I've gotten the card already, therefore looking for something that I can fit it in. Reason i got the card is that the port can be flashed to negotiate at 2.5g, which my gpon onu stick will be connected.
Lenovo Thinkcentre/ThinkStation Tiny (Project TinyMiniMicro) Reference Thread
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Last time I looked at m.2 enterprise drives, the largest capacity NVME that was 2280 was around 960GB. A quick glance on ebay shows a handful of m.2 SATA drives in higher capacities at 2280, but I'm not sure if any of the M90Q's m.2 slots are compatible with SATA. If you have the SATA sled and connector available (i.e. you're not using the PCIE riser), there are a number of 1.92 and 3.84TB used enterprise SATA 2.5 drives available for reasonable prices on ebay. While they're not nearly as fast as NVME, they should be adequate for VM workloads. Good luck!
Couple questions: I am trying for the same set up in a Gen 2.
1) would the print file for the Gen 3 you linked work in a Gen 2?
2) did you have issues closing your unit with the GPU installed? For now, I've removed the GPU bracket and even with it off, its a super tight fit, the cover doesn't want to go on and the PC doesn't want to power on with the cover off. And the GPU seems to be getting pushed onto the back connectors from the pressure of the top cover :-(
Hey all — hoping someone can kindly help with a recommendation here.
I’m setting up a cluster of Lenovo M920q Tinys and looking to settle on a reliable 2x10GbE NIC for them (proxmox/opnsense). Thermals and compatibility are my main concerns. From my limited research on reddit so far:
If anyone has experience with these in a Lenovo Tiny (especially M920q), or can recommend something else that works cleanly without headaches, would hugely appreciate the guidance. It seems like the more i dig, the more gotchas i find. Would love to avoid wasting $$ and time on trial and error.
Thanks in advance!
I’m setting up a cluster of Lenovo M920q Tinys and looking to settle on a reliable 2x10GbE NIC for them (proxmox/opnsense). Thermals and compatibility are my main concerns. From my limited research on reddit so far:
- Intel X520-DA2 — Seems solid but might be a bit picky about SFP modules and could need EEPROM patching depending on transceivers.
- Mellanox ConnectX-4 (CX4121B) — Great specs but I’ve seen notes about issues power draw and thermals, especially in a Tiny form factor.
- Intel X710-DA2 — Great option, but I keep reading this one runs toasty may require a shroud or drilling holes.
If anyone has experience with these in a Lenovo Tiny (especially M920q), or can recommend something else that works cleanly without headaches, would hugely appreciate the guidance. It seems like the more i dig, the more gotchas i find. Would love to avoid wasting $$ and time on trial and error.
Thanks in advance!
I have the Supermicro 10GbE AOC-STGN-i2S REV: 2.00 in a 920q and a the sale with one port in a m90q and it runs without issue on opnsense or proxmox. For the dual ports you can easily find 3D printed cache
I've had multiple Tinys (m720q, p330) running with the dual-port AOC-STGN-i2S with zero problems. There's no ventilation in the PCIE area, so you can either look into one of the vented tops or a 3d-printed fan shroud. Or you can do like I did and YOLO it with no ventilation. I ran a m720q with an i5-8500T and the SuperMicro NIC for about 2 years as my primary firewall (Proxmox with pfsense virtualized). It worked flawlessly until I replaced it with a MS-01.
Hello I have two identical Intel x710 cards, two x16 risers, and an m90q gen 3 and m90q gen 4, both with updated BIOS. The m90q gen 4 works correctly with the x16 riser and the x710-da2. The m90q gen 3 can't get past the Lenovo boot letters. Updated BIOS (the risers and x710s have been swapped, and the problem persists).
Ref riser is 5C50W00933 lenovo genuine
What am I missing?
Ref riser is 5C50W00933 lenovo genuine
What am I missing?
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Quick follow up for information to anybody else.
Now Purchased the 5C50W00909 from these guys Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tiny P360 Tiny PCiE Riser Card 5C50W00909 | eBay UK and works perfectly with the WAVLINK 10GB NIC model number WL-NWP004.
I still have the previous riser card if anybody is interested (CHEAP) 5C50W00933, I can confirm it works with Video cards but couldn't get it to work with the above NIC or a 2.5GB from NICGIGA. Anybody interested, please get in touch... Like a say, its of no use to me now.
Now Purchased the 5C50W00909 from these guys Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tiny P360 Tiny PCiE Riser Card 5C50W00909 | eBay UK and works perfectly with the WAVLINK 10GB NIC model number WL-NWP004.
I still have the previous riser card if anybody is interested (CHEAP) 5C50W00933, I can confirm it works with Video cards but couldn't get it to work with the above NIC or a 2.5GB from NICGIGA. Anybody interested, please get in touch... Like a say, its of no use to me now.
I have two genuine Lenovo 5C50W00933 riser cards, both work in Gen 4 without problems (the computer detects and starts without problem) but neither of them works in Gen 3 (the computer does not go past the beginning of the letters Lenovo and does not continue in any way) I do not know the reason and neither how to solve it.
Hi,
I just wanted to briefly share my project here, since my ESXI / AI server is now finished.
Configuration:
CPU: Intel Xeon E-2286M (Bios modified with Coffeetime)
RAM: 64GB
GPU: Nvidia Tesla P4 Telsa (8GB)
HDD: WD Black SN850X NVMe SSD
It was a challenge to fit everything into the case, but it worked. Only the cooling had to be placed externally.
I removed the Pci cover, cut it with tin snips and screwed it on upside down. I used the protruding fastenings for the fan. See pictures.
The fan is a radial fan for USB whose speed can be regulated.
Feedback and suggestions for improvement are welcome.
Thanks a lot!
I just wanted to briefly share my project here, since my ESXI / AI server is now finished.
Configuration:
CPU: Intel Xeon E-2286M (Bios modified with Coffeetime)
RAM: 64GB
GPU: Nvidia Tesla P4 Telsa (8GB)
HDD: WD Black SN850X NVMe SSD
It was a challenge to fit everything into the case, but it worked. Only the cooling had to be placed externally.
I removed the Pci cover, cut it with tin snips and screwed it on upside down. I used the protruding fastenings for the fan. See pictures.
The fan is a radial fan for USB whose speed can be regulated.
Feedback and suggestions for improvement are welcome.
Thanks a lot!
Hi all, I'm embarassingly late to the MiniPC party but been daily driving a Thinkcentre Tiny m75q gen 2 for about 2 months now, love it.
The headache has been trying to upgrade from 4650GE to 5650GE, and literally in the past 2 days I found about the nuanced BIOS update and the AMD Zen 3 drama (I've beena macbook daily driver since.... 2008)
But alas i've got the BIOS flash update for Cezanne in hand and ready to flash to this machine, though I want to see if I can iron out a few concerns:
at best i'd have 2 x m75q gen 2, both with working 5650GE
...while i wait eagerly for 7 PRO 5750GE prices to drop, or more companies to liquidate!!!
Thanks for any helpful info, and thanks for taking the time to read. I realize this ordeal is prob old news, so I'm keeping my expectations low as far as who can remember what. Hope to see some replies but if not, wish me luck!
PS i thought i'd add - just a week before I got my hands on the first m75q gen 2 - i actually bought an m75q-1 3400GE, also good price. I gave to my brother, but he'll be stoked that he potenitally has upgrade options!!! Here is my final shopping list, sans shipping & tax (ugh)
The headache has been trying to upgrade from 4650GE to 5650GE, and literally in the past 2 days I found about the nuanced BIOS update and the AMD Zen 3 drama (I've beena macbook daily driver since.... 2008)
But alas i've got the BIOS flash update for Cezanne in hand and ready to flash to this machine, though I want to see if I can iron out a few concerns:
- I went 0-for-2 on CPU upgrades fr ebay, thinking that I keep buying duds locked to another vendor before going in this direction
- My model is the 1st run of the Gen 2 - 11JJ
- First I thought I couldn't update to Cezanne BIOS on this machine - it's not listed as a Type for the BIOS upd (which is all the 2nd run models)
- but today I found a redditor who was successful - he updated a m75q-1 3400GE => Ryzen 7 5700G (correct, non GE) with the same BIOS upd
- At the moment i have the Tiny i'm typing on now (4650GE) and a 5650GE (just CPU) i had kept from an earlier purchase
- BUT i also got another m75q gen 2 11JJ 4650GE, No OS. Great price on ebay.
- essentially i have a staging computer at the same spec that i can attempt this on, if successful I can swap in the 5650GE, and actually find out if that is vendor locked to another vendor
- my question: if this upgrade is successful, with the 4650GE still installed, should I expect Cezanne to be backwards compatible for the 4650GE Zen 2 architecture, and login to my desktop like normal?
- the scenarios would be:
- yes it still works, I can now attempt 5650GE installation after confirming upgrades
- no it doesnt, I have to cross my fingers that 5650GE works
at best i'd have 2 x m75q gen 2, both with working 5650GE
...while i wait eagerly for 7 PRO 5750GE prices to drop, or more companies to liquidate!!!
Thanks for any helpful info, and thanks for taking the time to read. I realize this ordeal is prob old news, so I'm keeping my expectations low as far as who can remember what. Hope to see some replies but if not, wish me luck!
PS i thought i'd add - just a week before I got my hands on the first m75q gen 2 - i actually bought an m75q-1 3400GE, also good price. I gave to my brother, but he'll be stoked that he potenitally has upgrade options!!! Here is my final shopping list, sans shipping & tax (ugh)
- m75q-1 Ryzen 5 Pro 3400 GE: $112 (Amazon) came w bluetooth keyboard and mouse, brother bought it fr me
- m75q gen 2 Ryzen 5 Pro 4650GE: $155 (ebay) No OS [CURRENT]
- Ryzen 5 Pro 5650GE: $79 (ebay) - no post, assumed vendor lock - seller accepted return
- Ryzen 5 Pro 5650GE: $85 (ebay) - normal user who bought the wrong CPU from another seller
- m75q gen 2 Ryzen 5 Pro 4650GE: $95 (ebay) No OS, No SSD, 8GB RAM
- Ryzen 5 Pro 5650GE + mobo (seller included, ): $165, no OS, no RAM, SSD
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Update on this for anyone in my same situation, but I just confirmed that the riser 5C50W00933 works with the m90q gen 5, and also this setup is compatible with an x520-da2 dual 10gbe sfp+ nic. Even though this riser isn't listed as compatible, it has the same number of pins that fit the m90q gen5. Lenovo's site also says this riser works in place of 5C50W00910. I originally was going to get the 910, but Lenovo's site was sold out, and suggested the 33 instead. Both have the same pinout. Gave it a shot, and it worked!
Some additional notes, not sure if any of this is useful, or maybe just a coincidence, but these steps got it to work for me.
1) after installing, it would freeze on bootup, at the part where it says it's initializing ram. I went into bios, turned off secure boot, booted into recovery mode. Then restarted, and it worked, and i turned back on secure boot. I assume it detected the change in hardware, which caused the boot to fail.
2) initially the sfp+ ports weren't working, but proxmox could detect it and had all the details on it. My switch said it was dropping rx, and looks like it got disabled. I was thinking it's due to an unsupported sfp+ module, I modifed the ixgbe.conf file to allow for unsupported that that didn't help. I then came across the command
ip link set <<interface>> up. I tried it on my interfaces, and it magically started working, my switch indicated it was active with a 10gbe connection. btw, my interface names are enp1s0f0 & enp1s0f1. 3) After getting things active, I wasn't able to connect to the network with it. So I plugged in the 1gbe port, and went to the web ui, under your proxmox node => system=> network, I had to set the ports as bridge ports. Then everything worked, and iperf3 showed 10gbe speeds!
Where can I read more about this, can you send the link to it here? I have a M75Q-1 with a 3400GE, and from what I've read from both Lenovo docs and anecdotes, the Gen 1 can't run 4/5000 CPUs. If it's possible to upgrade, that would be great so I can continue using my M75Q for a few more years.
Hi there, I apologize, I believe I misled you but, there is a bit of hope. Here's a link to the reddit post I found, and basically he uses a BIOS programmer to force flash it onto the BIOS chip of his motherboard:
Apparently its affordable, you can get one on ebay, amazon, and you can learn how to do it on YouTube
Surprisingly it's been difficult to find all the answers (at least for me, I'm pretty new) but I think it will be helpful to leave some of my discoveries, and a update to my previous post:
m75q Gen 2 actually had 2 separate runs, let's call them rev1 and rev2
- 11JJ and so on, is the machine type that I have, Ryzen 5 4650GE (rev1)
- 11JQ and so on, are the models that are compatible with Zen 3 (rev2)
Each of these revs have their own bios. The Cezanne BIOS flash update is only compatible with the rev2 models
The reddit user above used the programmer to flash the Cezanne BIOS onto his rev1 motherboard. He confirmed success installing Ryzen 7 5700G, which perfomed at 20% less power because of TDP
Now, I believe the m75q-1 socket is still AM4, and if the chipset matches that of the m75q Gen 2 chipset, it's possible that you can flash the Cezanne BIOS onto the m75q-1 motherboard. But that is just a guess, and its only by way of the BIOS programmer to force it. I think you'd be more successful if you acquired a rev1 model and flashed it - the rev2 seem difficult to come by at a decent cost.
Maybe this is obvious to everyone else but, I learned a lot about Lenovo and this drama and BIOS and yadda yadda just in the past two days. Up until then I certain that there was a single BIOS and just vendor locking bad luck.
Edit:
Just to close out the last post. I tried the Cezanne BIOS flash update via USB stick on my m75q Gen 2 (rev1), it errors out, because it recognizes the product.Before the update runs, the BIOS does ask you if you want to change the SN, Machine Type, and Model number - so I wonder, if changing these to values of a valid m75q Gen2 Rev2 unit if you could then flash w/USB normally?
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Many thanks!Before u offer to me the file,I also tried to visit that Chinese friend's originally link,but he looks like deleted the model file.All in all,thank u very much.No Problem
LE.rar
drive.google.com
Can a 2nd nvme SSD be installed? + expansion slot options
on the m75q-1 & gen 2 like other models have a 2nd m.2 slot occupied by the wifi card - could the wifi card be removed and actually be replaced with a m.2 nvme... 2242 I guess? Obvi the HDD could be swapped w 2.5 SSD but i'm curious if anyone has done this? Interet connection via ethernet cable. Or, could we keep the wifi in place, install a 2260 adjacent to the 2280 if we installed the connector/slot? Or maybe some programming would be required for that
the other question is trying to understand options for expansion slot, seems like some are specific to the model
* most m75q i've seen come w/ single DP expansion
* i've seen a 4 slot USB but i imagine this is USB 2.0?
* Do I have only a single plugin location because the only other female connector i see is next to CMOS reset
* i've seen USB C alt DP butis this only for specific model? Same w 2x USB 3.2 but that is possibly not for the tiny models. Thanks
on the m75q-1 & gen 2 like other models have a 2nd m.2 slot occupied by the wifi card - could the wifi card be removed and actually be replaced with a m.2 nvme... 2242 I guess? Obvi the HDD could be swapped w 2.5 SSD but i'm curious if anyone has done this? Interet connection via ethernet cable. Or, could we keep the wifi in place, install a 2260 adjacent to the 2280 if we installed the connector/slot? Or maybe some programming would be required for that
the other question is trying to understand options for expansion slot, seems like some are specific to the model
* most m75q i've seen come w/ single DP expansion
* i've seen a 4 slot USB but i imagine this is USB 2.0?
* Do I have only a single plugin location because the only other female connector i see is next to CMOS reset
* i've seen USB C alt DP butis this only for specific model? Same w 2x USB 3.2 but that is possibly not for the tiny models. Thanks