SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review

SilverStone puts another "angle" on what a Raven chassis should be. Have a look at the latest to grace the Raven series, the SST-RV05-BW.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: SilverStone
14 minutes & 27 seconds read time

Introduction, Specifications and Pricing

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 99

In our time here at TweakTown, we have seen SilverStone release the Raven Series from its birth, and have had the pleasure of seeing each and every design implementation and change along the way. We have seen the Raven Series grow from a chassis that was stylistically ahead of its time with the RV01, and it took the market by storm. Throughout the series, Silverstone has played with which side of the chassis the motherboard was on, and changed the styling all the way through the series. The RV04 only displayed vague hints at the original design and concept brought forth, but it was still eye catching and worthy of purchasing. We have also seen SilverStone change storage racks as new designs evolve in the market; they have moved away from the ninety degree orientation that made the original Raven such a hit.

Just when we thought that there weren't too many places that SilverStone could have improved on, even if selecting the best components of all of the designs, they come forth with a new Raven that does just that. This time, SilverStone has made a much less complicated interior, and brought back more of the original styling. However, things are completely different, even down to how the door mechanisms work. Typically, redesigns are based primarily on the previous design, and with the latest chassis to grace the Raven Series, we find that every bit of the design is different, and it's somewhat ingenious once we see how it all comes into play.

The reason we have you here today is to look at the SST-RV05B-W from the Raven series that we just received from Silverstone. This is a full-tower design that returns the ninety degree motherboard orientation, but there is another "angle" to this design as well. With all four feet planted firmly, this Raven also sports an aggressive forward lean to it to go along with the aggressive restyling of the exterior. This all makes for one of the best looking Raven designs we have seen. For the fans of the Raven Series, this is a chassis that conforms to all the latest in a feature set, while still offering that styling that you love. For those who have never seen a Raven chassis prior to this, this is a great time and place to start, because in our opinion, SilverStone has outdone themselves with this latest implementation.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 01

The chart provided by SilverStone shows that there are two flavors of this design. There is the SST-RV05B, which is the Raven 05 in black paint. There is also the RV05B-W, or the windowed version in black, which is the version that we have here. Both designs are based on steel framing and structural components, while the trim at the top, down the front, and even on the sides and bottom, is all made from ABS plastic, in black of course, to match the painted steel. The front I/O is at the top, and under a rubber cover. There you will find two USB 3.0 ports, and HD audio jacks, all between the power and reset buttons. The PWR_LED is a wide, chevron shaped light across the front bezel of the case. Of course, in this design we have a large window in the left side of the chassis, which affords a full view of the interior as well.

Speaking of the interior, we have a motherboard tray oriented to the right at ninety degrees, and even with less space than many other Raven cases, it can still house Micro-ATX, ATX, and SSI-CEB motherboards. There are no optical drive bays in the traditional sense, but they have added a tray to the right side that allows for the use of a slot load optical drive. As for storage drives, there is a removable cage that houses a pair of 3.5" drives, and behind the motherboard tray, we also have two locations to support 2.5" drives. The bottom of the chassis is the intake, and there are a pair of 180mm Air Penetrator fans supplied on the floor. A huge bonus to the design here is that once these are removed, there is room for a pair of 140mm fans, or a trio of 120mm fans, and of course, that also means internal water cooling support. There is one other location where a 120mm fan can be added if desired, and that is at the top of the chassis.

There are some limitations to this design. SilverStone states that you need a CPU cooler that is 162mm or less to fit inside of the chassis. They also state that video cards can be no longer than 12.3" with the fans still in the chassis, and even less if you plan to water cool. One restriction they do not mention is behind the motherboard tray; there is limited room there for wiring. So, for a clean looking installation, you may want to ponder a PSU with individually sleeved cables, or even SilverStone's own Strider Gold S Series, which comes with flat, ribbon style cabling.

Availability seems quite high at the moment, as we were able to locate this chassis anywhere we looked. Although, it struck us as a bit odd that whether you opt for the windowed side panel or not, it seems both models demand the same price. The best deal we found was the $115.99 listings via Amazon.com, as most other locations only go up from there. Considering what the previous models are still fetching currently, this is also the most cost efficient Raven design we have ever tested. While we do typically like to hold our opinion on value until the end, we will go right on ahead and say that the SST-RV05B-W not only offers all of the best of the current market, but it also harks back to the original design, and proves its worth once the build is complete.

PRICING: You can find the SilverStone Raven RV05 for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The SilverStone Raven RV05B (no window) retails for $115.99 at Amazon, and the SilverStone Raven RV05B-W (w/ window) retails for $115.99 at Amazon.

Packaging

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 02

The packaging is indeed eye catching, as it uses bright oranges and reds to show off the shadow of the Raven, and the image of the chassis below. Along with the naming at the top in white, we also find eight features of the RV05, a QR-Code, and the web address at the bottom.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 03

While FedEx offers great sticker placement, on this side we would typically see the introduction to this chassis at the top. Under the sticker are lists covering the features in nine different languages, and the QR-Code from the front panel.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 04

The back offers more of the bright colors behind the Raven again, but this time it's used to draw attention to the twelve features that they list and point out here.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 05

The last panel offers the company and support addresses at the top, while below the handle, you will find the specifications list we went over previously.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 06

Inside of the box we find the RV05 in some very thick Styrofoam caps, and this time it's covering the front and back of the chassis to better protect the plastic that covers a lot of the exterior. Underneath the foam, there is a thick cloth liner that not only allowed the SST-RV05B-W to arrive in superb shape, but it also functions as a built-in travel cover.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 07

Every way you view the front bezel there is an angle. Across the top, angles; down the sides, angles; even across the bezel there is a high center line and angled grooves that leave not one surface flat. Along with all of the angles, the Raven name is molded into the bezel, just above the V-shaped light with white plastic cover on it.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 08

All the way at the bottom, we noticed the molded plastic had two lines, one to either side, so we reached under the chassis and pulled on it to reveal a slide out dust filter that covers the entire bottom of this chassis. We also like the convenience offered by the fact that it comes out of the front, rather than out of the back like most others do.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 09

The top of the chassis has the front I/O panel right near the bezel. As we move back, we find a large plastic cover with rectangular cutouts for ventilation (again angled on all surfaces), and it is cut deep into the center.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 10

Lifting the center section at the back of the chassis exposes two thick plastic carry handles, and it also shows where the hardware is located. The cover is removable for a more obvious reason though, as this is the rear I/O of the chassis, and you will need a way to connect and run the cables. We also exposed the USB 3.0 ports and HD audio jacks by simply pulling the rubber cover off at the front.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 11

As we can now see, looking at the left side of the Raven, there is an obvious forward lean to the main section of the chassis, and the widow shares that slanted perspective into the chassis. At the top, as well as at the bottom, we can see the angular plastic sections offer styling, as well as providing that angle of the steel section.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 12

At the back, the top is opened up to allow for its removal, and provide plenty of room for wiring. As for the rest of the back of the chassis, there is only the mesh area pressed into the steel that will act as a place for a PSU to draw in cooler air.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 13

The right side of the chassis is identical to the left, even down to all the angled plastic components, to keep the theme going from any view. Of course, since this is behind the motherboard tray, the panel is steel from end to end.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 14

Under the chassis, we see that the chunky plastic also acts as the feet for the chassis, with large rubber pads applied to the corners to ensure a good grip on almost any surface. We have also removed the dust filter to show the fan options, and to get a view of the 180mm AP fans that pull in cool air.

Inside the SST-RV05B-W

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 15

With the releases pushed just inside the lips of the top of the chassis, we lifted the side panels off the chassis. At the front of the chassis, even above the steel section, we found a pair of high to low fan switches, one for each of the 180mm AP fans at the bottom, to allow some form of control.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 16

Behind the front bezel we find a long expanse of solid steel, with the wiring coming out of a wide and longer cutout. This allows the front panel wiring to go any way you need to it to go cleanly, and even offers a place to tuck back some extra wiring, as the actual bezel is quite a distance in front of this.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 17

Looking at the top of the Raven, we find the PSU mounting area off to the left, seven expansions slots that use screws for securing, and two mesh cutouts next to them. Then we also have the optional 120mm fan location to the right, just above the rear I/O, which is perfect for single radiator AIO usage.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 18

This explains the angle of the Window. The motherboard tray takes the same angle as the main section of the chassis. While the larger section to the left allows for most of the motherboard to be mounted, to the right, after the gap for CPU cooler clearance, are two tabs to support the top of the motherboard.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 19

Looking back at the floor of the chassis, we can see the directional grills that AP fans are known for, and it will keep your hands out of them if you are playing around inside with the system powered. Each fan is wired to a switch at the top, but also wired to these fans are sleeved three-pin leads that need power to run the fans.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 20

The back of the chassis allows a PSU to hang from the top and breathe through the mesh area stamped into the panel. Below that is the plastic, two bay, 3.5" drive storage rack. If you have no plans for spinners in the chassis, this rack can be completely removed.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 21

Looking behind the motherboard tray, we can see that it is inset a fair bit, but you will easily run out of room here with thicker cables. To the left there is a plastic tray that allows a slot load optical to be installed, while to the right it is completely open to pass wiring through easily. Also, in the center section, the tray is cut to house a pair of 2.5" drives.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 22

All of the cabling is sleeved, right down to the connections. The PWR_LED connection comes in two-pin form, or there are two separated leads for three-pin setups. The power and reset button connections follow, and then we find the native USB 3.0 cable, and the HD audio lead nearest to the chassis.

Accessories and Documentation

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 23

Most of the hardware offered can be seen in this image. There are four zip ties across the top, which are followed up with standoffs and a socket, slot load mounting screws, thumbscrews, four M3 screws, and a small handful of 6/32 screws for the motherboard and PSU.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 24

The other thing we found in the box was this dust filter. It is thin and pliable, but one side of the frame is magnetized. This allows the filter to stick to the chassis and cover the PSU intake on the back, while allowing for fast removal and cleaning.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 25

The RV05 manual is very thorough. It shows the chassis in every configuration and viewing angle as it points out how it all works. There are also written directions on how to remove the panels, which is why this box is found outside of the chassis. After that, there is a step-by-step guide of how to get everything into the chassis, including wiring diagrams.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 26

In case you missed it, we snapped this image when we addressed the bottom of the chassis. This shows the top fan location and size, but it also shows three views of the floor in varying fan configurations to point out the compatibility offered here.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 27

After removing the 3.5" drive bay, we can see there is room for only two drives. We can also can see that they simply slide into this rack, and via the pair of holes at the left edge of the side facing us, they are held in place with only the thumbscrews from the hardware.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 28

The plastic slot load optical drive bay is pretty standard. It is deep enough to accept the drives as well as having the offset tab to put those tiny screws through to securely mount the device in, and then via three screws, the tray is then held into the chassis.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 29

We were also supplied with this Strider Gold S Series 750W power supply for two reasons. One of those reasons is that this PSU fits the size requirements needed if you plan to leave the HDD rack in place. The second, and more important reason is that this PSU comes with flat cables for all of the leads, which will make wiring behind the motherboard tray a breeze.

Case Build and Finished Product

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 30

With the CPU cooler restrictions, we had to come up with a cooler under 162mm, and the Scythe meets that requirement. While wiring from the front panel can take some time to do correctly, we do find that even with such a basic interior design, we still have a very clean finished system to display.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 31

The indent of this mesh section comes into play a bit here. This did cause us to force in the PSU to allow the fan to draw through it. Once we got it mounted with a little hassle, we went ahead and stuck the dust filter to the chassis for good measure.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 32

Since we used a SSD, we opted to use the top location behind the motherboard for this system. There are a few places to tie the wiring as we did, and even with limited options, we found a way to make it all work cleanly, and the panel still slides on without any issue.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 33

This seemed to be the easiest way to view the top of the chassis to see the dust shield that snapped right into place. We opted out of putting in a fan, but we had no issues with getting the screws in to hold the GPU; it hung right on the mark without them.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 34

Once it was all back together, we really appreciated that this latest Raven does not look any different than it did when we started. We also enjoyed the view offered through the window, even if we did find ourselves cocking our head to the right while enjoying it.

SilverStone Raven SST-RV05B-W Full-Tower Chassis Review 35

Once powered, the wide V-shaped section on the front will glow from the white LEDs that back that section. There is a fair amount of noise with the AP fans running at full speed; it clocks in at 46dB. That can be adjusted via the switches, which will drop the levels down to a mere 30dB; all the while, keeping the interior of the SST-RV05B-W nice and chilly.

Final Thoughts

SilverStone has proven a few things with their latest Raven to hit the market. One is the simple fact that not everyone needs a full assortment of drive bays to get their system up and running, and for most of us, that usually goes as unused space anyways. At the same time, there are still enough drive spots for most. Also, while the design is completely new, it still harks back to the original Raven more than any other design ever did. Another thing SilverStone has proved is that the ninety degree motherboard orientation, accompanied by 180mm AP fans, still remains successful. They have also proved to us that nobody has been able to pull off an angled design quite on the same level that SilverStone delivers in the SST-RV05B-W.

In our testing, we did find the chassis to have great stock air flow, even if it is a tad loud at full speed. The nice thing is that when switched to low speed, the noise level drops considerably, but these fans still deliver better airflow than most other cases since there is little to block what flow they do produce. While it is definitely geared towards gamers, we definitely liked the wide light across the front, and with the opaque cover, it will never blind you, but it is still large enough to illuminate a dark room pretty well. On another note, there is no flicker of an HDD activity light to deal with or to blind you, as there simply is not one on this chassis.

We do suggest the use of specific power supplies, like the unit we were sent that fits in the space. It is important that the cabling be flat, so that you are left with a clean looking finished product that shows the interior of the Raven in its best light. We had no issues with the length or fitment of the video card, but the 162mm height for the CPU cooler may drastically reduce your air cooling options. The best thing about the cooling potential of the RV05 though, is that this is by far the most water cooling ready design of the bunch. If air cooling is out, you can always hang an AIO from the top for the CPU, or if you plan to cool more components, you can go with a custom loop with a 280mm radiator or 360mm version.

Considering that the chassis has been stripped down to only the essentials, we do appreciate that the pricing follows along with the offerings. It is a complete design, and with some time, planning, acquiring of the right components, and patience, the SST-RV05B-W is one serious looker of a system when finished. Even with the angled window, we find that because of the use of the flat cables, there is very little wiring to be seen in our view inside; in fact, the motherboard just seems to float inside of the chassis.

With a price of just $115.99, that investment will not only get you a sleek looking gaming rig, but you will also have the most aggressively styled, and in our opinion, the best layout of any of the Raven Series. If you have been waiting on the fence to join the SilverStone Raven band wagon, then wait no longer, because this is clearly the time to join.

PRICING: You can find the SilverStone Raven RV05 for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The SilverStone Raven RV05B (no window) retails for $115.99 at Amazon, and the SilverStone Raven RV05B-W (w/ window) retails for $115.99 at Amazon.

What do TweakTown.com awards mean? Click for details!

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

USUnited States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com

UKUnited Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk

AUAustralia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au

CACanada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca

DEDeutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de

Chad joined the TweakTown team in 2009 and has since reviewed 100s of new techy items. After a year of gaming, Chad caught the OC bug. With overclocking comes the need for better cooling, and Chad has had many air and water setups. With a few years of abusing computer parts, he decided to take his chances and try to get a review job. As an avid overclocker, Chad is always looking for the next leg up in RAM and coolers.

Newsletter Subscription
We openly invite the companies who provide us with review samples / who are mentioned or discussed to express their opinion. If any company representative wishes to respond, we will publish the response here. Please contact us if you wish to respond.