Silverstone Raven RV05 Case Review

One of the underlying principles of the RV05 is a quest to shrink the form factor and make the case represent a growing trend in the modern PC.  The first Raven was HUGE and featured a wide variety of expansion bays can cooling options.  RV02 and RV03 took the same design idea and started making each case progressively smaller. 

In terms of total volume the Raven 5 is slightly larger than the Raven 4 with an internal volume of 63.8 Liters.  That is only a half a liter larger than the Raven 4 and almost four liters smaller than the Raven 3.  The interesting thing is that despite total volume the RV05 looks visually smaller than any other desktop Raven case.

A great feature of the Raven is how the back of the case is completely flat with the exception of a single cooling vent.  Normally this is where you would see expansion cards and the I/O connections but instead is a clean slate for fancy artwork, stickers or external radiators.

As with all cases with a rotated motherboard layout you will find all of the I/O connections located under a removable panel at the top of the case.  This is where all of your cables will attach and can look rather clean when done correctly.

Along the top of the case you'll find a familiar layout with a single 120mm fan location, I/O opening and bottom mounted power supply assuming the system is positioned in the traditional orientation.  The expansion card slots are vented for increased cooling along with the most of the panel. 

A cool feature is the inclusion of an independent fan controller for each of the 180mm fans located at the bottom of the case.  The switch is three position allowing you to choose how much or, little cooling you require.  The "off" setting is a little more difficult and requires that you unplug the fan.  

The primary cooling intake comes from the dual 180mm Air Penetrator fans located at the bottom of the case.  Both fans vent the main chassis area and are only slightly obstructed by an internal 3.5” drive bay.  Air Penetrator fans feature a finned grill that will direct airflow in a vertical column instead of spreading the air outwards in a reverse cone.  The benefit here is more direct cooling and increased cooling pressure so while having part of the fan obscured might seem bad, the design of the fan easily compensates for this.