Fractal Warns of Damaged Fan Hubs in Torrent Cases, Offers Free Replacements

[Tsing]

Image: Fractal



Fractal launched a new high-performance PC case called the Torrent last week, but unfortunately, its debut has been marred by an issue related to its Nexus 9P Slim PWM fan hubs. Some of these have reportedly been damaged in manufacturing, opening up the possibility of a nasty short circuit. The issue is so serious that Fractal has been prompted to re-evaluate the entire circuit board design.



Luckily, Fractal has admitted to the problem and is offering free replacement kits to owners of its new Torrent cases. All users have to do is fill out the request form for the replacement kit (found here), and one will be sent as soon as possible.



In the meantime, Fractal is urging Torrent owners to unplug the fan hub from their cases. The fan hub is located near the...

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[Grimlakin]

Man right now it seems like the best press a company can get is to make a mistake own it and fix it the right way.

 

[Brian_B]

Man right now it seems like the best press a company can get is to make a mistake own it and fix it the right way.

It’s certainly better than blaming the consumer or reviewer

 

[LazyGamer]

It does seem like a good PR move to get ahead of the issue - but that's primarily because of numerous problems in recent memory where companies didn't step up right away.

Sadly, while I'll applaud Fractal for doing so, it seems that the majority of companies would rather deflect as much as possible, and I do think that the cost of the part and the exposure both factor in. For Fractal Design, this is a bit of a halo release, and following NZXTs issue with the PCIe riser on their H1, they likely didn't want a high-profile release to be significantly marred by what seems like an inexpensive part.

But if we take some of the issues that power supplies seem to be having, which are more expensive parts and are not user serviceable like a fan hub or PCIe riser, it's understandable that companies are somewhat hesitant to fall on their sword. Same would theoretically apply to GPUs with some of the issues that seem to crop up every generation now, usually centered on board partners overlooking or underspecc'ing something.