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To be honest I wasn’t expecting such a normal looking case. From the previous Raven cases this one is much more traditional looking. I’m not saying that it won’t stand out; I’m just saying that for a Raven it does look more ordinary than the others.
One of the most outstanding features that you’ll first notice is the gold accents that run up the sides of the front panel. These accents are also carried over the top of the case as well. There is also a large window on the side of the case that is strategically placed so that you only get of a view of the motherboard. Unlike some windows that show the drive bays as well, this one is only shows what you’d be most interested in seeing and also features a nice, angular appearance. This is the type of window that I prefer to see on a case like this.
This case uses a spring-loaded door to conceal the front panel I/O ports. These ports are actually located at the top of the case and you get a pair of USB 3.0 ports and your audio ports. Just behind these ports sits a couple of fan switches to change the fan speeds from high to low. There is also the standard Raven blue power LED at the upper most part of the front of the case. Under this LED is your power and reset buttons. This design is very clean and futuristic looking. There are seven 5.25 drive bays that feature the Raven “V” design on them and the “Raven” logo is featured at the bottom of the front panel. With the way that the “V” design is carried into the gold accents at the sides, it really gives this case a futuristic and artistic feel that will compliment any room you decide to put this in.
As you may have already come to guess the rear I/O is actually located at the top of this case. There are 8 expansion slots and a 120mm exhaust fan. There are also plenty of ventilation holes to aid in exhausting the hot air from the case; to access this part of the case though you’ll have to remove the top ventilation panel. This can be easily done because the top panel is only held on by four plastic clips. On this top panel there are also two rubber grommets for water cooling tubes to pass through. I have to be honest though, I’m not sure there is really room for an external radiator, especially if you plan to still use the top ventilation panel. Here at the top there is also a plastic handle located at the back and an area under the front I/O panel to use as the other handle. We’ll have to see if this case comes with adequate air-cooling to make water cooling this case unnecessary. Given the previous Raven cases I have a feeling that this will be the case.
One thing that stands out though is that this case has some strange grill placement. On the sides of the case are matching grills that are located at the lower part of the side panels and near the front of the case. When I first saw these I really had no idea what they would be for. I assumed that they were part of the hard drive cooling system and that they might even incorporate optional fans. Their placement does stand out and even detracts from the look of the case a little. I’ll get into what these are for when we get into the next part of this review. There are also vents at the top of the case. These look a lot like a cross between the vents that they used for the Raven 01 and Raven 02 cases. They also have a very futuristic look and we’ll have to see if they are as functional as the top vents that the previous Ravens had. At the back of the case there is also a vent for an additional 120mm fan and a 120mm fan mount on the motherboard side of the case to aid in cooling the CPU.
