bundymania
29-05-2011, 02:47 PM
Hello,
it's time for yet another review.
Today I take a look at the new benchtable Tecnofront Raven,
coming from beautiful Italy.
After having tested the first Tecnofront benchtable, the Hardwaredock,
for you, it's the successor's turn today. A benchtable isn't only good
for bench sessions, but also very useful if you replace components
regularly, prefer an open setup for watercooling or just want to use it
for presentation.
The Tecnofront Raven comes well packed in a rather inconspicuous
box, sparing us from a gaudy retail box. The parts are seperated in
several layers in the box, each part being packed seperately and
protected against any damage that might occur during the shipping. The
benchtable also comes with an illustrated, English manual and the
required M4 screws for assembly.
Sadly, the screws required to fixate the drives aren't included.
The Raven's material is made out of black acrylic glass in a high glossy
optic, looking very appealing and classy. This is also the reason why
you should always keep a duster at hand.
The assembly was rather easy, even though it would have been easier if
every kind of screw would have been packed seperately. Overall, I was
done in about half an hour, as there aren't that many parts.
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1227xgkd.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1240ec3o.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1243ve0m.jpg
The screws used are mostly M4x16 and M4x20. Some elements are only
suspended, allowing even faster switching of components. Here you can
see the parts in an overview:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1248bfn1.jpg
To let you get a better idea of how assembly went, I took a few pictures
while at it:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1264qffm.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1269yfi0.jpg
Material strength:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1297ckay.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1287d7p0.jpg
The mount for the radiator and fans is only suspended, simplyfing
assembly a lot.
It's made for a triple radiator with 3 120mm fans.
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1278k7qk.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_140787mb.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1408j7md.jpg
On each side, you can mount a 120mm and/or a 80mm fan:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1284x70j.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1387nu10.jpg
You can also add another mount that you can use to install a reservoir,
for example:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1388cnjs.jpg
The spacers for the motherboard are installed from below the top
mounting plate:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1334rnnk.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1338sn6d.jpg
Hard and optical drives are screwed to the side plates and afterwards
fixated on the floor of the benchtable:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1344du1e.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_13705n0m.jpg
Additionally, you can also intsall a 80mm fan in fron of the HDDs:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1372bn3j.jpg
The PSU is only put in position.
http://www.abload.de/img/img_13789utc.jpg
Another tip for watercooling enthusiasts: You can only use radiators
with the usual 15mm space between fan screws. In this example, I used an
Alphacool Nexxos radiator with Noiseblocker PL2 fans:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1399buni.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1410fn19.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1415muvm.jpg
The motherboard plate comes with two holes on each side, which aren't
mentioned in the manual. You can put tubing with a maximum size of
11/8mm through there:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1379dqmy.jpg
Further to the front, there's enough space to get bigger tubing to the
lower level:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1382hqlt.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1381cob2.jpg
The Raven's looks without a radiator mount from the back:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1405nipj.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/raven_01v8rv.jpg
A power- and reset-button, or other cables, aren't included in the scope
of delivery. These are available at a low price, though.
The Raven's price is around 140EUR.
Technical data:
Material: acrylic glass
Color: black
Size:
Height: 370mm
Table height: 230mm
Width: 420mm
Depth: 320mm
Scope of delivery:
Benchtable
Illustrated, English manual
Assembly material
Conclusion: An optically appealing benchtable with good features at an
affordable price. There are a few things you could improve, but the
performance at this price is good.
For the appealing design and the moderate price, the Raven earns my
Silver Award:
http://www.abload.de/img/bundymania2silber_awarkuk6.png
Thanks go out the the following companies for supporting me with this test:
Tecnofront (http://www.tecnofront.com) ,
Aquatuning (http://www.aquatuning.de) ,
Phobya (http://www.phobya.com) ,
Alphacool (http://www.alphacool.de) ,
XSPC (http://www.xspc.biz) ,
Gigabyte (http://www.gigabyte.de) ,
Noiseblocker (http://www.noiseblocker.de) ,
Aqua Computer (http://www.aquacomputer.de) ,
www.kingston.com , EVGA (http://www.evga.com) ,
seasonic (http://www.seasonic.com)
it's time for yet another review.
Today I take a look at the new benchtable Tecnofront Raven,
coming from beautiful Italy.
After having tested the first Tecnofront benchtable, the Hardwaredock,
for you, it's the successor's turn today. A benchtable isn't only good
for bench sessions, but also very useful if you replace components
regularly, prefer an open setup for watercooling or just want to use it
for presentation.
The Tecnofront Raven comes well packed in a rather inconspicuous
box, sparing us from a gaudy retail box. The parts are seperated in
several layers in the box, each part being packed seperately and
protected against any damage that might occur during the shipping. The
benchtable also comes with an illustrated, English manual and the
required M4 screws for assembly.
Sadly, the screws required to fixate the drives aren't included.
The Raven's material is made out of black acrylic glass in a high glossy
optic, looking very appealing and classy. This is also the reason why
you should always keep a duster at hand.
The assembly was rather easy, even though it would have been easier if
every kind of screw would have been packed seperately. Overall, I was
done in about half an hour, as there aren't that many parts.
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1227xgkd.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1240ec3o.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1243ve0m.jpg
The screws used are mostly M4x16 and M4x20. Some elements are only
suspended, allowing even faster switching of components. Here you can
see the parts in an overview:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1248bfn1.jpg
To let you get a better idea of how assembly went, I took a few pictures
while at it:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1264qffm.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1269yfi0.jpg
Material strength:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1297ckay.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1287d7p0.jpg
The mount for the radiator and fans is only suspended, simplyfing
assembly a lot.
It's made for a triple radiator with 3 120mm fans.
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1278k7qk.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_140787mb.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1408j7md.jpg
On each side, you can mount a 120mm and/or a 80mm fan:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1284x70j.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1387nu10.jpg
You can also add another mount that you can use to install a reservoir,
for example:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1388cnjs.jpg
The spacers for the motherboard are installed from below the top
mounting plate:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1334rnnk.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1338sn6d.jpg
Hard and optical drives are screwed to the side plates and afterwards
fixated on the floor of the benchtable:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1344du1e.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_13705n0m.jpg
Additionally, you can also intsall a 80mm fan in fron of the HDDs:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1372bn3j.jpg
The PSU is only put in position.
http://www.abload.de/img/img_13789utc.jpg
Another tip for watercooling enthusiasts: You can only use radiators
with the usual 15mm space between fan screws. In this example, I used an
Alphacool Nexxos radiator with Noiseblocker PL2 fans:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1399buni.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1410fn19.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1415muvm.jpg
The motherboard plate comes with two holes on each side, which aren't
mentioned in the manual. You can put tubing with a maximum size of
11/8mm through there:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1379dqmy.jpg
Further to the front, there's enough space to get bigger tubing to the
lower level:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1382hqlt.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1381cob2.jpg
The Raven's looks without a radiator mount from the back:
http://www.abload.de/img/img_1405nipj.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/raven_01v8rv.jpg
A power- and reset-button, or other cables, aren't included in the scope
of delivery. These are available at a low price, though.
The Raven's price is around 140EUR.
Technical data:
Material: acrylic glass
Color: black
Size:
Height: 370mm
Table height: 230mm
Width: 420mm
Depth: 320mm
Scope of delivery:
Benchtable
Illustrated, English manual
Assembly material
Conclusion: An optically appealing benchtable with good features at an
affordable price. There are a few things you could improve, but the
performance at this price is good.
For the appealing design and the moderate price, the Raven earns my
Silver Award:
http://www.abload.de/img/bundymania2silber_awarkuk6.png
Thanks go out the the following companies for supporting me with this test:
Tecnofront (http://www.tecnofront.com) ,
Aquatuning (http://www.aquatuning.de) ,
Phobya (http://www.phobya.com) ,
Alphacool (http://www.alphacool.de) ,
XSPC (http://www.xspc.biz) ,
Gigabyte (http://www.gigabyte.de) ,
Noiseblocker (http://www.noiseblocker.de) ,
Aqua Computer (http://www.aquacomputer.de) ,
www.kingston.com , EVGA (http://www.evga.com) ,
seasonic (http://www.seasonic.com)