system.
The left panel matches the rest of the case beautifully and can be removed via two thumbscrews under the top panel of the Raven 2.
The bottom of the case is quite unique as it houses three 180mm fans that can also be used in tandem with watercooling systems. The four rubber feet are very sturdy and should secure the Raven 2 in its place under any user’s workstation.
The overall exterior of this case is exceptional, and I only noticed a few flaws during my initial evaluation of the overall design and construction of the Raven 2. The largest issue I noticed was the missing features in the front I/O panel. Only having two USB 2.0 ports doesn’t meet the demands of today’s PC enthusiasts and should have been improved on a case in this price range. The other minor issue I had with this case involved the top panel on the Raven 2. The top panel snaps on easily enough, but having to remove every time I want to plug in a new device into the motherboard’s back I/O panel got pretty annoying. The look of the top panel is outstanding, but I’m not sure it passes my “functionality” test. Silverstone might want to look for alternatives to creating a cable management system that people can use without disassembling the entire top panel.
