The Fractal Design Torrent Compact sits right between the original Torrent and Torrent Nano in terms of both size and MSRP. At $170, it is a very noticeable $60 cheaper than the bigger variant, but only $40 more than the Nano. For the savings compared to the original Torrent, you really only give up the additional fans and have to make due with slightly less storage, whereas the Nano further dials back on the fan and HDD count due to its smaller size, but also forgoes the fan controller, making it a little less attractive from a pricing perspective.

On paper and in theory, providing the consumer with a traditionally sized Torrent in the Compact makes a lot of sense. Not everyone wants a huge chassis to enjoy those two massive fans and the ability to install big air coolers. That said, the massive size and fan count is what made the Torrent stand out, as that combination of dual 180 mm intake and air-cooling support on its own is certainly more common.

In practice, however, the unique internal layout does not play nearly as well inside the Torrent Compact than the massive Torrent, and unlike the Torrent Nano that seems to be more accepting of the fact by allowing the maximum advertised fan size on the floor while still having enough space for a dual-slot GPU and the front fan, the Torrent Compact tries to sell the user on compatibility that comes with quite noticeable drawbacks.

Anyone buying any of the Torrent cases will most likely do so with air cooling in mind. For that scenario, the Compact works just fine with loads of clearance for even the biggest units out there. However, while a straightforward setup, there is the tight space behind the motherboard tray with fewer cable-routing openings than other cases, which makes for very little actual space for a proper, clean cable-management job.

As soon as you are exploring liquid cooling, the Torrent Compact feels really limited compared to what is out there nowadays simply because of the internal layout. With the PSU up top, you are fighting for real estate on the floor with any installed motherboard. The original Torrent managed to take advantage of its sheer size to provide space for active cooling without interference, but the Torrent Compact does not have that luxury. Realistically speaking, if you are opting for any type of liquid-cooling within the case, you should limit your build to an M-ATX board and 280 mm AIO. That way, you have the flexibility to choose where the two included 180 mm fans go depending on where you install your AIO. Anything bigger, be it an ATX motherboard or 360 AIO, will see you painted into a corner that results in having to take out and exclude the 180 mm fans, and considering those are one of the unique selling points of the Torrent Compact you pay for, going that route really makes little sense.

Overall, the concept of the original Torrent with its PSU in the top works well only if you have the space to really offer the same uncompromising compatibility we see in modern bottom-mounted PSU layouts. The Torrent's layout simply does not scale into anything smaller well enough, making the only uncompromising use of the Torrent Compact that of air-cooling the CPU with no aspirations for additional case fans beyond what is included out of the box.