Hey everyone, today we're looking at the chassis for my new build, the LEPA LPC307B. This case was pretty much the cheapest ATX case I could find, but it had everything I needed for the price. Lepatek is a German company who have been making Power Supplies and Fans for ages, but their 300 series cases are their first foray into chassis.
The case features front vented area to put fans, one USB3 port, one USB2 port, Audio, Reset and power buttons and two 5.25" drive bays. The construction could be better however, since the front cover is plastic while the rest of the case is metal. This could be to make it easier to take off, but I would have liked them to at least put metal accents or something to strengthen it.
When you pop off the front panel, you can see it's held in by plastic pins, making it easy to pull off. However, these look like they could break easily, so it would have been a smart choice to use metal here. The cables to the front I/O are neatly strung together near the panel and can be move around because of the long length of each of them.
When we take off the front panel, you can see that there is ample room for drive bays as well as holes for fan installation. You can either put two 120mm fans in the front or one 140mm fan. I don't think you would be able to put even a small radiator, so this is not a good choice for water cooling enthusiasts.
Looking at the side without the panel, we see a really big cutout behind where the CPU goes, allowing for easy bracket mounting. We also see holes for cable management, and a rear fan for exhaust. Despite the cutouts, the chassis feels quite sturdy, even though it is very lightweight. The small 2.5" drive area can be removed to improve airflow if needed, but the tight area is held in place by four screws, which could have been made easier to access with simple sliding drive trays. We also see an air filter for the PSU that comes with mesh to keep dust out.
Around back, we can see the read I/O area for the motherboard as well as the PSU mounting area and the expansion ports. This case could theoretically hold 3 graphics cards, or 6 expansion cards, but I wouldn't recommend it because there wouldn't be good airflow. The expansion slots are only removeable once and can't be put back, so card placement and planning is required. We also see near the fan two holes for water cooling tubes, in case you have a water cooler outside of your system. Once again though, one time use. They can also be covered up if you want to make sure dust doesn't get inside.
We we go around to the other side of the case we see the emphasis of the large motherboard cutout. Despite not appearing to have a lot of room, the side panels are concaved to make cable management a lot easier, as well as add fans on the other side.
Overall, the case seems like a good first effort, especially at the price I purchased it. The pluses include a sturdy frame, nice holes, expandability, and decent looks.
The minuses come from the lack of metal in the front panel, not much room for water cooling, screws were sliding mechanisms would work better, and the lack of reusable expansion slot covers.
However, I do like this case because of the good price I got for it. If you are a first time builder, want good airflow and nice expansion options, this might be a good case for you. If you are a seasoned building vet, I really don't recommend this, and would point you towards something more enthusiast class.
I'm giving this case a 6/10, and I hope Lepatek can improve in the years to come.
Happy gaming and happy building.
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