14 DAY TRIAL // Desktop cases come in a variety of shapes, sizes, cooling capabilities and visual accents, but LEPA tried to combine what it could of the high-end stuff when it created the new LPC501 mid-tower.
You might think that a true high-end case would boast the full tower form factor, or better yet, something bigger so that E-ATX and XL-ATX motherboards may be comfortably supported.
That's not really the case though. Mid-range cases, or at least the fancy ones, represent the majority of the segment, since they support full-ATX motherboards. Larger ones are for extreme enthusiasts mostly.
Thus, the LPC501 definitely qualifies as a high-end chassis, both in its basic build (LPC501B) and in its advanced build (LPC501A).
Considering the implied gap between the “basic” and “advanced” models, there's actually very little difference between the two.
Sure, the former has an embossed side panel and three pre-installed fans, while the latter has a large acrylic side panel and LED fans on the front, but that's pretty much it. Everything else is the same for both.
The LEPA LPC501 chassis
For one thing, the case has support for video cards of up to 294 mm in length, or 11.5 inches. Removing the HDD cage extends that to 414 mm / 16.3 inches.
That means that any graphics card on the market is supported, even some of the larger professional ones from AMD and NVIDIA. Their consumer dual-GPU monsters are, of course, an easy fit as well.
Besides, even if you do remove the HDD cage, you still have a second one where you can install storage devices (including SSDs, not just HDDs). Speaking of which, the 3.5-inch / 2.5-inch bays are screw-less, just like the 5.25-inch bays.
That said, there's 20 mm (just under an inch) clearance between the motherboard tray and the side panel on that side, for optimal ventilation and cable management. Cutouts on the mobo tray further increase ease of CPU cooler installation and cable routing.
As for connectivity, that will be determined by your mainboard, although the cases do have front panels with USB 3.0 and 2.0 support.
Finally, the maximum CPU cooler height is of 174 mm / 6.85 inches, which should be more than enough.
Availability and pricing
The LEPA LPC501 should ship soon for the price of $65 / €51 - €65. Not all regions of the world will get the same product, but the differences will be minor.
