So, to answer the burning question about full size graphics cards fitting into a case that's not wide enough, SilverStone has employed a right angled PCI riser to displace the graphics card into the top of the case. As a result, the fan on your average reference cooler will actually be facing downwards, which is why there are fan mounts on both sides of the case - one for the GPU and another on the other side for the CPU.
It's a pretty rare feature for any case but it's what allows the Raven RVZ01 to be so thin. Also, both the CPU and GPU receive separate airflow brought in directly from outside the case, which could result in a potent mix of cooling, especially as the case is also well-ventillated. The downside is that the compartmentalised interior is somewhat fiddly to work with compared to the Prodigy, for example, as it comes with the need to remove various plastic panels to get at the PSU and drive mounts and graphics card enclosure.
Speaking of PSUs, you may have noticed that there's no ATX PSU mount anywhere. That's because the Raven RVZ01 is only compatible with SFX formfactor models. Thankfully SilverStone makes the best in the business and sent us its 450W ST45SF-G along with a flattened short modular cable set. That's all very well for us, but for you, the PSU will set you back around £75 and the cable set - which isn't strictly needed, costs a further £16.
There are cheaper options, such as the older SFX PSU model - the ST45SF, which costs £60 or if you can cope with having 300W of power on tap (that's enough to game on a moderately overclocked system using an AMD Radeon R9 270X 2GB) then SilverStone's 300W ST30SF costs only £38. even so, it's an added expense when the likelyhood is that you'll be transplanting a PSU from your old system.
The inside is fairly cramped but the layout seems to flow fairly well, largely thanks to the PSU, motherboard and graphics card being as far away from each other as they can get. The PSU itself is housed in a small cage that also provides a home for the single 3.5in mount, while the two 2.5in drive mounts sit on the reverse of the GPU enclosure at the bottom. Incredibly, there's even just enough room to house all-in-one liquid coolers, albeit those with single 120mm-fan skinny radiators.
As for air cooling, there's a height restriction of 83mm for CPU coolers, which means you're looking at low profile coolers, and shallow ones at that, if you don't opt for an an all-in-one liquid cooler of course. Even so, there was plenty of room for our Zalman CNPS 8900 and our current favourite low profile cooler, the Raijintek Pallas will fit too and you've got the benefit of one of the intake fans pointing straight at the cooler just a few centimeters away. The PSU, meanwhile, is aided by a right angled connector that passes the power to a standard kettle lead connector at the rear of the case.
Click to enlarge
It's a pretty rare feature for any case but it's what allows the Raven RVZ01 to be so thin. Also, both the CPU and GPU receive separate airflow brought in directly from outside the case, which could result in a potent mix of cooling, especially as the case is also well-ventillated. The downside is that the compartmentalised interior is somewhat fiddly to work with compared to the Prodigy, for example, as it comes with the need to remove various plastic panels to get at the PSU and drive mounts and graphics card enclosure.
Click to enlarge
Speaking of PSUs, you may have noticed that there's no ATX PSU mount anywhere. That's because the Raven RVZ01 is only compatible with SFX formfactor models. Thankfully SilverStone makes the best in the business and sent us its 450W ST45SF-G along with a flattened short modular cable set. That's all very well for us, but for you, the PSU will set you back around £75 and the cable set - which isn't strictly needed, costs a further £16.
There are cheaper options, such as the older SFX PSU model - the ST45SF, which costs £60 or if you can cope with having 300W of power on tap (that's enough to game on a moderately overclocked system using an AMD Radeon R9 270X 2GB) then SilverStone's 300W ST30SF costs only £38. even so, it's an added expense when the likelyhood is that you'll be transplanting a PSU from your old system.
Click to enlarge
The inside is fairly cramped but the layout seems to flow fairly well, largely thanks to the PSU, motherboard and graphics card being as far away from each other as they can get. The PSU itself is housed in a small cage that also provides a home for the single 3.5in mount, while the two 2.5in drive mounts sit on the reverse of the GPU enclosure at the bottom. Incredibly, there's even just enough room to house all-in-one liquid coolers, albeit those with single 120mm-fan skinny radiators.
Click to enlarge
As for air cooling, there's a height restriction of 83mm for CPU coolers, which means you're looking at low profile coolers, and shallow ones at that, if you don't opt for an an all-in-one liquid cooler of course. Even so, there was plenty of room for our Zalman CNPS 8900 and our current favourite low profile cooler, the Raijintek Pallas will fit too and you've got the benefit of one of the intake fans pointing straight at the cooler just a few centimeters away. The PSU, meanwhile, is aided by a right angled connector that passes the power to a standard kettle lead connector at the rear of the case.
RELATED ARTICLES
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review
October 14 2021 | 15:04
Want to comment? Please log in.