Final Thoughts
As I said at the beginning of this review we normally do not cover business related products, but it was interesting to see what Lenovo had in mind for a business PC. And doing some research there are not that many pre-built options when it comes to a workstation PC unless you go to the big names like Dell. I think Lenovo did a great job at putting together a system that can “crunch the numbers” or complete other similar tasks that something like an ultrabook cannot do.
This system has a very powerful Intel Xeon E5-1620 Sandy Bridge processor, NVIDIA Quadro 2000 graphics, 8GB of DDR3-1333 memory, and two Seagate 500GB 7200 RPM drives in a RAID 0 configuration. Many people may be asking why go with a Xeon processor instead of a Intel i7 processor. One of the biggest reasons is that Xeon processors support ECC memory. Memory errors are one of the most common things to happen to a computer so having memory that can correct itself is a plus. Especially since this system can be packed with quite a lot of memory (up to 128GB!) and is designed for high memory and CPU usage situations.
One thing I really liked about this system was that Lenovo did not load it with a bunch of unnecessary software. They know this system is made for business and is designed as such. Even the default Windows theme that is loaded has a very business feel to it. Another thing that many people overlook is the fact that the two hard drives are in a RAID 0 configuration. This means you will see speeds about double of the normal hard drive.
I really did not find anything wrong with the system. As this is a business system we cannot be that picky, but the cable management could have been a little better inside. Better cable management means better airflow, which makes for better cooling.
This system fits into the mid-range when it comes to workstations with a starting price of $899. Lenovo also gives you quite a few different upgrade options to totally customize the system to your needs. So if you are a graphic designer or professional this may be a great system for you. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Lenovo ThinkStation S30 Workstation a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Great performance in the mid-range market
– Discrete graphics
– Hard drives in RAID 0 configuration
– Starting price of $899
Cons:
– Wire / cable management could be better
