Lenovo Thinkcentre/ThinkStation Tiny (Project TinyMiniMicro) Reference Thread

[cadillac]

@Parallax May i suggest some extra info in the first post:
- M720Q / M920Q models have the x8 PCI-E slot directly wired to the CPU
- M90Q G1 has the x8 PCI-E slot wired to the PCH
The latter impicates that the port is capped at x4 speed maximum, and shares the DMI bandwith with SATA,NIC,USB ports.

I did not find anything regarding this topic but it is very important at least for me. After figuring this out, i'm glad i did not sell the tiny4's yet. And now have 3 m90q FS in Europe if anybody interested, bundled with x4 risers.

 

[legit]

Curious if something like a Synology E10M20-T1 would fit (doesn't seem likely, at 200mm long) and be even potentially compatible or yield to heating issues.

Thought was to be able to slam some 22110 nvme enterprise drives in this thing while retaining a 10gb interface for hosting databases. Not much durable nvme in 2280 form factor.

 

[Helzy]

Curious if something like a Synology E10M20-T1 would fit (doesn't seem likely, at 200mm long) and be even potentially compatible or yield to heating issues.

Thought was to be able to slam some 22110 nvme enterprise drives in this thing while retaining a 10gb interface for hosting databases. Not much durable nvme in 2280 form factor.

Yeah, thermals aside that would be an awesome addition. It's about 5cm too long unfortunately though

 

[poulpor]

Just wanted to show you my tiny M720Q ugly duckling, with its 3D printed case extension to integrate a second pci-e card and be able to use SATA port + a 120x120x25 fan. Of course, I had to cut a big opening in the tiny's top cover...
The second pci-e card is limited to PCIe 3.0 x1 bandwith, because it comes from the M.2 wifi port of the motherboard, I used ADT-Link R52SF adapter with 30cm cable length. I chose the easy way for the fan which is powered by 5V USB at the rear of the unit.
The pci-e card is a Sata controller with eSata ports, PI49230-2X2B, which should works nice with Proxmox and my external icy box IB-3640-SU3.

 

[PigLover]

Just wanted to show you my tiny M720Q ugly duckling, with its 3D printed case extension to integrate a second pci-e card and be able to use SATA port + a 120x120x25 fan. Of course, I had to cut a big opening in the tiny's top cover...
The second pci-e card is limited to PCIe 3.0 x1 bandwith, because it comes from the M.2 wifi port of the motherboard, I used ADT-Link R52SF adapter with 30cm cable length. I chose the easy way for the fan which is powered by 5V USB at the rear of the unit.
The pci-e card is a Sata controller with eSata ports, PI49230-2X2B, which should works nice with Proxmox and my external icy box IB-3640-SU3.

View attachment 24874View attachment 24875View attachment 24876

Very creative! Did you put the STLs/STEPs up on Printables or Thingiverse?

 

[poulpor]

Very creative! Did you put the STLs/STEPs up on Printables or Thingiverse?

Not yet, the case is far from being perfect, for example the pci-e opening at the rear is not well placed, it needs some rework.

 

[Parallax]

Did anyone notice that the P360 data sheet says that the rear punch outs include support for the following I/O : Serial/DP/HDMI/TypeC+DP/VGA/USB/LAN Thunderbolt™ 4 - now elsewhere on the spec sheet is just says "LAN" without the Thunderbolt bit. (Note also that type C + DP is also supported, I think this is new too.) Does this mean a second LAN port will be available?

Mind you the LAN card specs for the PCIe 2 and 4 port 1GbE LAN add-in cards also mentions optical being available, and I think this is unlikely ...

 

[cadillac]

Did anyone notice that the P360 data sheet says that the rear punch outs include support for the following I/O : Serial/DP/HDMI/TypeC+DP/VGA/USB/LAN Thunderbolt™ 4 - now elsewhere on the spec sheet is just says "LAN" without the Thunderbolt bit. (Note also that type C + DP is also supported, I think this is new too.) Does this mean a second LAN port will be available?

Mind you the LAN card specs for the PCIe 2 and 4 port 1GbE LAN add-in cards also mentions optical being available, and I think this is unlikely ...

My guess is that datasheet was put together in a hurry and carelessly, just as the product which claims to be a workstation with a 1Gbe ethernet interface in 2022.

 

[Vorwrath]

I've got some new information on riser compatibility with the P360. Apparently only the new x4 riser (FRU 5C50W00909) will work with add-in NICs. I'm not sure why, but the x16 riser that comes with the system when you get a GPU (FRU 5C50W00910) doesn't work. I tried installing an I350-T4 with that and it's just not detected at all. I asked Lenovo support about it in this thread and they got the same results when testing. They've also confirmed that the older P340/P350 risers aren't compatible with the P360.

Unfortunately the new x4 riser doesn't seem to be stocked anywhere at the moment as far as I can see. So for anyone looking to get the P360 and add a NIC, it might be better to wait until that's available, or order it from Lenovo with an I350-T4 preinstalled.

@Parallax it might be worth adding this info on riser compatibility to the first post, since I imagine somebody else might run into the same problem otherwise.

 

[Occamsrazor]

Thanks for that info @Vorwrath it is very useful to know. I've been undecided about getting one of these for a while going back and forth between these and various Intel NUCs and having additional NICs is something I'd prefer. I read that thread, it seems like they really overcomplicate these machines with so many different part numbers you need to be an expert to know what is what. I did find this statement of theirs interesting though: "When ordering P360 Tiny with Thunderbolt or NIC cards...." as I don't see anywhere on the site that you can actually do this....

 

[Parallax]

I did find this statement of theirs interesting though: "When ordering P360 Tiny with Thunderbolt or NIC cards...." as I don't see anywhere on the site that you can actually do this....

Not all configurations are available in all regions. For some reason, for example, the EU configurations do not include the 4x 1GbE NIC cards, but other regions do. When I asked Lenovo why, I was told it was the decision of the regional product manager.

You can check all the available configuration options by country and model here.

 

[Parallax]

I've got some new information on riser compatibility with the P360. Apparently only the new x4 riser (FRU 5C50W00909) will work with add-in NICs. I'm not sure why, but the x16 riser that comes with the system when you get a GPU (FRU 5C50W00910) doesn't work. I tried installing an I350-T4 with that and it's just not detected at all. I asked Lenovo support about it in this thread and they got the same results when testing. They've also confirmed that the older P340/P350 risers aren't compatible with the P360.

Well, that's a pretty disappointing discovery and yes, I'll update the original post. I also inserted myself into your Lenovo thread and asked some related questions, I hope you don't mind?

 

[Parallax]

I read that thread, it seems like they really overcomplicate these machines with so many different part numbers you need to be an expert to know what is what.

... and hence the (ta-dah!) Lenovo Thinkcentre/ThinkStation Tiny (Project TinyMiniMicro) Reference Thread (tm, pat pending, excessive use may cause hives, do not stand near exhaust, keep out of reach of children, warranty void if opened ...).

 

[Parallax]

I updated the original post with some of the recent discoveries.

 

[Vorwrath]

Well, that's a pretty disappointing discovery and yes, I'll update the original post. I also inserted myself into your Lenovo thread and asked some related questions, I hope you don't mind?

I don't mind at all, it's all useful stuff to know, and I was done with that thread anyway.

I wouldn't have thought they'd go to the trouble of making a proprietary T400, but without knowing why that incompatibility exists, I guess anything's possible. I wondered if maybe they'd linked some pins together on the riser in a layout that's only compatible with those particular Nvidia cards. Or maybe it could be somehow related to PCIe generation, since I guess the GPUs will be gen 3 and the I350-T4 is gen 2.1 (or something like that). PCIe is usually backwards compatible though, so who knows?

You've currently got a different FRU number listed for the x16 riser in the first post than the 5C50W00910 I've got and the Lenovo thread mentions. Not sure where that information is from, so I don't know if it's an error or if there's yet another new riser knocking around (perhaps for the M90q Gen 3)?

 

[Parallax]

I wouldn't have thought they'd go to the trouble of making a proprietary T400, but without knowing why that incompatibility exists, I guess anything's possible. I wondered if maybe they'd linked some pins together on the riser in a layout that's only compatible with those particular Nvidia cards. Or maybe it could be somehow related to PCIe generation, since I guess the GPUs will be gen 3 and the I350-T4 is gen 2.1 (or something like that). PCIe is usually backwards compatible though, so who knows?

No idea, but they've replied to me in the thread so I've asked them to explain the incompatibility of standard PCIe cards with the x16 riser, since they say there's nothing proprietary.

You've currently got a different FRU number listed for the x16 riser in the first post than the 5C50W00910 I've got and the Lenovo thread mentions. Not sure where that information is from, so I don't know if it's an error or if there's yet another new riser knocking around (perhaps for the M90q Gen 3)?

Maybe, I'll look into it - the FRU was from another contributor earlier in the thread. I did check it at the time and it matched a valid riser part so I added it.

The Lenovo person in the thread doesn't seem to know about the M90q Gen 3, they feel it's a different platform.

 

[Occamsrazor]

Not all configurations are available in all regions. For some reason, for example, the EU configurations do not include the 4x 1GbE NIC cards, but other regions do. When I asked Lenovo why, I was told it was the decision of the regional product manager.
You can check all the available configuration options by country and model here.

Useful link, thank you. I looked at the P360 Tiny, and judging by the "Loaded ### rows of total 3983 rows" it appears they have more than 3000 different SKU numbers for this model, globally-speaking. A bit insane!

The specifications tab is quite useful though: https://psref.lenovo.com/Product/ThinkStation/ThinkStation_P360_Tiny

When you look under optional rear ports it says:

• Punch out port 1 (one of VGA / DisplayPort / HDMI / serial / USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 with DisplayPort and PD 3.0 functions)
• 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 (DP and PD)
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (occupies port 1 and 2)
• 1x 2.5GbE RJ-45, via RTL8125BGS
• 2x GbE RJ-45, via I350-T2
• 4x GbE RJ-45, via I350-T4
• 1x Thunderbolt™ 4
• Punch out port 2 (one of VGA / DisplayPort / HDMI / serial / RJ-45)

Some interesting networking options there, if they were actually available.

 

[Styp]

Does anyone have the SKU for the P1000/P620 Gpu cooler?
I can't find it on the first page...

 

[Parallax]

• 1x 2.5GbE RJ-45, via RTL8125BGS
• Punch out port 2 (one of VGA / DisplayPort / HDMI / serial / RJ-45)

Some interesting networking options there, if they were actually available.

Yeah, well spotted, that looks like the LAN option I found. So basically it seems to be a Realtek 2.5GbE NIC exposed through the second punch out port.

The 2x and 4x 1GbE options are the standard (in some parts of the world!) add-in PCIe cards.

 

[Parallax]

Does anyone have the SKU for the P1000/P620 Gpu cooler?
I can't find it on the first page...

I don't really track the GPU SKUs I'm afraid since they're not often used in a server context. The easiest way to find them is to look on the Lenovo support page for your unit and check spare parts, then there are some check boxes you can use to narrow down the list (eg FAN ASSY or whatever they call it).