SilverStone Raven RVZ01 Review

Performance Analysis

We had wondered if we'd ever see a mini-ITX case that could better the likes of SilverStone's own Sugo SG08 or the BitFenix Prodigy when it came to cooling and it seems the SilverStone cooling R&D gurus have come up with the goods again with the Raven RVZ01. It's CPU delta T of 41°C is the joint lowest on test, no doubt helped by the porous case and 120mm fan pointing directly at the CPU cooler. It's an exceptional result, but the GPU delta T goes one better, and knocks the previous king of the hill, the Fractal Design Node 304, off its perch, albeit only by 1°C.


Again, the result is thanks to the GPU being aided massively by the other side 120mm intake fan but both fans are there out of the box so it's great to see one manufacturer at least including enough fans to really make a difference for once. We obviously had our concerns with hot air building up inside the case but the graphics card simply blows it straight out the back while the CPU cooler sits right next to the vents in the side/top of the case, meaning the air just gets pushed out here and will be aided by convection should you decide to sit the case vertically. Noise-wise, it's far from noisy but with the fans right on the edge of the chassis they can be noticeable, though our graphics card easily drowned them out during stress testing anyway.

Conclusion

We honestly weren't sure what to expect with the Raven RVZ01. It's very different from pretty much any other mini-ITX case we've tested but somehow, amazingly, it all comes together cooling-wise and beats the Fractal Design Node 304 at GPU cooling and matches the Silverstone Sugo SG08's godlike CPU cooling. It's compact, has an optical drive mount, space for hefty GPUs and despite being limited to a low profile cooler, coupled even with a modest one like ours, there's enough cooling here to cope with a 4.5GHz Core i7-4770K with ease.

Price-wise, the only catch is the need for an SFX form factor PSU - there's no need to buy additional fans although you may need a low profile cooler as well if you're coming from a tower setup. Of course, the case isn't just aimed at your stereotypical PC gamer - there's plenty of scope for the Raven RVZ01 to house a stonking Steam PC. Its compact design will likely help it fit into your average lounge too, although we'd be wary of hiding a powerful PC away in a TV cabinet, however good the case is at cooling. Other than that, the Raven RVZ01 is one of the best cases we've seen for a powerful mini-ITX system, with top notch cooling and a not unreasonable price tag.