Fractal Design Halts Sales of its Torrent Case

Update! – Fractal Design has now issued a formal statement regarding the matter and provides advice, recommendations, and information regarding ordering a replacement hub controller to current owners of the Torrent case. – Click here for more info!

A little over a week ago, Fractal Design formally announced the launch of its brand new Torrent PC case. While you can, of course, check out our full written review of it here (or the video review here if you prefer), the short version is that in terms of new chassis releases, this has been widely praised by practically everyone in the industry for its amazing levels of airflow and high-quality features.

Following an anonymous tip, however, it was brought to our attention that as amazing as the Torrent is, a potential flaw may have existed within it. And following official confirmation from Fractal Design themselves, we now have exclusive news that the Torrent case has, or very shortly will be (pending their contact with retailers), temporarily removed from sale!

Fractal Design Torrent

In confirming the news, Fractal Design has said they have received an exceptionally small number of RMA claims from consumers regarding an apparent fault with the in-built fan hub controller (pictured below). While this appears only to affect a limited number of the cases, they have taken the precautionary measure of temporarily ceasing any further retail sales of the Torrent until the issue can be further investigated.

“A small number of reports reached us, of Nexus 9P Slim Fan Hubs included with the Torrent being damaged in manufacturing, potentially causing a short-circuit. This has led us to re-evaluate the circuit board design. Further technical details will be shared, together with a public communication, on a dedicated web page. – We’re now coordinating with resellers to put a temporary stop on sales of the Torrent until the replacement fan hub is available and implemented. A rough time frame for this is 2-3 weeks.

We’re encouraging existing customers to unplug the fan hub, regardless of whether they’re experiencing any issues”

What Happens Now?

We should note that this does appear to be an exceptionally isolated problem. Although not currently warranting a full-blown consumer-level recall, Fractal Design appears to be, rather wisely, erring on the side of caution here. To their credit, they have been exceptionally proactive in confirming the existence of this potential issue with the hub controller, and owners of the case can expect a formal statement regarding this matter and any action that may be necessary in the very near future.

In the meantime, however, as per the above, if you currently own a Fractal Design Torrent case, you are strongly advised to disconnect the hub controller until the issue has been investigated further. We will, of course, keep you up to date with any developments (such as, for example, any batch number recalls). Still, if you have any concerns or questions regarding your Torrent case, you can contact Fractal Design’s customer support via the link here!

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!