fractal torrent compact case banner Fractal Design Torrent Compact Review

Fractal Design Torrent Compact Review

Today, we’re writing this Fractal Design Torrent Compact review to share all the essential information you need about the chassis. Last year, the company launched their Torrent computer case line which is designed for ultimate airflow. 

Because of its success, more variations of it were produced.

And today, we’re taking a look at their Torrent Compact case which was released just this year.

It’s a downsized and smaller version of the original Torrent Case, so it also comes with a cheaper price tag. 

The Torrent Compact comes in a variety of colours to choose from. And for this Fractal Design Torrent Compact review, we have the white version of it. Plus, it sports two 180mm PWM fans, but can it match the prowess of the original Torrent? Let’s find out.

Fractal Design Torrent Compact Packaging

Before getting into details with the chassis, our Fractal Design Torrent Compact review will focus on its packaging and contents. Like its sibling, our white Torrent Compact arrived in a basic-looking cardboard box. The box’s front displayed an illustration of the case, the company’s branding, and the unit’s name. 

You’ll also find some information about the product here.

Flipping the box, you’ll find another illustration of the case on its rear. But this time, it identifies each part conveniently, while showcasing a couple of marketing points in different languages.

The sides of the package don’t hold much information. However, it comes with a sticker to let you know which version you have.

Inside the box, the case is packed securely and firmly between two Styrofoam spacers. Plus, Fractal Design also included a foam bag to avoid any fingerprints and scratches.

Other than the case, you’ll find a collection of screws together with a microfibre cloth and tons of zip ties. There’s a well-written manual that guides you through the installation process. Plus, it contains some of the case’s features as well. 

Other than these, the company included brackets. These will let you replace the default 180mm front fans with two 120 or 140mm ones. Lastly, you’ll also find a metal GPU support bracket there.

Fractal Design Torrent Compact Review – Design and Functionality

Our Fractal Design Torrent Compact review will focus on the product’s design and functions. Out of the box, the Torrent Compact has the same feel to it as the original Torrent Case. However, it’s more like the classic mid-tower size.

The thing here is, it can still fit a huge air cooler measuring up to 174mm high. It’s more than the Torrent Nano (165mm) but less than the original Torrent (188mm).

The plastic parts of the chassis look top-notch, and these have a matte smooth surface feel. Again, it’s extremely nice, but the material is prone to fingerprints. 

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This portion of the chassis sports an asymmetrical design with straight lines that are a few inches deep. You can conveniently remove the cover to display a detachable dust filter that has the same design as the cover. It means, airflow won’t be further compromised while keeping grime and dirt out of the case. 

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Both of the case’s side panels are made of glass. And, the company added nice black stripes to the bottom and top of each panel. These are necessary since these are where the metal mount rails are connected to. 

This results in nice clean windows without any visible mounting hardwares. While the primary glass panel is lightly tinted, a heavier tint on the glass behind the motherboard tray is used. Fractal Design opted for this to properly conceal any cable mess. 

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The case’s top panel is entirely solid, but can be easily removed by unscrewing the thumbscrews along the rear. Doing so reveals the PSU bay which sits at the top of the case’s frame. 

The company also placed the same 63.5 or 88.9mm hard-drive tray that’s seen on the Torrent Nano. The company did this since the Torrent Compact only has a single area for installing a bigger spinning rust. 

The I/O then consists of standard audio ports, one USB 3.2 Type-C, and two USB 3.0 ports. Then for the reset and power buttons, you’ll find them on top of the ports. 

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Looking at the case’s rear, the bottom portion is where you’ll see the seven expansion slots. Each of these are secured by a detachable and reusable cover. And to decrease the overall size, the case has less room between its feet and the slots.

This in turn decreases the flexibility of utilising AIOs or fans on the floor. And, this is without having to compromise on other elements in the case. 

Next to it is a bigger air vent that lets air flow smoothly into the 120mm fan mounting at mid-height. The big openings don’t come with dust filters. That’s because air is meant to exit through this space as freely and easily as possible.

At the top-most portion is a centred ATX power supply bay that comes with one set of mounting screws. Aside from that, it’s topped with a nicely-made plastic top panel. 

If you look closer, you’ll see a couple of Velcro strips on the rear’s left edge. These are present for organising and managing the external cables when your system is up and running. 

Then under the chassis, on its side, Fractal Design positioned the dist filter that covers all the three fan intakes. To remove it for cleaning purposes, you don’t have to bother tipping the case over. Instead, you only need to remove the front cover then slide it out from beneath the Torrent Compact.

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To access the Torrent Compact’s interior, just pull each of the glass panels off using the available tabs. If you want, you can also secure each of these with one screw beneath the case’s top cover. 

The biggest differentiator of the case is its top-mounted PSU bay. This is where you’d often find the air vent and fan mountings. The free space on the floor can be utilised for up to two 180mm fans. If not, you can use one AIO that’s up to 280mm instead.

Along the rear, all the primary cable routing holes are concealed by grommets. Then, there’s a huge opening for easily accessing the CPU cooler’s mounting plate.

Fractal Design reduced the space behind the motherboard tray. Why? Because there aren’t any thick 88.9mm drives to worry about here, plus, it provides coolers more room.

The company decided to set a primary cable trench with Velcro strips along the centre of the case. There are also a number of these along the bottom of the case. All of these complement the cable routing holes that are equipped with rubber grommets. 

Additionally, you can also install three extra 63.5mm drives at the back of the board’s tray. This brings a total of five 63.5/88.9mm storage devices in the Torrent Compact. Additionally, the seven expansion slots on the rear come with thumbscrews too. 

Inside, the company also fixed an ARGB strip to the PSU cover. From this view, it also displays the rounded openings that work as a filling port for custom liquid-cooling setups. Additionally, the huge cutouts in front will be useful when you install bigger AIOs or radiators in front. 

Fan Hub

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Similar to the classic Torrent Case, you’ll find a fan hub in the Torrent Compact. And if you look closely, it looks like it can also support up to nine PWM fans. 

The area with the white markings will connect the PWM signal from the board, then the rest of the eight will match it. The hub is powered by a SATA connector, so you won’t have to bother worrying about overloading a motherboard header. 

Key Features of the Fractal Design Torrent Compact

Key features aren’t something we’ll forget in our Fractal Design Torrent Compact review. So here, we’re giving you a list of what makes this chassis an awesome product.

Streamlined Perfectly Inside and Out

The top-mounted PSU and open interior offers tons of breathing room for components while maximising performance potential. Although its space is optimised, the Torrent Compact can handle E-ATX boards that are up to 274mm wide.  

Plus, Fractal Design included two Prisma ARGB PWM fans or Dynamic X2 PWM fans for use. 

The Biggest Fan from Fractal Design

The 180 x 38mm Fractal Design fans have adequate leverage power, thickness, and size for massive air-moving capacity. Its front brackets allow unblocked airflow for the bigger fans while catering to the regular-sized radiators. 

Dust filters for the front and bottom areas are easily accessible just by removing the front portion of the case. 

Quick Start + Clean Finish

The case has routing clips with cable ties and a removable top bezel to make installation and cable management easy. Then, it also comes with a sturdy, efficient, and vibration-damped tray to support a single HDD or dual SSDs. Plus, it has two optional mounting points and three dedicated SSD brackets as well. 

Transparent and Easy

We tested the product for our Fractal Design Torrent Compact review (which we’ll talk about later) and saw its user-friendliness. It’s extremely easy to handle which is all thanks to its tempered glass panels with top-latch and bolt-free mechanisms. 

LEDs and RGB fans are entirely controllable via your motherboard’s supporting addressable RGBs. Additionally, it comes with top-mounted aerodynamic PSU shrouds with built-in ARGB effects for added style. 

Specifications

We made a thorough check for our Fractal Design Torrent Compact review to see what motherboard it supports. Here, the Torrent Compact works with an ATX, Micro-ATX, SSI-CEB, Mini-ITX, and E-ATX of up to 274mm. 

It comes with seven expansion slots and has two 180x38mm Dynamic X2 GP-18 1,200 RPM PWM fans. For the fan mounts, these include two 180mm, four 140mm, and six 120mm with brackets.

The chassis supports 360/280mm radiators in front, 240/280mm on the floor, and 120mm on its rear. Then, internal drive bays are 88.9/63.5mm and three 63.5mm ones. For the front I/O panel, there’s a USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C, two USB 3.0, and headset jacks. 

Lastly, the Torrent Compact measures 467 x 450 x 222mm (H x D x W). 

Hands-on with the Fractal Design Torrent Compact

We tested the case for our Fractal Design Torrent Compact review and this was the acoustic test. First, we ran our CPU on full load, then we did it with the CPU and GPU plus an optimised idle. 

Whilst testing the case the fans remained almost inaudible and with the side panels on it was whisper quiet.

The acoustic results of the chassis are extremely notable and awe-inspiring. And based on our experience with it, the 180mm fans on the case did an excellent job at minimising sounds. 

When we attempted to crank up the fan speeds, it was expected that the fans made a bit more noise, but even then it was incredibly quiet.

The thing here is, turning the fans that high won’t be necessary. Thanks to the larger fans, it means that more air can be passed through the case for cooling without needing to ramp the speeds up.

With regards to temperatures we saw CPU temperatures of 62-degrees Celsius and 57-degrees Celsius for the GPU temperature.

Fractal Design Torrent Compact Review Summary

The Torrent Compact is another new chassis from Fractal Design. Its reduced overall volume makes it great for desktop use, plus, it can still support high-end components as well. 

This chassis is adequately-sized and is combined with the original Torrent’s most appealing features. The presence of these elements make it an excellent product that’s worth purchasing. 

Aside from its great features, it also delivers excellent performance. It provides efficient cooling and high airflow with minimal noise which makes it even better. We were pleased that the case and its fans were able to maintain low temperatures for our CPU and GPU.

Overall, we were satisfied with the Torrent Compact and we’re definitely recommending this product. Find a retailer via Fractal Design’s store locator to get your hands on this PC case.