Customer Reviews

SILVERSTONE RV02B-W 0.8 mm Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case (Matte Black)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a big case but easy to put together. Almost any size power supply will fit in it. Plenty of room left after I install my 3 video cards. Each fan along with the intake for power supply has a filter. This is a great case that will keep your components cool but will take up a lot of space.

The only bad thing about this case for me is it can only hold 3 hard drives, but it does come with tray for an SSD hard drive.

First, I have to mention that the case comes with the improved AP181 air penetrator fans, which greatly improve the cooling performance of the case. Here is a link to the fans that are included and already mounted and cable-routed for you : SilverStone Air Penetrator Air Channeling Case Fan 180*180*32mm, 700/1200rpm AP181 (Black)
It is also updated, with an extra reinforcing bracket at the top (strengthening the case) and an improved power/reset button. (better than the previous design)

I love the case. Excellent price and value for the features provided.
Easy to build in, looks great (black, black interior, huge fans, sleek lines...), performance is top-notch (one of the best air-cooled cases around.)
Didn't have any problems with cable management, it looks clean and uncluttered, while not difficult to achieve.

Noise levels are really low, mine has the three fans at Low, the 12cm fan at the top is a bit noisier, I might replace it.
Even at low, the AP181 fans achieve great airflow, keeping everything cool in near-silence. (low pitched airflow noise, not intrusive)
The PSU holds by the screws at the top AND by a small included bracket that you can adjust so it supports it from underneath. Useful.
The air filters are good, even though mine sits on the desk some dust is caught in.
I haven't plugged the power LEDs so I can't really tell how bright they are. It is a Molex, doesn't use the motherboard headers : no blinking while in standby...
Hdd led is a red led in the front of the top "V", it is not intrusive and not too bright.
The window placement is good, it is wide so you can see everything inside. It attracts fine dust though, which actually might be a good thing.
Routing cables at the back was less of a problem than I thought it would be. I managed to make it look clean. Just be careful, a bad cable routing can impede outwards airflow.

Niggles :
* The HDD cage is the main pain with this case. Only holds 3 HDDs, and has to be removed from the front of the case : pop off the bottom 3 case panels and out it comes.
* If an optical drive is installed the cool looks are ruined. I didn't put any in (who need a DVD drive nowadays with online distribution of games ?) I can plug one in if needed.
* The cables holes could have used some grommets to make them look neater.

Get this case. The performance, looks and quietness make up well for the niggles that are one-time issues. Once it's built, you forget about them.

This is truly a fantastic case. I honestly believe this is the best case out there for air cooling your system. This chassis comes with three 180mm intake fans and one 120mm exhaust fan. The intake fans are speed adjustable and the case runs very quietly even with it's 3 intake fans set at their 1,000 RPM high speed. I specially like the way this case looks sitting on my desk, the overall quality of it's design, finish and attention to detail. Except for when installing a pci card, it is really easy and fun to work with. Routing all your cables from behind the motherboard can be done in a very neat and efficient way thanks to all the openings around it.

Now, for the not so great things:

I sometimes have a hard time seeing the HDD activity indicator red light, and I believe this is because it is right in the middle of the plastic that illuminates blue when you power up the computer. If you don't provide power to the blue light then this shouldn't be a problem anymore. I personally think the blue light looks cool and prefer to keep it on. One thing I noticed is that the acummulation of dust inside the chassis might be higher than on typical ones. Though the intake fans and the back cover come equipped with filters, this systems 90 degreet rotation of the motherboard means the the whole top is basically open. When turned on this shouldn't be a problem for obvious reasons, but if you plan on turning it off sometimes you should expect higher rates of dust accumulation.

Well, I don't think the inconveniences I just mentioned are a big deal, however I'am deducting a star because of the intial difficulty to install the first pci card which in my case was of course my graphics card. The top of the chassis grill where you screw in your card comes about half a centimeter short of reaching it appropriately. This is a well known issue with this chassis and you'll even find on the Silverstone web page a solution for it. To solve it you'll have to apply pressure to the top so that it comes down sufficiently to screw the card. This obviously stresses the card and at first I felt very unease about it. I decided to unscrew it, remove it, and apply more pressure so as to actually bend it a little. Once I did this things went a bit smoother and the stress caused to the graphic card greatly diminished. Of course you can see from the top that the grill is a bit bended, but not by much. Luckily once you put the top back on, you don't notice this at all. I'm planning on adding a second graphics card but I'm not expecting this to be any trouble since I already made the necessary "adjustments". So, this little design problem caused me a bit of frustation and even made me think of returning it. In the end everything turn out ok and once I forgot the ordeal I just smile whenever I look a this gorgeous case.

One recommendation: Before installing your motherboard remove the 3 bottom metal plates behind the front plastic outer covers so you won't have to dismount your motherboard in the future just to remove your hard disk cage (either for removing or adding a hard drive). The metal plates can only be removed by twisting them on their axis and an installed motherboard will not allow you to do that.

Summary.
If you don't mind doing the extra work of carefully adjusting the top grill so you can install your PCI cards I Highly recommend this product, it is truly remarkable and I promise you won't regret buying it. Good luck!

The case is extremely well made. I think the manufacturer wants to show the quality as the case is wrapped in a sewn bag inside the substantial box it comes in. Installing the components is easy, as there is plenty of room to move around.

The only complaint I have is the directions are in the form of a series of exploded diagrams but are so small that it was very difficult for my aging eyes to see.

In use, the machine is barely audible and the fans keep everything nice and cool. I have a Xeon 3440 CPU that runs between 31 and 37C.

I would definitely buy this case again.

I use to have the Cooler Master HAF 932 full tower case. Compared to the SilverStone Raven 2, I think the Raven 2 is way better than the HAF 932. The Raven 2 is longer in lenght but the design is smoother and looks more professional sitting on my desk. HAF 932 has a rugged look which is not bad but the case has so much air flow, the fan noise can get annoying sometimes. I choose the Raven 2 over the HAF 932 because the Raven 2 has a clear window in one side and the air flow design is pretty good and with less fan noise. The 90degree motherboard design is actually pretty helpfull when attaching/deattaching components.

CON - The lights in front of the case is pretty bright! Power/reset bottons feel cheap.

Summary - Im pretty happy with this case. Plenty of room for upgrades including expensive liquid cooling which im in the process of putting together.

What you probably already know:

This is a great case. I have used quite a few cases and I can't recall one I enjoy working with more than the Raven 02. Other reviews state the great things about this case, and why it has a 5 star review, so I won't bore you with those same details. Instead, I will tell you about the customer care, should you ever need it.

What you might not already know:

When I set my most recent PC up I noticed that the window of my PC case had a minor scuff. In all honestly, I don't know if this was my fault when removing the unit from the packaging or a result of the shipping(though it was well packaged). I contacted Silverstone customer care and explained the situation, and told them I did not know what caused the scuff. Within two emails (they asked me for an invoice), they sent me a replacement piece of glass by priority mail. Absolutely no hassles.

A great product from a company that stands behind it.

I can't say enough about Silverstone's Raven RV02B. Be prepared. It's big. Airflow is outstanding. GPU temp dropped 40 degrees. 107.6 F from 149.7 F. Quiet? Couldn't really tell it was even on compared to the Cooler Master case it replaced. And I love the blue night light. I can walk to my desk in the dark.

Bottom line, I'd gladly buy this case again. I also intend to use the design innovations of this case to build a home entertainment center. Though this case is quiet enough to be tolerated in most family rooms.

Theres simply no better way to get heat out of a case. Up is the way heat wants to go and you can use fanless coolers in this case with no problems at all.

I love this case. I read the review in MaximumPC (a top-notch magazine), and was a bit cautious of this case given MaximumPC's commentary regarding the difficulty removing the hard-drive encasement. Gimme a break--it wasn't that difficult. That said, you will have to remove your motherboard if you wish to add additional future hard drives (so plan ahead), but it's the only negative I've experienced. It looks good (very good), the PCI cards hang from the top of the case (thereby lessening the weight stress to your motherboard),there's an allocated space for an SSD,and best of all, the cooling fans are located at the bottom of the case, drawing cooling air from beneath, and driving that air uniformly to all interior components. I'm running two 5850's in Crossfire, a Titanium sound card, eight gig of RAM, and an AMD quad-core. No cooling issues whatsoever. Good stuff. Just plain cool.

I installed XSPC rs360 water cooling inside rv02, I am able to fit the rad inside without taking out the original 3 fans. However, I can only install one xspc fan because the power supply cable and video card is blocking the other two spot(I have ga-z68x-ud7 and GTX 570 2.5gb). The really important thing about this set up is, it wont fit a normal GTX 570 card inside with the xspc rs360, mine fit because GTX 570 2.5 is a shorter card (still my PCI-e power cables are pushing against the rad). Also my tubing is ultra ugly =( shame on me but it works for a first time pc builder.

Overall I like this case, the 90 degree makes things a lot easier for me. And airflow is awesome.