System Overview
Description
The Lenovo ThinkStation S30 workstation offers the performance for a variety of common business tasks and light- to mid-range design work. It supports a single Intel Xeon processor but still delivers high-level graphic processing.
Performance
At the heart of the system is a single Intel Xeon E5-1600 or E5-2620 processor with two to twelve cores mounted on a custom ATX motherboard. The system also supports DDR3 memory and generous storage, both HDD and SSD hard drives.
Memory
Both UDIMM and RDIMM ECC DDR3 memory modules are supported in a total of eight memory module slots with two DIMMS per channel. With UDIMMs installed, the system will support up to 64GB of memory. Using 32GB Registered DIMMs will bump that number to 256GB of total memory supported.
Storage
Users can choose from 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch SATA and SAS HDDs and SSDs. Up to three internal drives can be installed. However, if you plan on going with SAS drives you will need a SAS enablement module or a supported LSI HD controller, which also supports RAID of 0, 1, and 5. There’s also an optional eSATA connector that requires a bracket, and an optional kit to convert one of the 5.25-inch media bays to support a 3.5-inch ODD.
Expansion
There are 5 expansion slots, one PCI card slot, two PCIe x4 slots (one with a x16 mechanical slot), and two x16 PCIe (both x16 mechanical and electrical) slots for graphics cards. Several Nvidia Quadro graphics cards are supported on the S30, including room for two Nvidia Quadro K5000 cards with an SLI cable to connect the cards. The Tesla K20 graphics coprocessor is also supported. The system comes standard with 10 USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.0 ports, although only two of those ports are located on the front of the system. All is powered by an 80PLUS Gold 610W power supply.
Summary
The Lenovo S30 workstation is an excellent system for light to medium 3d rendering and drafting. It also features an extensive number of expansion slots to hook up a variety of external devices. Upgrading the system is easy with tool-less access.
