Image Credit: Fractal Design
The last few days have seen some very exciting case releases from major brands. Ranging from SFF improvements to bringing high airflow into a compact setting, Fractal Design, Lian Li, and NXZT have brought some interesting products into 2022.
Fractal Design: Torrent Compact & Nano
Fractal Design has downsized its Torrent case in two smaller form factors. The Torrent released in August of 2021 and quickly gained high praise for its incredible cooling performance. The company’s quick and proactive recall of a defective fanhub also garnered attention. Being the newest addition to Fractal’s lineup, which mainly consisted of the tried and tested Design and Meshify Series, Fractal once again proves it’s innovative spirit.
The Torrent Compact brings the original’s bulky size into a more classic mid-tower size, still with its dual 180mm front intakes, at $169/149. Coming in two colours, the downsizing carries the original’s cooling performance into a more affordable and practical product. The original Torrent also faces competition in Cooler Master’s return of the HAF series.
The Torrent Nano further reduces this, as an ITX tower with one 180mm front intake. Despite this, it is still relatively roomy. As is expected, the thermal performance suffers under this, but it is still a very capable case for $129.
Lian Li x Dan Cases: A4-H2O
Lian Li has a strong history of collabarations, with one of their most recognizable cases – the O11 – being designed together with German overclocker der8auer. They also regularly take feedback from the likes of GamersNexus.
Their newest addition is a revision of the popular 11L A4 SFF Case, increasing water cooling and graphics card support, as well as ease of installation. This sandwich style case has proven itself as a capable performer despite its size, for even the most heat-producing GPUs.
The MSRP is $119 for the PCIe 3.0 riser and $154 for the 4.0 version.
NZXT H1 Refresh: (V2 2022)
Another refresh comes from NZXT, which has increased the size of its H1 case. The H1 has a loaded history behind it, but its concept of using preinstalled components and prerouted cables has proven to be popular. It will be available for $399, with an included 140mm AiO, 750W PSU and more.
