In recent years there has been a big push for case manufacturers to design/manufacture airflow-specific enclosures and while there have been one or two decent models arrive on the market, the vast majority have come with serious compromises in one way or another. Fractal’s Torrent changes this.
Fractal has honed in on devoting time to the small and big things when we look at computer case design. Retaining a traditional layout with some slight twists (moving the PSU to the top) transforms the building process and amplifies the cooling potential. It goes without saying that Torrent is primarily designed to be an airflow centric enclosure, and in this arena it excels. The design of the front panel, chassis and placement of the 3x 140mm fans at the bottom and 2x 180mm fans at the front transports Torrent to the top of the cooling leaderboard and marks this case out as one of the best cases for cooling we’ve checked out.
While cooling is definitely Torrent’s forte, it doesn’t shy away from impressing in other areas too. The styling and build quality are noticeably good, stretching to excellent. Torrent has been planned with sophistication – completely tool-free panels make access inside a doddle and cable management is well catered for. The back section of Torrent features a channel for cables to feed into, there are numerous Velcro straps for locking unruly cables down and the Nexus 9P Slim PWM Fan Hub also makes an appearance; helping to keep cables out of sight.
Those with an affection for water-cooling will be pleased to know that Torrent has allocation for fillports, reservoirs and different sized radiators. Having an E-ATX capable motherboard tray (and the space to house it) means there is bags of space for even the largest of computer hardware.
Being adept at cooling means that those with sensitivity to noise could find Torrent slightly irritating. While we didn’t find overall system noise to be overbearing, it is certainly noticeable. However, cases designed for airflow almost always have heavily ventilated panels and a plethora of cooling fans, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Priced at GBP: £169 USD: $189, Torrent is expensive, but we’re reminded that it comes in with a multitude of features and those five cooling fans.
Torrent pushes forward as one of the best airflow-specific cases we’ve had the pleasure of looking at. It excels in thermal performance and ticks all the boxes for a top-tier offering!
Pros
+ Striking visual appearance
+ Available in many different versions
+ Excellent build quality
+ Tool-less panels
+ Exceptional cooling
+ Good storage options
+ Brilliant cable management tools
+ Includes a PWM fan hub
+ Can house high-end kit
+ Fits different sized radiators and other WC kit
Cons
- Big price-tag
- Noisy
+ Striking visual appearance
+ Available in many different versions
+ Excellent build quality
+ Tool-less panels
+ Exceptional cooling
+ Good storage options
+ Brilliant cable management tools
+ Includes a PWM fan hub
+ Can house high-end kit
+ Fits different sized radiators and other WC kit
Cons
- Big price-tag
- Noisy
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