Fractal Design Torrent uses an updraft design with three 140mm fans in the floor and two 180mm fans in the front that maintain positive air pressure in the large, open main chamber. To add to the unusual nature of the Torrent, we found the power supply in the roof of the box, housed in a separate compartment. If Torrent is good, bad or indifferent, it is certainly not boringโฆ (spoiler alert: not bad).
Watch the video via our VIMEO channel (below) or on YouTube at 2160p HERE
Main features
- Open grille and 180mm front fans optimized for maximum air intake
- Newly developed 180 x 38mm Dynamic X2 PWM or Prisma AL PWM ARGB fans (in RGB version) take advantage of power, size and thickness to achieve massive air movement capabilities
- Includes five PWM fans (three 140mm and two 180mm) to balance performance, cooling and noise
- New design with expansive base jacks and extra-large bottom fan bracket offers exceptional GPU cooling
- Optional front and bottom nylon filters are included, allowing the user to prioritize between dust filtering or even higher airflow
- The aerodynamic open interior provides plenty of breathing room for components and maximizes performance potential for both air and water cooling.
- Comes with new Nexus 9P Slim PWM fan hub pre-installed
- Fully controllable LED lights and fans via motherboards supporting addressable RGB (3-pin 5V header) (RGB version only)
- GPU support that helps your GPU stay level (user-assembled, instructions included)
- Comes with external cable straps to order behind your computer
- Seamless tempered glass panels with boltless top closing mechanisms for easy handling
- Top-mounted streamlined PSU cover with built-in ARGB effects (RGB version only)
- Front fan mounts allow unblocked airflow to larger fans while accommodating standard radiator sizes
- Removable top bezel and cable guides with cable straps make installation and cable management easy
- Two robust steel trays with vibration dampening rubber grommets protect 3.5 โhard drives for smooth, quiet and reliable operation
- Four dedicated SSD brackets are included
- Dual recessed channels in the base to add LED strips and bottom lighting effects (both available separately)
- Both the front and bottom panels can accommodate extra thick radiators and push-pull fan configurations up to 420mm
- Integrated support for a water cooling reservoir on the motherboard tray
- Seven bridgeless expansion slots allow extensive customization
Specification:
- Motherboard support: E-ATX, ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, SSI-EEB, SSI-CEB
- Expansion slots: 7
- Fans included: 2 bottom 180mm x 38mm inlets, 3 front 140mm inlets.
- Fan mounts: 3x 120mm / 140mm or 2x 180mm front, 1x 120mm / 140mm rear, 3x 120mm / 140mm or 2x 180mm floor.
- Radiator mounts: 360mm / 420mm floor, 120mm / 140mm rear.
- 5.25-inch optical drive bays: Neither.
- Internal drive bays: 2x 3.5 inch / 2.5 inch, 4x 2.5 inch.
- Front I / O panel: 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, 2x USB 3.0, headphone jacks.
- Dimensions: 530mm high x 544mm deep x 242mm wide.
Tests
To put this case to the test, we will use a test system consisting of an AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, Palit RTX 3080, and an SSD. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the cooling capabilities of the Fractal Design Torrent.
Test system:
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X (12 cores / 24 threads, 4.0 GHz all cores)
- Thermal compound: Arctic MX-5
- Motherboard: Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus
- Memory: 32 GB G.Skill TridentZ Neo DDR4-3600
- Graphic card: Palit RTX 3080 Gaming Pro 10GB
- Power supply: Seasonic Prime TX-850 850W Titanium
- SSD: 500GB Sabrent Rocket 4.0 M.2 NVMe
- YOU: Windows 10
Custom loop cooling
- Pump / Tank: EK Quantum Kinetic TBE 300 D5 PWM
- CPU block: EKWB quantum magnitude nickel
- GPU Block: EKWB Quantum Vector Nickel and back plate
- Radiator: Alphacool NexXxos ST30 280mm nickel
- Case fan: 1x Phanteks PH-F120MP
- Fittings: Alphacool
- Soft tube: EKWB 16mm / 10mm
- Refrigerant: EKWB Cryofuel Solid White
Cooling performance
Cooling performance overview
We hit the test PC with a combination of Cinebench R23 and Time Spy Stress Test that drew 500W at the wall socket. The temperature of our Ryzen 9 3900X stayed just below 80 degrees C while the RTX 3080 graphics card ran at a freezing temperature of 51 degrees C.
Final thoughts
The Fractal Design Torrent uses a novel design that is vaguely similar to a Corsair Carbide Air 740 as of 2016 in the sense that it has a large open chamber with all obstructions removed. The main difference is that Corsair chose a dual chamber design that is practically a cube with plenty of room for the power supply and drives.
By contrast, Fractal Design has tried to keep Torrent slim, which is an uphill struggle, as the case supports huge 180mm fans. The approach used is to minimize space on the right side of the case, despite the inclusion of four SSD mounts and two full-size drive bays.
How Fractal thought we could get all the necessary cables in is a mystery, and you can see the consequence at the end of our video.
Once you've worked hard to find the necessary space for your cables, you can move on to the other aspects of the torrent, which are generally quite good.
The build is decent and while we didn't like the feel of a couple of panels, we were confident the hardware was sensibly specified and up to the job. An annoying detail is that Fractal tells us that the case supports a 420mm radiator on the floor and while this is technically correct, it is problematic in practice.
Fractal has Recently produced Some excellent designs and we are confident that Torrent 2 will work better. Do we schedule it for 2022 or 2023?
We don't have a buy link yet, but we've been told that you'll be able to buy the Fractal Design Torrent for ยฃ 165.
Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.
Pros:
- Efficient cooling
- Decent price / good value for money
- Full length front and bottom filters
- Novel design
Cons:
- Requires more space behind the right panel for cables
- Does not include rear fan
- Sticky feeling on some of the panels.
KitGuru says: Fractal Design Torrent is a decent case, but it came close to being excellent. So close.
