Seldom have we had such mixed feelings about a PC case. Fractal Design’s Torrent RGB ($189.99) has an impressive design that we can’t help but love in many ways. Its set of five vibrant RGB LED fans are the quietest bundled fans we’ve ever (not) heard, and the case’s internal layout makes building or upgrading a system around a full-size or larger motherboard about as easy as it can possibly be. If it were not for the plastic front and top panels, paired with the price, we’d likely be looking here at the perfect oversize ATX or Extended ATX (E-ATX) chassis. Alas, large chunks of this case's body are purely plastic, which makes the Torrent RGB feel, at times, cheaper than the near-$200 price should suggest. Call this one a near star, a PC-case pick that could be improved greatly with a price cut. Or more metal.
Design: Give Us More Metal!
With its edgy front panel that looks like an oversize heatsink, the Fractal Design Torrent RGB is eye-catching even in its unbuilt state. It’s on the large size, at 20.9 by 9.5 by 21.4 inches (HWD), and our review unit came with tempered-glass panels on both sides, giving it a more polished, premium appearance.
The impression that the Torrent RGB is a premium case tragically falls apart, however, as soon as you touch it. Though the tempered glass is real, the front of the case, which is designed to look like metal, is not metal. Instead it’s made out of plastic, and flimsy-feeling stuff at that. The top of the case is also plastic, albeit a firmer kind than the front, and the same texture and stiffness of plastic is used on the bottom of the case for its feet.
There’s so much I like about the Torrent RGB that as I worked to build a PC inside of the case, I became increasingly disappointed with these prominent plastic features. I can understand why Fractal Design might have opted for plastic in these locations; it cuts costs and can help to reduce the overall weight. (The case, at around 24 pounds, is already costly and heavy enough without adding on several sheets of metal.) But the plastic simply makes the case feel a bit cheap, especially the flex about the front. At a minimum, Fractal Design should switch to a sturdier plastic for the front panel in a future revision of this case.
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The front I/O panel (which resides, actually, on the top of the case) consists of two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, and a pair of separate audio jacks for a mic and headphones.
The Build Experience
Getting a system built into the case couldn’t be simpler. The motherboard mounting tray is large enough to easily fit any ATX, nonstandard ATX, or E-ATX motherboard. After the board is mounted, a wide expanse around the edges makes connecting cables as easy and straightforward as possible. While I have run across a few cases equally as easy to build in, with the Torrent RGB I see little possible room for improvement.
Fractal Design went in a different direction with the power-supply unit (PSU) mounting in this case, namely "up" instead of "down." Most modern PC cases require the power supply to be mounted at the chassis bottom, often in its own walled-off compartment surrounded by a fixed shroud. The Torrent RGB instead has a separate compartment at the top of the case for the PSU, accessed by removing two screws from the back of the case and sliding off the top panel.
This is now, without question, my preferred placement for a power supply in a case this size (even if it is a decidedly retro move). When you mount the PSU in most modern chassis, you can’t really see what you are doing. You shove it into a cramped spot and try to hold it in place on the inside while bolting it on from the outside. Either that, or you mount the PSU to a removable plate, slide it in through the back, fighting cables every inch of the way, and then bolt it on.
When mounting the PSU on the Torrent RGB, however, the PSU is kept in full sight at all times and is easily accessible. There’s no fumbling around with getting cables in or trying to hold it in place. You still have to hold it, but as you don’t have anything obstructing your view, it’s far easier than normal to guide everything where it needs to go.
Another major benefit of this design is that you can easily add or remove cables to a modular PSU by just removing the top panel. This is an enormous improvement over most other PSU-mounting locations, which more often than not require you to remove the PSU to add or remove a cable.
Storage Scheme and Cable Management
One area in which the Torrent RGB could use some improvement is in its storage-drive mounts, as none of these has a tool-free design. In total, you get room to add two 3.5-inch drives and four 2.5-inch drives. None of these mounts overlaps, so you have a total of six true, discrete drive mounts available.
All of these mounts sit behind the motherboard and need to be screwed onto detachable brackets to add them to the case. The use of this mounting configuration for 3.5-inch drives is novel, though it’s exceedingly common for 2.5-inch drives on modern cases. The 3.5-inch mounts are under the motherboard cutout, near the case bottom.
I have no major complaints about the number of storage mounts or how they work, but snap-in, no-screws drive mounts would be an improvement.
The motherboard mounting tray is lined with cutout slits that make passing cables through from one side to the other easy. These are well placed, with easily accessed holes near where all of the corners of an ATX motherboard would be after it’s installed into the case. A few larger holes are positioned near the front of the case for getting the chunkier motherboard and PCI Express power connectors through, and these openings are lined in rubber to help block cables on the other side from view and reduce edge abrasion.
On the right side of the case, where most of the cables will reside, several cable ties are pre-installed to improve cable management. This extends to the exterior rear of the case, where Fractal Design has several pre-installed Velcro ties to help hold the PSU power cable to the side so it doesn’t block the rear I/O panel on the motherboard. That is an extra-thoughtful touch.
Feeling Out the Cooling
Cooling is a specialty and a strength of the Torrent RGB. It ships with a whopping five of Fractal Design’s new Prisma fans. Three of these fans are Prisma AL-14 models; these are 140mm in size and come mounted on the bottom of the case. AL-14 fans are rated to produce 103.85 CFM of airflow with a noise production level of 34.1dB(A).
Two additional fans are mounted on the front of the case, larger Prisma AL-18 fans that are 180mm in size. These are rated to move considerably more air (Fractal Design rates them at between 43.1 and 146.8 CFM), but they are still quite quiet, with a noise-production rating between 14.9dB(A) and 37.4dB(A).
I expected this case to be quite the noisemaker due to all of the fans, but I was pleasantly surprised. These are actually the quietest bundled fans I think I’ve ever heard. I couldn’t hear them at all without putting my ear within mere inches of them, with my head partially inside of the open and running PC. (Hopefully, you won't be doing that very much.)
Also, the quality of the addressable-RGB (aRGB) lights appeared excellent to me, as they looked brighter and more vibrant than most other included fans I usually see. A light bar set below the PSU compartment adds even more glow to the case, even if it’s not quite as colorful as the fans. Dust filters are placed over most exterior openings to help keep dirt from flowing into the case with the intake air.
With the PSU mounted at the top of the case and fans pre-installed on the front and bottom, you aren’t left with much room to add a liquid cooler to the Torrent RGB. You'd have to remove a few of the fans first, thus taking out a big part of why you likely bought this case in the first place. This is probably the biggest drawback to the case, apart from the flimsy front panel. Due to the PSU positioning, you can’t add any fans to the top of the case, but there is room to add a 120mm or 140mm radiator to the rear of the case. If you use a large air cooler, though, you won’t have any issues, as this case can hold any CPU air cooler with a height of 188mm or less. And really, the strong air-cooling traits are why you would consider buying the Torrent RGB in the first place.
For controlling the fans, Fractal Design includes a fan controller at the bottom of the case, lined up along the edge behind the glass. This device has support for a total of nine fans, which is a bit of overkill given the case has room to mount a maximum of just six (or, technically, seven if you swap out the 180mm fans for smaller ones).
Verdict: One Cool RGB Cat
We started this review expressing that we had mixed feelings about the Fractal Design Torrent RGB. These grew as we built and handled the chassis and its preponderance of plastic. But in the end, you don't buy a chassis to handle it. You buy it for its performance, its traits, and how it looks. And if you take a step or two back, and stay hands-off, it's hard to fault the Torrent RGB on much apart from the price-for-materials equation. The case is excellent in most other respects.
The building experience is as good as it gets, and so are the fans. As long as you don’t touch it, the case also maintains its premium impression. If you treat it like a museum piece, to place and admire, you'll be happy with this bigger-than-ATX bruiser. Pity about all that plastic, though.
[Editors' Note, Sept 15, 2021: Fractal Design contacted us after publication to inform us of a design issue that affects the fan-controller hub and could, potentially, lead to a short circuit. The fan controller on our review unit functioned normally during our build and testing, but the company has issued a recall to retailers and is asking anyone who has already received a Torrent RGB case to remove the old fan hub and send it in to Fractal Design for a shipped replacement.]
Though the plastic portions of Fractal Design's Torrent RGB disappoint, this remains an excellent oversize tower PC case with generous airflow, a best-in-class building experience, and some of the quietest fans you’ll find.
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