SilverStone Raven RVS02 External USB 3.0 HDD / SSD Enclosure Review

Installation of a Hard Drive in the SilverStone SST-RVS02

One calling card SilverStone has introduced into its external hard drive enclosures as of late is tool-less installation. Similar to the concept behind the SilverStone SST-TS07B (reviewed by LegitReviews HERE), the SST-RVS02 represents SilverStones first completely tool-less 2.5 USB 3.0 external enclosure. Pressing in the button on the bottom of the unit and sliding the lid rearwards provides access to the storage bay.

Missing from the bottom of the SST-RVS02 are non-skid rubber pads. Rubber pads solve two problems inherent with any small, portable device. The first is that it prevents the SST-RVS02 from sliding off surfaces. The second is that it prevents the device from scratching the surface they are laying on, such as wood. The addition of self-sticking, non-skid rubber pads to the underside of the SST-RVS02 would not represent a significant increase in cost.

With the bottom cover of the SST-RVS02 removed, we can see that the installation of a hard drive is very simple. Directions inside the device depict a hard drive inserted at an angle and then slid forward, which seems counter-intuitive given that the SATA receptacle lays flat. However, with a practiced hand and mindful of the delicate SATA data and power ports on the storage device, installation is a breeze.

With a hard drive installed in the SST-RVS02, the external enclosure still remains extremely lightweight, less than 8 ounces with a 320GB hard drive installed. Gently, but firmly, shaking the device revealed that there was a degree of hard drive rattling and movement. This could have been eliminated had there been a piece of foam on the inside of the cover to press down on the storage device to keep it in place.

Enthusiasts with large capacity hard drives will find that the SST-RVS02 does not support storage devices that are 12.5mm thick. Standard notebook hard drives, that is, those that are 9.5mm thick, will fit in the SST-RVS02. However, new techniques and methods to pack more data on hard drive platters has evolved to the point where todays 2.5 hard drives enjoy capacities of up to 1TB while remaining 9.5mm thick.

Windows 7 and Vista will automatically detect the SST-RVS02 once the enclosure is connected to a USB 3.0 capable PC. A dialogue box will appear letting the user know that the device has been detected, configured and is ready to be used. With the SST-RVS02 set up, lets go ahead and put this external enclosure through some benchmarks.