A Closer Look - Inside

To gain access to the interior, you have to pry off the top panel first, then remove a pair of thumb screws on each side panel. The entire inside of the Raven 2 is painted black as well and Silverstone has changed a few things noticeably within this version of the chassis. When viewed from the other side, you can see a large opening for the motherboard tray to give you easy access to the backside of CPU cooler backplates. There are multiple openings, allowing you to route things nicely to the appropriate locations without ending up with a cable mess within.


Each of the 180 mm Air Penetrator fans comes equipped with its own, removable dust filter. These fans feature a special, twister-like design, which creates an air tunnel which can still be felt at the ceiling of the case.


One area which has been changed completely are the hard drive bays. These are now rotated and Silverstone has managed to squeeze five bays in this area of the chassis. Each tray can easily be removed, allowing you easy access, while a single CP05 hot-swap bracket ships within the Raven 2 Evolution. You may go ahead and purchase additional ones to convert the remaining bays if you wish to do so. Above that are the five 5.25" bays. Silverstone has removed the plastic locking mechanism and replaced it with traditional thumb screws. This is a good choice in my humble opinion.


Since the mainboard is turned 90 degrees, the rear of the board now points up. Thus, the seven expansion slots - each protected by a separate cover can be found here along with a 120 mm "dimpled" fan. As mentioned on the previous page, the PSU bay is located all the way toward the rear, much like in classic cases, but also points out the top of the device. You may install the unit with the 120/140 mm fan facing toward the rear, pulling air in from the exterior or facing the inside of the chassis, pulling hot air out through the unit itself.


Before we dive into the assembly process, let us take a quick loo at the cables and connectors. Silverstone employs traditional plugs for the reset and power buttons, but has chosen to go for a Molex plug to power the large LED in the front of the chassis. On top of that you will also find a 20-pin USB 3.0 connector and the traditional HD Audio plug.