silverstone rv02 or rv03?

luckyguy20

luckyguy20

luckyguy20

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Ive been on the look out for a new case for the past month now. i originally decided on going for the corsair 600t until i heard some really good reviews about the silverstone cases. ive fallen in love with their uniqueness and airflow. so found the ravens which i think is of good value. just wondered which one i should get. i can get the raven 03 below £110 but i kind of like the minimalist design of the raven 02 but it will mean i have to pay £30-£50 extra.
 
I have had an RV02, RV02-E and recently an RV03

In terms of performance they are about on par but the RV03 has the option of adding extra fans which really isn't needed for most configs unless you are adding hard drives to the front bays and even then. Also adding fans to the front sort of helps negate the bottom to top airflow model. The RV03 is also a good bit noisier then the RV02 over the extra venting, even though it has 1 less 180mm fan. And although I have not noticed it, there are a good few posts on Hardforums about the poor quality of the RV03 plastic along the top cover, especially the clips. I'm going to build a system in it for a mate but I wouldn't buy an RV03 over the RV02 to be honest.

Between the RV02 and RV02-E, the RV02 has the advantage of having 8 pci slots but you pay for that by only being able to install 3 HD's in the cage, and 1 SSD around the back of the mobo tray. The cage is also a pig to get out from the front of the case, and to slide it out in the normal fashion requires you to remove the motherboard. The RV02-E fixed this issue and uses the HD cage from the Fortress FT-02 but as a result you only get 7 PCI slots. The -E edition also has the advantage of using the penetrator fans used in the RV03 though I hear the latest revisions of the RV02 have these fans also. The -E also uses normal screws for the 5.25" bays. A plus for some.

Peronsally I would go for the RV02-E unless you are going to be running 3 graphics cards or graphics cards longer then 12", in which case the RV03 is the only one that will accomodate you. Also, there is an RV03-WA model which basically replaces the champagne trim with gray trim along the front fascia.
 
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wont the rv02 accomodate the msi 6950 tf iii? the rv02 is more like the fortress but a bit cheaper, ideally i would go for the ft02 but my budget limits me to the rv02. :(

there's also the blue trim version of the rv03. i have not seen any of these on sale so does it mean that this one's a prototype?
 
Have not seen the RV03 blue trim either but the champagne and gray trim versions are on sale in a good few places.

I'm not familiar with your card unfortunately. However I know from the time I had 5970's that the RV02 can accomodate a 12 inch long card. In the oiginal RV02 you had to remove one of the bottom fan grilles. On the revised editions and the RV02-E they feature the air penetrator fans with integrated grille and no mods are required. So if your card is 12" or under it will fit no problem.

Also, it's the RV02-E which has the same insides as the Fortress (same slide out hd caddies, same fans, 7 pci slots). The original RV02 which is what OCUK possibly sell is not exactly the same as the Fortress..it has an 8th PCI slot, and a traditional screw in HD cage limited to 3 drives, and depending on what revision you get of the RV02, you either get the superior Air Penetrator fans (ones with integrated grilles) or the original AP-181 fans. Just thought I'd make the distinction for you in case you weren't sure.

<edit>I just checked MSI's site and you card is under 11 inches so you are good to go.

Like I said I think the RV02 looks better then the RV03, cools just as well in stock config, is quieter, and if you get the -E version you get the same HD caddy and fans as the latest FT02.
 
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This is the question that i was contemplating for 2 months!!!!

Personally i like both cases and both had their pros and cons. As others mentioned it down to your tastes but here what swung it for me that may help you decide.

Performance - Both are good, don't think their a huge difference in overall cooling as both are excellent. Think the RV02 with less fans could be quieter depending on the setup.

RV03 - has the ability to have extra cooling ontop of the great setup which could be a factor depending on your requirements. Also RV03 has slightly better functions, you can change the fans speed without take off the top cover and also has USB03 on default.

Price - The Rv03 is cheaper than the Rv02 but if your getting extra fans, the Rv03 overall could be around the same if not a tad more expensive depending on your setup.

Maintenance - I think the RV02 edge it here. The design is enclosed slightly better imo with good dust filtering all round. Following the FT02 i just couldnt get away how well the layout was and the look of the case was a little bit more appealing to me. The other factor as well is the Rv03 could have more fans which may require a little bit more maintenance to clean etc.

At the end it was a difficult choice but i opted for the case on my sig. Never regret it one bit. The case is awesome.

As already mentioned, If you do decided to go for the RV02 make sure you go for the RV02-E as the evelution has the better HD layout as well as the AP fans.
 
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thank you for the generous replies. the raven 3 is cheaper atm but im really wanting to go for the rv02. just a quick question is the rv02-e the same price as the fortress 2 with no window?
 
The RV02B-EW is typically around 145-150 euro in most online stores.

The very latest Fortress FT02B (latest revision has USB 3.0 front connectors) without window is around 240 euro. While the previous revision (2.0 and 2.1) which has USB 2.0 front headers is approx. 210 euro.

So there is a nice saving to be made by going with the Raven.
 
The RV02 doesn't have the acoustic dampening material that the FT02 has but it's a fantastic looking case. I bought the RV02W-EW and absolutely love it. One thing I would point out though is that it's very long so worth checking to make sure it will fit your space.
 
I'd forgotten about the acoustic dampening. It's pretty sub par as far as dampening material goes in my opinion though, so I wouldn't count it a major plus.

One negative impact the dampening on the FT02 has and the back of the case in general is the fact it's a much tigher fit for cable management. I found the Raven much easier to work with. For example I was easily able to fit my PCI-e cables and extensions around the back of the RV02 for my GTX 580 cards. With the FT02 I was not able to, without the side panel bulging.

I agree the RV02 looks nicer then the RV03. And I think the plastic on the top is slightly better quality. Seems less brittle.
 
the rv03 has more space behind the mobo though. the rv02 i think is a little bit tight. but still im leaning towards the rv02 its just that i hate the fact that my psu is not fully modular and quite a bit of a pain with regards to cable management so cable management for the rv02 might be a bit of a struggle
 
Had the RV02, now got the RV03, as you say cable room at the back is much better, & the cables from the psu cannot be seen, plenty of room for long cards, & extended motherboards, fantastic cooling.

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