SilverStone's Raven RV04 already has its successor in the works, barely four months after its launch. The first prototype of the Raven RV05 was shown to the Japanese press, who wasted no time in taking it apart. The RV05 is everything fans of the SilverStone Raven series wanted, be it a slick new design, or the classic rear-top oriented motherboard tray, which positions the I/O ports and add-on card connectors on the top, making them both accessible, and optimal for hot air venting.

To begin with, the Raven RV05 appears much smaller than the original Raven RV01, which the company mentions is significantly so, at 55 liters (volume), compared to 114 liters on the RV01. Yet the case supports most common PC motherboard types, including ATX, SSI-CEB, and micro-ATX. The company assures that most of the bigger motherboards, that are broader than ATX (eg: ASUS ROG Maximus V Extreme), should seat comfortably into its tray, despite the overall compact dimensions of the case. This is made possible because SilverStone chucked the 5.25-inch drive cage completely. There are seven expansion slot bays oriented on the top, alongside the top-oriented PSU bay.

Taiwan's SilverStone Technology has today announced that its big-tower Raven RV01 chassis will be available starting next month at a suggested retail price of €159 + VAT. The case has existed for a fairly long time, but until now it has been a protype. We have covered the design ideas inside the Raven here, but it's worth mentioning some of them again. One thing is for sure, when you first look inside the case you won't see anything familiar. The case is split into different compartments, and the motherboard is angled 90 degrees pointing upwards instead of out the back. This way the chassis which measures 280mm x 616mm x 660mm and weighs 15kg, will push air in parallel from bottom to top. Silverstone engineers also state that the case is suited for quiet operating PCs. In addition, the high-end chassis features a built-in cable management system, five push-button 5.25-inch drive bays, six removable 3.5-inch drive bays, easy-access top-mounted I/O ports, and pre-drilled holes for water-cooling. Click here to find more pics.

First introduced back in June during Computex Taipei, Silverstone Raven RV01 delivers a new approach to the way computer hardware is supposed to fit inside a case. Silverstone has basically reinvented the case as we know it - inside the Raven RV01 the motherboard is angled 90 degrees pointing upwards instead of out the back. This means that the whole I/O side of your PC will go on the top of the case, as well as all the heat generated by the video cards will leave from the top of the case, not the back. VR-Zone has scored several photos of the final design of the case, to give you an idea. The unique design of Raven RV01 has already been patented by Silverstone, and cases that look the same as the one pictured are supposed to become available sometime around Christmas. The price of the case is set at MSRP of US$199. Unfortunately, there are no technical specs yet.