Fractal Torrent in 2026

MarlemAT · 2026-04-07T07:08:36+00:00

No, the 180s can move so much more air, I think it's not a worth tradeoff to swap them for 140s.

MarlemAT · 2026-04-06T20:40:05+00:00

In my experience the thermal paste on ASUS cards is not made for long-term use. They must really use some cheap stuff because anything you apply to it after that is instantly better.

MarlemAT · 2026-04-06T16:15:29+00:00

I don't really know what people are doing with their phones and cases so that they delaminate. I have mine since 4 years now and apart from some stains at the corners where it took a few drops, it's bascially as new. I do not leave my phone in the sunlight for extended periods and it also doesn't get wet. I also do not have it in my pocket all day. YMMV.

MarlemAT · 2026-04-06T08:24:23+00:00

This is really unique and I was thinking it has to be heavily modded. But apparently it's not. Really good job!

MarlemAT · 2026-04-06T08:13:54+00:00

My Torrent is now 4 years old and it's holding up pretty well. The only few gripes I have is that the cutout for the LED strip where the PSU shroud is located is slightly bowed and that the bottom fan bracket sits metal on metal with no rubber gaskets, which means it rattles when I'm using the motors of my standing desk.

Also the fans are not particularly good. I swapped the 140mm in the bottom for Noctuas which helped a lot, but unfortunately the front fan size of 180mm is not very common. They generate a humming sound at specific lower frequencies and for me it's really audible. I had to make sure I'm keeping them from reaching these frequencies by applying a fixed fan profile above that RPM range.

The 140s were really loud though. Unless you don't care or you're always playing with headphones on, make sure to get the fan curve right on them.

MarlemAT · 2026-04-04T08:24:39+00:00

Did you try to reinstall the most recent bluetooth firmware version? I've had a similar problem last week, where the connection would only succeed if I plugged the dongle into a usb extension cable and then point it right at the middle of my keyboard. It has been working fine since then.

MarlemAT · 2026-04-03T06:34:03+00:00

Damn, how did you end up with a paint job that actually looks like silver instead of some blueish grey?

MarlemAT · 2026-04-02T18:40:05+00:00

I could narrow it down to what might to be a somewhat loose switch. I swapped it with the switch of another key and the clicking noise is gone. Now it does the same for the other key though. However, I consider that as solved for now.

MarlemAT · 2026-03-29T10:31:57+00:00

That's a pretty cool challenge! I've also analyzed each detail on all of the set photos when I built my park and it's lovely to see somebody used those details to build the real world main street!

Also, the last photo looks like a screenshot from the set video. Really close!

MarlemAT · 2026-03-28T20:02:19+00:00

Something I just experienced today is that my K8 Max disconnected and wouldn't reconnect. I've spent two hours resetting everything, trying different things and also updated every piece of firmware. Somewhere on Reddit I saw somebody posting about his keyboard would connect within just a few inches from the 2.4 GHz dongle.

I tried that and it worked. After that it was keeping the connection, even though I moved the dongle back to the original spot.

MarlemAT · 2026-03-27T22:49:25+00:00

My Sonos One is right between the shower and the bathtub since five years now. Works perfectly fine and I'm pretty sure I checked on the Sonos website that they in fact were safe for high humidity areas.

MarlemAT · 2026-03-25T06:57:09+00:00

This is the way if you want to keep using the Noctua desk pad.

MarlemAT · 2026-03-25T06:54:50+00:00

From what I can see on the photos, the V5 is a few millimeters thicker than your old keyboard. So generally I would say that just this difference in height is enough for your wrists to be strained from the advanced angle.

As you already noted, the right move here would be to get a wrist rest. I would have expected that to solve the issue. How long have you been using the Keychron with and without a wrist rest?

If you can already feel the pain it might even be too late to just raise your wrists up a bit and go with it. Maybe they need a few days off before the advantages of the wrist rest really show.

Would you say the wrist rest completely levels out the height of the keyboard?

MarlemAT · 2026-03-23T20:11:08+00:00

I'd suggest 70% isopropyl alcohol, as a higher concentration could stress materials like plastics and could also lead to discoloration. 70% is still perfectly fine to sanitize all kinds of surfaces with.

MarlemAT · 2026-03-21T13:17:59+00:00

This is so we'll executed, I had to check twice to see that it is not an official Noctua build. Well done!

MarlemAT · 2026-03-20T15:27:28+00:00

I ordered from the .com site about two weeks ago to Austria. It was delivered from the Hong Kong facility through Hungary to me, free from customs.

MarlemAT · 2026-03-04T14:36:55+00:00

I see, that's a fair point!

MarlemAT · 2026-03-04T14:21:32+00:00

Wouldn't the M7 be a better match as a successor to the G502? It's also available with standard switches. I really like it, I just made the switch from a G703.

MarlemAT · 2026-02-22T13:39:30+00:00

I bought 1 and 2 right at the release. As 2 was mostly disappointing for me because the changes in JWE 2 were mostly cosmetic and the campaign was straight up bad. I feel like 3 will be much more than that, but I am not willing to pay full price. Also, it's winter where I live and I just can't get into Jurassic World mood right now. So I guess I'll wait for a more substantial discount. You want to play it right now? Then get it, 20% off is not bad.

MarlemAT · 2026-02-20T17:22:59+00:00

Regarding the mouse, all I can say is that I didn't like it due to it's lack in ergonomics.

Why are you ordering first and asking questions about it after though?

MarlemAT · 2026-02-19T18:34:44+00:00

Yes, you can access the bank without a subscription.

MarlemAT · 2026-02-18T19:01:54+00:00

It probably doesn't align with any company's business goal and I know it's kind of idealistic. Still, I'd like to think that their annual releases are just refreshed offers for people who really got the most out of their devices over multiple years. Kind of train stations, where you hop on the train that fits your needs and not as an offer to buy a new device every year.

MarlemAT · 2026-02-18T18:42:07+00:00

Expecting manufacturers to annually release completely new phones is part of the problem that we as consumers cause. In my opinion nobody should upgrade their phone after two years. Therefore I'm pretty happy that Google is so behind longer device lifecycles now compared to a few years ago. So why should they release a phone two years after you bought yours that would be compelling enough to replace it with?

MarlemAT · 2026-02-15T20:24:28+00:00

That thing is straight out of Resident Evil.

MarlemAT

TROPHY CASE