Looking for small case with good airflow, Fractal Design Torrent Compact White TG ?

[Mark Kaine]

Any downsides to this? I cant believe its so small, 46x23 cm for an ATX case? 

What does TG stand for?

 

 

[wildgg]

20 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

Any downsides to this? I cant believe its so small, 46x23 cm for an ATX case? 

What does TG stand for?

 

 

wouldnt call it small but it's a great case with good airflow.

TG = Tempered Glass

[Mark Kaine]

28 minutes ago, Wildgg said:

wouldnt call it small but it's a great case with good airflow.

TG = Tempered Glass

i mean i know its not "small" small, but for an ATX case? I dont even need an ATX case but I like the layout and I want enough space for cable management,  and it can't really be much bigger as i put my pc on a small ikea cube, like 48x48cm... so that's the limit.

 

yeah i like the design a lot , except the open top is not ideal because there's a window right above the pc ... lol.

 

So im also looking for alternatives but I haven't found any.

 

 

33 minutes ago, Wildgg said:

TG = Tempered Glass

Ah, ok lol.

[wildgg]

6 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

yeah i like the design a lot , except the open top is not ideal because there's a window right above the pc ... lol.

what do you mean with ''open top'' ?

this case has a closed top panel with no fan mounts etc.

[Mark Kaine]

3 minutes ago, Wildgg said:

what do you mean with ''open top'' ?

this case has a closed top panel with no fan mounts etc.

oh, i must have mixed it up with some other case (lian li probably) , you're right! well I think that's pretty much my only choice then 

[wildgg]

4 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

oh, i must have mixed it up with some other case (lian li probably) , you're right! well I think that's pretty much my only choice then 

I know the Fractal Design Meshify C makes for a pretty compact atx build as well, it does have a open top tho.
I can't name many cases with closed tops real quick tho, but im sure you can cover the top if it's really needed.

[Mark Kaine]

59 minutes ago, Wildgg said:

it's a great case with good airflow.

i just saw you reviewed it... but the one im looking at doesn't come with bottom fans only two front fans and the hard drives are mounted in the back.. seems to be a different design... "compact" thats the difference maybe? 

 

it still does look like it has good airflow though...

 

tbh my inwin 301 has a very similar design and i don't need bottom fans at all, they're pointless,  1C less.... 

 

the case is so small the air just goes right from front to back, like a wind tunnel!

 

only thing the inwin has basically no cable management options, hence i want to change it.  The torrent (compact) looks so comfy! 

 

Tho im not sure this can still remove the top....?

 

 

[Mark Kaine]

8 minutes ago, Wildgg said:

I know the Fractal Design Meshify C makes for a pretty compact atx build as well, it does have a open top tho.
I can't name many cases with closed tops real quick tho, but im sure you can cover the top if it's really needed.

yeah, coulda been the meshify C, the lian lis look way different,  kinda bulky... uh... 

[wildgg]

5 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

i just saw you reviewed it... but the one im looking at doesn't have bottom fans only to front fans and the hard drives are mounted in the back.. seems to be a different design... "compact" thats the difference? 

 

it still does look like it has good airflow though...

 

tbh my inwin 301 has a very similar design and i don't need bottom fans at all, they're pointless,  1C less.... 

 

the case is so small the air just goes right from front to back, like a wind tunnel!

 

only thing the inwin has basically no cable management options, hence i want to change it.  The torrent (compact) looks so comfy! 

 

Tho im not sure this can still remove the top....?

 

 

 

 

the one that is linked to my profile is the full sized version, there's the compact and nano as well. they all have different sizes.

all 3 version have good airflow, low resistance dust filters and allot of fans.(edit: not every version comes with the same amount of fans but still enough for good airflow)

cable management in the full version was super easy, i assume it would be just as good in the compact.

You can remove the top of the case, you will need too because the PSU goes there.

[Mark Kaine]

19 minutes ago, Wildgg said:

all 3 version have good airflow, low resistance dust filters and allot of fans.(edit: not every version comes with the same amount of fans but still enough for good airflow)

i see. i got confused because the store page im looking at says "E-ATX motherboard",  other descriptions said ATX, m-ATX... at this point im just trying to make sure my motherboard even fits (b550m mortar wifi, so m-ATX) 

 

And yeah it does look easy to build and has the perfect dimensions for me.

19 minutes ago, Wildgg said:

You can remove the top of the case, you will need too because the PSU goes there.

yeah, well that's not a given per say, my inwin doesn't remove the top and has the psu on top too... huge reason its so difficult to build in... you basically cannot access the cables from the psu. at all. i don't know what they where thinking!

 

 

But alright,  thanks for all the info, and you think my motherboard (m-ATX)  should fit? i mean it would be stupid if not (e-ATX, never heard of that, the store description is really awful haha)

[wildgg]

5 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

i see. i got confused because the store page im looking at says "E-ATX motherboard",  other descriptions said ATX, m-ATX... at this point im just trying to make sure my motherboard even fits (b550m mortar wifi, so m-ATX) 

 

And yeah it does look easy to build and has the perfect dimensions for me.

yeah, well that's not a given per say, my inwin doesn't remove the top and has the psu on top too (huge reason its so difficult to build in... you basically cannot access the cables from the psu. at all. i don't know what they where thinking!

 

 

But alright,  thanks for all the info, and you think my motherboard (m-ATX)  should fit? i mean it would be stupid if not (e-ATX, never heard of that, the store description is really awful haha)

they often list the biggest board that will fit meaning anything smaller will work as well.

yes your m-ATX board will fit.

e-ATX boards have 1/2 inches of extra space on the right side to accommodate additional hardware, often used in servers. 

[Mark Kaine]

ok, cool, thanks @Wildgg

[Deadpool2onBlu-Ray]

17 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

Any downsides to this? I cant believe its so small, 46x23 cm for an ATX case? 

What does TG stand for?

 

 

I have a tirade from Reddit I will repost here about my hate for the Fractal Torrent Compact, read it if you please. 

 

This case sucks major balls. I WANTED to love it, but every little thing about it pisses me off. Where do I even start. I bought it on release due to loving the look/cooling potential of the regular torrent but it was too much of a big daddy for me. So I insta ordered the compact when it came out. Oh boy was that a mistake. It has THE best gpu cooling out of any case on the market due to the 180mm fans in the front and the small amount of space between those fans and the gpu. I also love how it looks. It’s VERY nice looking. That’s all I can say good….. As a background, I LOVE building PCs and have probably built around 75-100 of them over the years. Sometimes I’ll make a few bucks selling it, sometimes I lose a few. Anyways, the negatives. Fit and finish: this case is made like crap. It’s mostly plastic. The only metal part is the actual case shell, but even that is very thin metal. The front plastic cover (which looks like metal) is actually super duper cheap feeling plastic which will NOT FUCKING EVER CLICK INTO PLACE. To change the front fans etc you need to take it out. It latches in by starting at the bottom and then latching it in on the top. But it’s SO CHEAP that it never latches correctly and it’s super duper easy to break. As someone else mentioned, the top plastic cover is cheap af thin flimsy plastic too. It literally will snap off with the least amount of pressure applied. Nice LOOKING, extremely cheap feeling. I don’t think this case would hold up to more than a build or two in it before all the plastic bits became unusable. Now, the worst part. The cable management. I consider myself a “fairly seasoned” cable management builder. But boy oh boy, is this case a bitch to cable manage. There is like a millimeter of room behind the motherboard for cables. I even have custom sleeved cables and I don’t have any hard drives, rgb, fan hubs, etc. I literally had the 24 pin ATX. 8 pin EPS, and 12 pin mini PCIE PERFE cable from EVGA. 3 cables. And I could not for the life of me get the god damn case closed, let alone look good. There is NOT ENOUGH ROOM. I tried everything. Pulling them into the top psu shroud, pulling them into the actual body of the case, nothing works, there’s not enough god damn space. Eventually, I did get it to close, but with a caveat. First, I used approximately 1759318499404 cable ties. Secondly, it wouldn’t close “on its own. Fractal, in their infinite wisdom, included a tempered glass side panel on BOTH SIDES. No matter what you do it will not stay shut on it’s own on the cable management side. There is a screw that hold it. But the thing is, it eventually starts bowing out due to the cables being too tight and might even eventually shatter the glass. The real kicker is that fractal WILL NOT SELL YOU A SOLID BACK PANEL. I tried calling and emailing support and they told me they do not and do not plan on selling the solid back panel. The only way to get it is to order the black one with two solid panels or get the white one. The white one comes with boring non rgb fans (and that’s half the reason to get this case because they look SWEET from the front). There’s no winning. I literally can’t even imagine trying to build in this case if I had a Corsair commander pro with a bunch of rgb cables and fans and stuff. Or if I had HDDS or sata ssds. I think that would take it from extremely difficult to actually impossible. I haven’t even touched about a flaw in the design. Due to the power supply being in the top and not the bottom of this case, it is SUPER top heavy. Especially due to this case being built like crap, it feels like it could fall over at any moment due to it being so god damn top heavy. I’ve generally loved fractal cases but this one sucks major donkey balls. You dont want your multi thousand dollar pc falling over. They obviously cut a LOT of corners with the build quality of this thing. It LOOKS like a $200 case, but FEELS like a $30 prebuilt case, and it’s a damn shame.

I’ve since transplanted my build into the new Lian Li Lancool III. That case actually feels like it is as expensive as it is. It’s SOLID. I think it’s like 30 pounds without anything in it. Also, cable management was a breeze. I’d strongly suggest you go for the Lancool III or even the new fractal pop air instead of this piece of garbage plastic flimsy hellish nonsense

[Deadpool2onBlu-Ray]

15 hours ago, Wildgg said:

cable management in the full version was super easy, i assume it would be just as good in the compact.
 

Oh boy, are you spectacularly wrong in your hypothesis. 

 

The cable management in the torrent compact is horrific. 

[Mark Kaine]

40 minutes ago, ShawtyT30beTHICCC said:

I have a tirade from Reddit I will repost here about my hate for the Fractal Torrent Compact, read it if you please. 

 

This case sucks major balls

... I appreciate this input... really... but i have a lot of ... uh, doubts/questions...

 

Honestly your description sounds exactly like my inwin 301 with a few exceptions that the inwin is incredibly sturdy built and *very* high quality... actually crazy for how cheap it is (under 100 bucks) 

 

but it is indeed incredibly hard to build in as it has *no* cable management whatsoever... theres some "breakthrough holes" but that seriously shouldn't count as they're really stupidly placed for the most part (only good for gpu cables basically) and way too small...

 

 

So yeah, i get it the front panel of the torrent is flimsy... i can believe that... and that sucks.......

 

 

But. Huge BUT. i mean, im not blind, there *is* space for cables... they have quite a few of those cable holes that the inwin is missing... they have easily accessible ssd slots.... which the inwin is missing...  (there are slots for hdds, but they might as well not exist because theyre completely inaccessible once the build is finished,  except the 3.5 slot, which, yay, is great, but its just one slot... for a 3.5 drive i dont have... lol.

 

all in all i believe it might be tricky but it should be a HUGE improvement over my inwin for sure!

 

Also impossible? 

 

looks good to me, perfect even?

 

courtesy of @freeagent, i hope he don't mind! o.o

 

i mean this *is* the torrent "compact" isn't it??

 

i will get the white version btw, the rgb is nice, but it would be way too much in my face... i sit right infront of the thing... also i like white cases.

 

i also appreciate that you mentioned some alternatives btw, i think I'll give this torrent a try though, if it *really really* sucks i can always return it...

 

 

[Deadpool2onBlu-Ray]

2 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

... I appreciate this input... really... but i have a lot of ... uh, doubts/questions...

 

Honestly your description sounds exactly like my inwin 301 with a few exceptions that the inwin is incredibly sturdy built and *very* high quality... actually crazy for how cheap it is (under 100 bucks) 

 

but it is indeed incredibly hard to build in as it has *no* cable management whatsoever... theres some "breakthrough holes" but that seriously shouldn't count as they're really stupidly placed for the most part (only good for gpu cables basically) and way too small...

 

 

So yeah, i get it the front panel of the torrent is flimsy... i can believe that... and that sucks.......

 

 

But. Huge BUT. i mean, im not blind, there *is* space for cables... they have quite a few of those cable holes that the inwin is missing... they have easily accessible ssd slots.... which the inwin is missing...  (there are slots for hdds, but they might as well not exist because theyre completely inaccessible once the build is finished,  except the 3.5 slot, which, yay, is great, but its just one slot... for a 3.5 drive i dont have... lol.

 

all in all i believe it might be tricky but it should be a HUGE improvement over my inwin for sure!

 

Also impossible? 

 

looks good to me, perfect even?

 

courtesy of @freeagent, i hope he don't mind! o.o

 

i mean this *is* the torrent "compact" isn't it??

 

i will get the white version btw, the rgb is nice, but it would be way too much in my face... i sit right infront of the thing... also i like white cases.

 

i also appreciate that you mentioned some alternatives btw, i think I'll give this torrent a try though, ifvit *really really* sucks i can always return it...

 

 

The white version is much better as it has a solid side panel, alleviating a ton of the issues. The top heavy issue and lack of build quality are still huge glaring issues though.

 

Cases I would buy over this case 1000 times out of 1000.

Lian Li Lancool III (this is probably too large for you)

NZXT H5 Flow (this JUST came out I think on Friday of last week)

Fractal Pop Air

[Mark Kaine]

44 minutes ago, ShawtyT30beTHICCC said:

The white version is much better as it has a solid side panel, alleviating a ton of the issues. The top heavy issue and lack of build quality are still huge glaring issues though.

 

yeah, the inwin doesn't have this issue... the feet are flat so its not wobbly or anything,  and its also heavy, so it's really sturdy even with the psu on top.

 

44 minutes ago, ShawtyT30beTHICCC said:

Cases I would buy over this case 1000 times out of 1000.

Lian Li Lancool III (this is probably too large for you)

NZXT H5 Flow (this JUST came out I think on Friday of last week)

Fractal Pop Air

yeah, the lian li are too bulky from what im seeing...

gonna check out the h5 flow and pop air as alternatives,  but i have a feeling I'll really like the torrent... and I'm warned now, if it's really too wobbly or the front doesn't shut properly I'll return it... I'll also have to rethink if i really need another case now... i mean i just (re)built it and i hopefully don't need to access the ssds anytime soon and the inwin is really a nice quality case albeit with some huge flaws as mentioned.

 

But yeah, a new case shouldn't be much bigger if at all but have space for some bigger fans and indeed cable management... the inwin cant even fit a 360mm radiator (i think not) thats just how small it is... but its also a m-ATX case, so maybe that's expected... it's more like they put form over function though... 

[freeagent]

1 hour ago, Mark Kaine said:

courtesy of @freeagent, i hope he don't mind! o.o

I do not mind at all, thank you for your kind words

 

I wasn't going to get the RGB one, but I wanted to try something different. Every time you lay the case down you take off the glass, once you get used to that step, it's a nice case to build in. 

[Mark Kaine]

38 minutes ago, freeagent said:

I do not mind at all, thank you for your kind words

 

I wasn't going to get the RGB one, but I wanted to try something different. Every time you lay the case down you take off the glass, once you get used to that step, it's a nice case to build in. 

you're welcome  and yeah i saw your pics and thought "wait a minute that looks exactly how my inwin should be..." and then I looked up the dimensions and yeah, it seems perfect...

 

i can imagine the 180mm (?) front fans will be good for cooling too, not that my cooling is bad now but everything helps, also i can put my noctuas in the back then, i have bequiets there right now and somehow they aren't so quiet... kinda sounds like the bearings go out... lol

[freeagent]

Oh yeah they are fine, and quieter than the iPPC I was using in my meshify c

[freeagent]

5 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

So yeah, i get it the front panel of the torrent is flimsy... i can believe that... and that sucks.......

 

 

But. Huge BUT. i mean, im not blind, there *is* space for cables..

It’s not flimsy, no part of the Torrent Compact is flimsy. Everything snaps together nicely, even the back glass. You should take your time to wire it up, think it out, it’s worth it in the end. I read the tirade, imo it’s not nearly as bad as made out. I’ve built in tighter cases.

[Mark Kaine]

@Wildgg

 

@freeagent

 

@ShawtyT30beTHICCC

 

The big brother has arrived...!

 

 

 

i... like it... it looks a lot bigger than it really is, my inwin is only a few cm smaller and it will definitely fit on my "cube"... only thing i don't like is the clear glass, i looked for a version with dark/black glass but didn't see one.

 

I'm going to actually test temps on my current rig, again, because I'll only keep this if temps are at least the *same* but i guess it should be similar and the front fans are bigger. 

 

oh and i don't like theres honeycomb under the psu, that doesn't make sense, the honeycomb should be in the bottom,  for stability and also weight distribution.  But this seems only like minor drawbacks/ disappointments...

 

 

ShawtyT30beTHICCC,  i agree it would be nice if the front was metal, that would make the thing massive! 

 

Now I've gotta study the manual lol, i don't even know how to open the thing... my inwin has a huge button in the front that opens the glass panel and also serves as a handle, should be standard tbh 

 

Well, we'll see how it goes! *fingers crossed*

[wildgg]

12 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

only thing i don't like is the clear glass

sounds like some self adhesive foil could fix

12 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

oh and i don't like theres honeycomb under the psu, that doesn't make sense

well the PSU fan has to get air from somewhere, as for the design that's personally i guess