Final Thoughts
With every new case series from Fractal Design it is always interesting to see what they do. After external looks many of their case series are very similar design-wise, but the Torrent is very much its own thing. With people building incredibly powerful systems these days they need a case that offers performance to keep their components cool. After their Meshify Series I really did not think I would see a completely new high airflow case, but I do have to say I am very impressed with the Torrent. Talking about cooling the case ships with 5 included fans (2x 180mm and 3x 140mm). The two massive 180 mm fans will definitely push a lot of air, but at the same time are very quiet. With all of those fans Fractal Design includes their Nexus 9P Slim PWM fan hub, which can support up to 9 fans! The power supply mount has been moved to the top of the case so you have proper intake for the fans on the bottom of the case. The nylon mesh filters on the front and bottom of the case provide 2x better airflow than normal plastic filters.
The open front grill on the front of the case not only allows for good airflow into the case, but also looks pretty damn cool. To me the case with its size almost looks like a throwback to those big tower server cases. With three different colors to choose from and different window options you’ll definitely be able to find a style that you like.
This is definitely a larger case which means you can fit quite a lot of hardware inside. This includes motherboards up to E-ATX, SSI-EEB, and SSI-CEB. CPU coolers up to 188mm in height, graphics cards as long as 423 mm, power supplies as long as 230 mm, and six hard drives. With all of that space installation really is a breeze. We really did not run into any issues when it came to installation. Also I love the side panel implementation. The panels are tool-less and you can take them off with a single hand.
While almost everything internally on this case is metal, the front and top panels are plastic. It would have been nice if these were metal, especially the top panel. Also because of the design of the case, routing cables is a bit more tedious. In many cases you have room to really just hide cables, here all you have is the backside of the motherboard tray so you have to be pretty meticulous when running all of your cables. The Velcro straps and all of the tie-down points definitely help though. Also if you have a pretty simple build (like ours) you will notice a bunch of dead space towards the front of the case. We’ve talked about this with other Fractal Cases and they typically make “C” or Compact versions of their cases so we’ll see if one of those is coming down the line.
Overall if you are looking for a high airflow case I think this case should be towards the top of your list. It does carry a premium price though at $189.99 for the normal versions and $229.99 for the version with the 5 RGB fans. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Fractal Design Torrent Case a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Proper airflow design
– Sleek looks
– 3 Different color options
– Comes with 5 fans and fan controller
– Side panel design is the best out there
– Easy installation
– Support for long graphics cards and large motherboards
Cons:
– Top and front panels are plastic
– Wiring is more meticulous
– Dead space towards the front of the case
