Hey guys,
I am looking to build a desktop PC and I am trying to pick a case between Fractal Torrent and Fractal Torrent Compact. My primary goal is silence achieved via low fan RPMs and high airflow. My intuition is that the Torrent Compact will perform better as the length of the chassis is less and therefore there is less distance between the front fans and the hardware area. Do you agree?
My second question is what do you think is the best fan configuration for this case? 2x180 front and 2x180 bottom + 1x140 at the back? Also do you think I should go with horizontal or vertical positioning of the CPU cooler?
I have one HUGE issue with that case…
Nowhere near enough exhaust fans.
Peo0ple will say “the entire back is perfurated”. No. One extra fan top take the warm air away will do much better…
On low speeds those huge fans won’t be able to push enough air to make airflow without exhaust fans. Your thermals will depend entirely on the exhaust.
Although considering all reviews show it’s insanely good performer maybe I am talking out of my …
I really don’t like that case, it must be said…
Exhaust fans are overrated and so are negative pressure builds, and feel free to fight me on that one because it is absolutely a hill I will defend to the end. All you need is enough exhaust to direct airflow, as with positive pressure air will find a way out of the case where ever it can and bring the heat along with it. Negative pressure is also going to make your exhaust fans run harder, which may also increase noise if that is a concern. Also keep in mind that the difference between positive and negative pressure is not necessarily the amount of intake and exhaust fans, as with at least one of each you can control pressure with adjustable fan curves/speed.
You do bring up a good point about pressure optimized fans though, as most fans larger than 140mm tend to not perform well in that regard, not because of fan blade pitch but because there are larger gaps between the blades. This isn’t an issue for unrestricted cases, but start to add in restrictions like fine mesh and fabric filters and your flow is going to go way down compared to a smaller pressure optimized fan with tight and flat blades. I would consider both the need for dust filtration and restrictions before committing to a case with four 180mm fans.
In the end it is going to come down to the specific needs of a given part in whatever environment/case it is going to operate. Air coolers vs water, TDP, SFF, etc. So in that regard I try not speak in absolutes about airflow/thermals and I don’t think anyone else should either. In fact, I would go as far as to say there are probably many situations where negative air pressure is the correct choice. However for a high airflow build I do not think it is beneficial for the majority of hardware in most cases.
If I were build a high airflow build in a Fractal Torrent with noise as a concern, I would go with unrestricted 4x180mm front and bottom intake for air cooled CPU, (and a 360/420 radiator in front with matching fans for water cooled). I would set the intake fans to a static level at the fastest speed that matches ambient noise and have only the rear exhaust tied to CPU temperature. The positive pressure at idle will help compensate for dust buildup from the unfiltered air, but there will always be a tradeoff between filtering the air and maximum flow.
If noise wasn’t a concern I would stuff it full of Noctua iPPC 3000rpm fans like I did why my P500A, but I could go on at length about the two high airflow air-cooled builds I’m currently running and how their thermals are quite impressive, but I don’t want to be that guy so I won’t unless asked about it.
I can argue with that, because I have the pleasure to have a case with a total of 7 fan slots all over the place and I have played around with the fan placement and stuff…
Having 3 intakes and 1 exhaust gives worse thermals than having 3 intakes and 2 exhausts…
Now I didn’t know the fans on the bottom of the case are exhausts tho…
I can agree with that… Welcome, dust into my case, where I don’t want you to be…