SilverStone Raven RVZ01-E Review - Review 2022
SilverStone is one of several PC-case makers prodding consumers to think small—and thin—when edifice home PCs.
Small form factor (SFF) cases are nothing new, but the subcategory of small-and-thin cases has proven to exist a tough needle to thread. How do you design a case that supports a full-size graphics menu while keeping it under 5 inches thick? SilverStone thinks it has the reply with the second version of its Raven RVZ01 chassis, the RVZ01-E ($89.99 MSRP). And information technology's just a footling more than 4 inches thick. Intrigued? And then were we, so nosotros brought 1 in-house and opened information technology up.
If you're familiar with ultra-thin cases like the Raven RVZ01-E, it won't surprise you to learn that it supports only the Mini-ITX and Mini-DTX motherboard standards, rather than the full ATX specification (or even the middling-size MicroATX). Mini-ITX motherboards are small-scale, square boards that usually measure almost half-dozen.7x6.7 inches. They're big enough to handle desktop CPUs and full-size memory modules, along with a PCI Express graphics slot, but they don't take the room for all the features and accessories you'll find on a total-ATX motherboard.
The Raven RVZ01-E arrives just in time for DIYers who want to pick upward a Mini-ITX board with Intel'south new 200-series chipsets (code-named "Spousal relationship Indicate") that support the company's latest desktop processors. These boards were somewhat deficient to buy when we wrote this in mid-Feb 2022, simply in that location are some notable entries already, including ASRock's colorful Fatal1ty B250 Gaming K4, sporting Intel's B250 chipset, and the MSI Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon Air conditioning, featuring the higher-terminate Z270 chipset. These boards have LGA 1151 CPU sockets and support processors ranging from Celerons to 7th-Generation Core i7 "Kaby Lake" CPUs.
SilverStone sets aside its Raven brand for chassis that are well apart from its usual fare. Even the SilverStone Primera PM-01, which has a dark, Raven-esque vibe, isn't included in the exclusive Raven social club. The RVZ01-E, which uses a custom PCI Express riser to mount the graphics card parallel to (and adjacent to) the motherboard, is a natural fit for the series. Let'southward take a look.
Design
The Raven RVZ01-Eastward is just a fiddling taller than information technology is deep, at 15 inches loftier by 13.8 inches deep. (That's without the included feet.) As nosotros mentioned earlier, it's only iv.1 inches across, well less than half as broad as its sibling, the ATX-supporting SilverStone Raven RV05, or some other prominent fellow Mini-ITX example, the NZXT Manta.
As you can imagine, that makes for very little room within the Raven RVZ01-East. In fact, it has a chapters of merely 14 liters. Compare that to the 63.8 liters of the Raven RV05, and you'll get a good sense of just how little internal space the RV01-E affords.
Earlier we dig whatever further into the Raven RV01-Eastward's interior infinite, allow'south have a look at its exterior. The case is jet black and isn't very resistant to fingerprints. If you keep a microfiber fabric handy, you'll be able to keep the chassis adequately clean, but we found it difficult to remove some of the smudges that appeared while we were edifice the organisation. (And, mind you, we laid off the potato fries while nosotros did.) However, the exterior's matte-blackness finish isn't most the fingerprint magnet that a piano-black terminate would be, and the smudges were generally visible only when we were very close to the system.
The Raven RVZ01-Eastward'south body is steel, with a plastic vanquish roofing much of the outside. The case comes off as reasonably durable and stood up well to the bumps and bangs (and i memorable drop...permit's forget that, shall we?) that go with edifice a complete PC. The case is capable of sitting in tower mode, thanks to attachable feet, or information technology tin can sit horizontally on prophylactic bumpers. The latter is a better position for, say, a PC that volition sit down under your Idiot box and handle media playback and storage duties. We wouldn't be surprised to encounter the Raven RVZ01-E finding a home in many living rooms.
When the Raven RVZ01-Due east sits flat, like a set up-top box, its two forepart-panel USB 3.0 ports are near the top of the chassis, with mic and headphone jacks sandwiched between them...
Below the USB 3.0 ports (or to their side, if you stand the Raven RVZ01-East on its side) are the Power and Reset buttons, along with two slant-line status LEDs that look similar slash marks. Regardless of how you lot stand the chassis (upright or flat), you can rotate the bodily "Raven" logo then that it reads correctly, which is a nice impact on SilverStone's role.
But that leads the states to the problem with the Raven RVZ01-E's looks: fifty-fifty the logo is all-black, and hard to meet against the all-black example. The lack of any kind of color emphasis makes the case a petty deadening, at least for our tastes. Our patience has a low threshold when it comes to gaudy colors and lighting, only the all-black (and matte black, at that) had us singing "Mr. Cellophane."
This is a case that begs for a few well-placed LEDs. Washed advisedly, the lights would emphasize the Raven RVZ01-E'due south multi-layered wait without detracting from its swish vibe. As it stands, the example's curves and tiers are likely to become lost in the shadows of an amusement cabinet. Then again, for some builders, that will exist exactly what they desire.
Y'all'll remove the side panel of the Raven RVZ01-E (or the summit, in set up-summit box mode) to run across the interior. One of the first things you'll notice is just how little of that interior yous tin can reach; only the motherboard tray is easy to spot, and even that is partially blocked past the video-card riser. To begin installing nigh any component in the example, you'll first have to remove some screws.
As intimidating as the Raven RVZ01-Eastward's interior seems, it's actually reasonably accessible, once you start pulling screws. The power-supply bay (in the upper right, in the image to a higher place), for example, is more similar a ability-supply sled. To remove information technology, you'll need to pull four small screws from the exterior of the other side panel. (One of the upsides to the Raven RVZ01-E'south all-blackness color scheme is that SilverStone was able to put viii screws on the side panel without breaking up the organisation's sleek look.)
Given the meaty interior, it's not surprising that the ability-supply unit (PSU) area doesn't support large power supplies. Just what is a surprise: Information technology does support the ATX power-supply class factor, not mandating the smaller SFX kind pioneered by SilverStone itself. Although ATX PSUs as deep as 150mm are supported, SilverStone recommends using power supplies that are 140mm deep (or shallower) so yous accept room for connectors (and, mayhap, an additional nearby storage drive). A modular ability supply is likely to be the best choice here, to reduce cable clutter. A fan grille in the side console sits just below the PSU for pulling in cool air.
Two of the four 2.5-inch trophy are visible as shortly as y'all remove the left side panel...
Full 3.5-inch hard drives won't find a habitation in this packed example, but that's not surprising in such a slim PC. The plastic tray that holds those drives runs the length of the chassis (front to back) and is held in place by vi screws.
The other two storage-drive bays aren't so much bays equally simply areas big enough to back up attaching a 2.5-inch bulldoze. One is on the underside of the long panel, and the other is on a metal divider that separates the front end-panel connectors from the power-supply area...
Screw a two.5-inch drive into that middle divider, and yous'll take an extremely tight fit for your PSU.
The graphics-card riser is fastened to the long console that sports the two 2.five-inch drive bays, so as soon as you lot pull the console from the instance, you have much more than room in which to work. Here's what the associates looks similar...
This expanse features a single SilverStone AP121 fan (with blackness blades, every bit opposed to the bluish blades that announced on some versions of this fan), but you can add a second fan of the same size straight next to the first. Information technology's worth mentioning that the removable side panel (the top panel) besides has an AP121 fan onboard. The cord is long plenty to give y'all plenty of slack when you open up the chassis.
SilverStone can't afford to waste material any space in the Raven RVZ01-E, so information technology uses the channel betwixt the fan and the instance wall to route an internal power-supply string. The string lets SilverStone bend the unwritten rules of chassis design by putting the power supply at the front end of the case, with the ability socket nevertheless on the dorsum of the chassis. But it also creates a limitation for power describe in certain settings. SilverStone warns against PSUs over 800 watts being plugged into 110-volt outlets in this chassis. That said, you're non probable to need such a heavy PSU in this case, even if you're planning to stock information technology with a serious video card. Later on all, you lot're getting only one video bill of fare in here.
Installation
Because the space in the PSU bay appeared to be extremely tight, we opted to install the power supply first. Smaller PSUs are meliorate hither, and SilverStone makes a PSU designed to fit in small cases like the Raven RVZ01-E. Later on unscrewing the iv screws from the side console and removing the PSU enclosure, we lowered a SilverStone Strider Platinum Serial ST55F-PT power supply into the chassis. This 550-watt ATX PSU uses modular cabling and has a depth of 140mm.
We spent more fourth dimension installing the PSU than we expected to, thank you largely to the extension power cord. It wraps completely around the PSU, but its channel is extremely tight. Once nosotros were able to go the ability supply in place (with the PSU subclass attached), we carefully replaced the screws through the other side of the console. Be sure that the PSU's power switch is in the "On" position before the installation; once the PSU is screwed into place, you tin't attain the switch.
As presently as nosotros installed the PSU, information technology became apparent that we would demand to remove the metallic example divider backside it to plug in some of the power cords for the system's components. You tin can meet the dilemma hither...
You can save time by plugging in those cords before installing the PSU. But if you do information technology the hard style (as we did), you'll be glad to know that removing (and replacing) that divider isn't all that difficult.
Adjacent, nosotros installed the Mini-ITX motherboard, the processor, and some DIMM-format RAM. We chose some minor Mini-ITX hardware we had around: an Asus AM1I-A motherboard, matched with an AMD Athlon 5350 and 4GB of AMD Radeon Entertainment Serial 4GB DDR3-1600 memory. The case ships with motherboard spacers already installed, and then nosotros simply snapped in the motherboard'south I/O panel and then screwed the board downwards into identify.
The motherboard's heatsink and fan sit well within the Raven RVZ01-Due east. Admittedly, on the low-powered AMD AM1 platform, these are well-nigh comically small. Still, despite the case's ultra-slim profile, nosotros doubt that near coolers (designed for apply on Mini-ITX motherboards) will present elevation problems in the system. Still, information technology'south worth keeping in listen that you accept roughly iii.25 inches of headroom over the CPU on a typical board.
Adjacent, we attached a 240GB ADATA Premier SP550 SSD. Rather than attempt to squeeze the drive between the metal divider and the ability-supply unit, we attached it to 1 of the ii spaces on the top side of the console that includes the graphics riser. Attaching the drive is easy, thanks to finger-size holes SilverStone cut into the panel opposite each screw hole. You simply slide the drive into the bay, push it upward through one of the holes, and install the screws.
We were intrigued past the 3rd SSD bay, as it's on the underside of the same console, so nosotros attached the drive there briefly. SilverStone made clever utilise of the panel here, creating a window only large enough to expose the bulldoze'due south connectors. Information technology as well created a aqueduct to direct your cablevision toward the motherboard. So, three out of the 4 trophy are piece of cake to reach.
With the other components installed, we moved to the most interesting step of this system build: the graphics card. Commonly, the graphics-card installation is unremarkable: You plug the bill of fare into the PCI Express slot, screw the I/O plate into place, and adhere a power cord. The Raven RVZ01-E has to turn the graphics card on its side to adjust its height, which requires the use of the graphics riser bracket.
The Raven RVZ01-Due east is designed to handle most video cards, so nosotros put that to the test by installing a beefy XFX Radeon R7 370 Double Dissipation Black Edition graphics card. The chassis volition take cards up to 13 inches long and two slots side, as you can see on the chassis back...
The R7 370 card is more powerful than necessary for lath like the Asus AM1I-A, but it gave us a feel for how a truthful gaming card fits in this example. Here is the menu attached to the riser hardware...
The graphics riser has two pieces, one of which is an extender/L-adapter for the PCI Express connector on the graphics menu. We fastened the extender to the carte, then plugged the card into the riser, which would let the carte lie on its side within the Raven chassis. Here, you run into the state of affairs with the riser and card installed. The card is facing downwards and is non visible, except for the video connectors sticking out the dorsum of the chassis...
Nearly all of the empty space contrary the motherboard and PSU was immediately filled past the card, leaving just a picayune room for cablevision management. We used an included foam pad to protect the card, then screwed the panel into place and attached the remaining power cords.
Conclusion
As complicated as its interior is, the SilverStone Raven RVZ01-E's outside is remarkably unproblematic. Buyers who really dig no-nonsense, solid designs will love the RVZ01-E for that reason, but we sense that others will desire a little more than color from their PC. SilverStone is perfectly capable of delivering bold accents while keeping the pattern swish (the extraordinarily slim SilverStone Raven RVZ02 strikes us equally a good example).
What matters more than looks, of form, is the functionality of the case's design and the quality of the case's materials. We think SilverStone hit dwelling house runs, or at least triples, in both of these categories. The design gives you room to pack this sparse case with great hardware, including the graphics card of your choice. That is critical if you're building a living-room PC and want to play loftier-end games from the comfort of your couch. And, then long as you're willing to turn a few more screws than you would encounter in a typical case, you'll find that working within the tiny, 14-liter RVZ01-Due east's interior isn't equally awkward equally it might seem.
Sure, two of the four 2.five-inch hard drives are in weird locations, simply it'due south not unusual for case manufacturers to dial drive holes in various panels to create extra storage capacity. Await at those actress drive spots the fashion y'all'd view a non-conforming sleeping accommodation while house-hunting; it'south not perfect, only if you lot need the extra space, it'll certainly do.
As for the materials, we're not ordinarily fans of using plastic panels inside cases, merely the plastic within the Raven RVZ01-E bears footling weight and keeps the system light. The plastic as well doesn't seem to backbite from the instance'south overall immovability. As we mentioned earlier, the Raven RVZ01-Due east survived a complete build and a drop without showing whatever signs that it was the worse for wear.
As for the $89.99 price tag, it strikes usa every bit in line with the pricing for other adept-quality pocket-size-class-gene cases in this market. The NZXT Manta ( at Amazon) , which is another SFF case we recently checked out, goes for $139.99 (though it's worth mentioning that the Manta has a window and lighting).
The Raven RVZ01-E is solid pick for a living room PC, or other situations in which a slim, unassuming case is needed. The exterior is besides understated (and the interior is also small) to make this instance highly-seasoned to some gamers, but we retrieve DIY builders will dearest assembling a killer living room PC with the Raven RVZ01-E.
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Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/cases-products/14295/silverstone-raven-rvz01-e-review
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