I've seen other reviewers complain that the top panel is easily scratched but I haven't noticed this after about 3 months of use, and I've removed it at least 10 times. I've had the PC on top of my desk and underneath it as well. I've leaned the top panel against the wall, had it fall to the floor, and its still pristine. I think those comments may have been reviewers trying to identify a negative given they only spent a day or two with the case instead of a few weeks/months. If you buy this case, you should 100% buy 2x 140mm front intake fans if you want to get maximum cooling performance for your GPU. Also, make sure you buy fan splitters and aRGB splitters because you're going to need them. This case would look fantastic with cable extensions or custom cables. However, it will be tough to fit your custom ATX power cables in these cable management channels. Air cooling is an excellent option for this system due to the large intake fan on the front of the case, while options for adding a water cooler are quite limited. You can't add a fan or radiator to the top of the case. You could install up to a 240mm radiator on the front, but this would require removing the preinstalled fan.

My second issue is that, given space constraints, you can't install a modern GPU and bottom case fans. Technically you might be able to install extremely slim fans, but there will be 1 or 2 mm clearance between your GPU's fans and the case fans. Your GPU might even be sitting directly on top of the fans. Those slim fans don't really do a great job cooling, and the close proximity of the fans to the GPU won't necessarily improve thermals. KitGuru says: Fractal Design Torrent Nano is a large Mini-ITX design that has plenty to keep us interested.. Ample room for typical enthusiast parts, but similar concessions extend throughout the case. While its bigger brother can accommodate up to seven 120/140mm fans or four 180s, Compact houses up to six 120s, four 140s or two 180s. Dotted around the enclosure, that includes two 140s or three 120s at the bottom, while the rear is limited to just a 120. Top I/O Ports Rear Cable Management Hidden Storage Bay Torrent Compact Interior A sturdy, vibration-damped drive tray supporting a single HDD or dual SSDs with two optional mounting positionsBoth Compact and Nano continue the Torrent tradition of a top-mounted PSU, but as expected, the amount of headroom now varies. PSU support has reduced from 230mm on the original to 210mm for the Compact, maximum GPU length shrinks from 423mm to 330mm, and the limit for CPU cooler height falls from 188mm to 174mm. The size is right, pricing is acceptable, and the most appealing aspects of Torrent go untouched. That stylish front fascia looks better than ever and dual 180mm intakes deliver on the promise of high airflow. I've been using the Fractal Torrent Nano for the past 3-4 months with hundreds of hours of gaming and tens of hours of benchmarking. Now that I've seen its strengths and weaknesses (versus receiving the case and immediately publishing a YT review), here are my thoughts and recommendations.

When it comes to liquid cooling, said fan mounts can handle a 120/140/240/280/360 radiator in front. There’s technically room for up to a 240/280 on the bottom, though installation will be fiddly in front of an ATX motherboard. You can instead put a couple of 180s down here, albeit with the proviso that you’ll have to use a micro-ATX board.A high-quality cooler ought to be the first port of call when taming an enthusiast chip, but a decent chassis has a part to play. A Core i9-12900K under full load is perfectly happy inside Torrent Compact, even with fans configured to a barely audible 400rpm. Increasing fan speed does improve temperature, though one might argue the shift from 78°C to 75°C is hardly worth the trade-off in noise. Adding storage devices is similarly easy. The Torrent Nano has two 2.5-inch drive mounts that reside behind the motherboard mounting tray. There's also a drive mount next to where the PSU goes on the top of the case, which can accommodate either a 2.5-inch or a 3.5-inch drive. Fractal Design's new Torrent Nano is an interesting case that does a decent job of cutting the original Torrent down to size. The end result is a small case that is supplied with a single 180mm fan and which supports Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX with full sized hardware in the other departments.

The Fractal Torrent Nano is a solidly built, extremely well-designed PC case that excels in air-cooling your components. It supports the mITX form factor but it definitely isn't a "small" case by any definition of the word. It supports a standard ATX PSU which is nice for your budget (or maybe not!). In terms of looks, it has the sex appeal of Angelina Jolie or Idris Elba, depending on your preferences. The cable management is superb with a main cable channel and a ton of space at the bottom, right side, and top of the case. Removable top bezel and routing clips with velcro ties make for easy installation and cable managementIn my opinion, the best feature of this case is the cable management. The primary cable management channel with three dedicated lanes, a bottom lane, and another lane on the right made this case a pleasure to work with. Even with an additional SSD and my Lian Li fan controller installed, cable management is super clean. Other case manufacturers could learn a thing or two from how this case is designed.