We first saw Lepa's new LPC501 mid-tower enclosure at Computex, and now the company is following with the official release. The LPC501 is a simple, albeit slightly out-of-date case, which arrives at a relatively friendly price point.
Inside, you'll be able to house up to ATX motherboards, graphics cards up to 294 mm long -- or if you remove a drive cage, 414 mm long. There is also room for CPU coolers up to 174 mm tall, along with six 3.5" or 2.5" drives. Although the feature is perhaps a bit out of date, the case can also fit three 5.25" optical drives.
The enclosure also has room for up to six fans, all of which are 120 mm units. One of these is a standard fan installed as rear exhaust, and two others are Enerflo TA fans, which are LED-lit and mounted in the front. The top of the case has room for two more 120 mm fans, and the bottom of the case can also hold one. Despite the top of the case holding two 120 mm fans, motherboards with large VRM heatsinks on top might not leave enough clearance for a water cooling radiator. The rear 120 mm fan mount will hold a 120 mm radiator, although that might not be enough to satisfy all potential buyers.
The LPC501 will come in two flavors, the LPC501A and the LPC501B, where "A" stands for Advances and "B" for Basic. The advanced variant comes with an acrylic side window, two USB 3.0 ports, and two USB 3.0 ports. The Basic variant won't have a side window, and it gives up a USB 3.0 port in exchange for a USB 2.0 port. It won't be sold in the US.
All things considered, there's not really anything new about this case. We would have liked to see dedicated 2.5" slots, fewer optical drive bays, and better all-in-one liquid cooling support. You'll be able to build a perfectly good system in this case, but it may feel like you're dealing with something from a few years ago. The advanced version of the case is available for $64.99, which despite the somewhat outdated design, is still a relatively friendly price tag.
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