Silverstone Lascala Series SST-LC01 HTPC Case Review
There is this entire craze over HTPC’s and they are going to become a trend in the mainstream within a couple of months. If you home theatre or entertainment room is getting cluttered with all these different devices such as a DVD Player, VCD Player, and VHS and you want a solution to spice up the room with something that could do everything, you are looking for HTPC (Home Theatre PC’s). HTPC’s will be the center of all your entertainment needs. But first you need a case to put it in and Silverstonetek may just have that case you want for your HTPC. Introducing the Silverstone Lascala Series SST-LC01 HTPC Case.
The Silverstone Lascala SST-LC01 HTPC case comes in a nice big, but light in weight, Silverstonetek box with their company logo and case series printed boldly.
The box is real nice
Opening the package presents you with the case being protected on both ends with big white foam. A manual, Pin assignment sheet and mounting screws are included with this case.
Specifications
- Material: All Aluminum Alloy
- M/B Type: ATX Motherboard/microATX
- Colors: Silver & Black
- Drive Bay: 5.25" x 2 (Exposed) / 3.5" x 2 (Exposed) / 3.5" x 4 (Hidden)
- Cooling: 80x25 mm fan attached back panel (Exhaust) Expansion: Slot x 7
- Others: Dual standard USB ports IEEE1394 and Audio Weight: 4.2 kg
- Dimension: 450 mm ( D ) x 425 mm ( W ) x 159mm ( H )
The Silverstone SST-LC01 is an all-aluminum alloy case that supports the ATX and microATX formats and measures a big 450 mm ( D ) x 425 mm ( W ) x 159mm ( H ). The case comes in two colors that include silver and black. There are two 5.25” drive bays and two 3.25” drive bays that can be used and four 3.25’ bays that are hidden inside the case for you other devices such as a hard drive.
WOW
Look at this case. Amazing. Right off the bat you see and feel the quality that this case presents. The exterior paint has a textured feel reminiscent of high-end electronics such as stereos and it certainly looks great. The front portion has two doors that can slide down and up when you click in to unlock the door via smooth rolling gears. The top door houses the two 5.25” drive bays for your optical drives and the bottom door contains two 3.25’ drive bays along with two USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, microphone jack and a microphone jack. The doors are of great quality being aluminum-alloy but suffer from one downfall; it is easy to accidentally scratch the door. Fortunately most scratches can be vanished by wiping them away with a damp cloth.
The doors have chrome-accented pieces that extend vertically and gives an added touch to the already sexy exterior. These are of course protected with green plastic that you have to remove when you receive the case.
The lower left side of the case has a nicely crafted power switch and has two LED’s. There is unfortunately no reset switch with this case for some odd reason.
The sides of the Silverstone SST-LC01 case provide vents for extra silent cooling and they work very well
The high quality stereo equipment look extends to the bottom of the Silverstone SST-LC01. The case feet are rubberized and have chrome silver accents around them. These feet keep the case from sliding around and they do an excellent job, as they are very rubbery.
The rear of the case. Notice how nice it looks.
The rear of the Silverstone SST-LC01 case also looks very nice. There is a 80mm included Evercool exhaust fan with this case and is covered with a fan guard on both ends. There is no stamped fan grill and that is an excellent decision allowing the fan to operate at it’s fullest potential while being quiet. The Evercool fan pulls out great cool air at a small noise level. Silverstonetek pays close attention to detail, as the rear screws to open the case are colored black to blend in with the case.
Inside the Silverstone SST-LC01 HTPC Case
The inside with the stabilizer bar and a image of the mobo connectors
When opening the case, I was very happy with the great craftsmanship and the big working area you have to spare. The middle bar that you see helps the case maintain structural integrity and Silverstone informs me that it can hold a maximum weight of 25 pounds but I have a 47 pound CRT on it and it’s still strong so I’d say don’t go over 50 pounds. All edges in this case are smoothed out and I have not come across a sharp edge. The case also has reusable PCI slot covers so you can reuse them and not be worried on choosing which one to use.
The wire connections are labeled and there isn’t that much to pick on except these two things. There is no speaker in this case so if your computer is melting, you won’t be able to hear it dying. Also the front USB connections are not bundled together but are separate wires. This pretty much makes your life a living hell trying to figure out with the pin-assignment where they go.
The bundle with the USB Pin assignment...It still confusing..
Installation is very easy as the case is pretty straightforward. Everything is setup perfectly and there are no awkward things to say about this case. Every heatsink/fan combination that I have reviewed also fit perfectly with this case, as there is good room between the heatsink and the power supply. There is also some space left to do some cable management and adding some small things in like a cathode.
The drive cage on the right side can come right off letting you install your things easily and quickly. This can be accomplished by removing two screws that are within the stabilizer bar in the middle and a screw right above the drive cage. Unfortunately the other sides cannot.
The only quirks that I feel that can be improved inside the case are including thumbscrews with this case. Have thumbscrews for the PCI extension bays and have them for the rear of the case. This would greatly finish off the case and extend the ease of install.
Before I forget, this case has good cooling for a one fan case. In an ambient room temperature of around 21c-24c, my idle temperature was around 40c and load temperature never touched 50c, 46c-ish to be exact. The only fans in this case was Spire WhisperRock IV, Spire slot cooler and the Evercool exhaust fan.
Other pictures w/caption
The gears for the door are smooth rolling
Inside shot digging deeper...
The power switch and LED connections and the rear Evercool fan
Conclusion
The Silverstone SST-LC01 HTPC case is an excellent case…Period. The build quality of the case is top-notch along with the edges of this case being smoothed out. I like this case and you should too.
The Silverstone SST-LC01 HTPC case doesn’t come perfect though as there are things that it lacked and should improve upon. These include the case having no reset switch, the left drive cage is not removable, the case should have thumbscrews throughout, and that the USB connectors should be bundled together to top off a easy install.
I have no reason to not recommend this case if you are in the market for a cool HTPC or a desktop case. Silverstonetek has resurrected the desktop case form into a grand masterpiece. You do however pay the price...
Wait, wait! What about some installation pictures? Ahh…You will see the rest of this case finished off in Part 2. The article will be using this case and creating your own HTPC. Be sure to check it out sometime next week or so.
The logo on the lower right hand corner
I rate the Silverstone Lascala Series SST-LC01 HTPC Case a…
9/10!
Pros and Cons
+
Excellent case
+ Attention to quality
+ Sexy
+ The rubber feet are nice
+ Fan included
+ No stamped fan grill
+ Smooth rolling doors
- No reset button and case speaker
- Thumbscrews wouldn’t hurt
- USB connections should be bundled
Alternative Pricing:
