Lenovo Thinkcentre/ThinkStation Tiny (Project TinyMiniMicro) Reference Thread

[flame7487]

The mentioned item (Brand: Unbranded) with print on the plate:
M.2 KEY A/E TO M.2 NVME | M2PNME-NA1 | VER006S | Model 500306819
you can also find on Amazon on brands:
ATACT since 27.08.2022
Nephit since 22.09.2022
Wosieue since 16.02.2023

Pay attention that the installed SSD is nVME M.2 BUT size 2230

 

[badger707]

Can confirm M920Q hardware mod is working to add 2nd NVME drive by soldering several missing SMD components and drive connector. M920Q becomes M920X. I have created tutorial on git here: GitHub - badger707/m920q-dual-NVME: Lenovo M920Q dual NVME, conversion to M920X.

BIOS view of my M920Q:

 

[damex]

The mentioned item (Brand: Unbranded) with print on the plate:
M.2 KEY A/E TO M.2 NVME | M2PNME-NA1 | VER006S | Model 500306819
you can also find on Amazon on brands:
ATACT since 27.08.2022
Nephit since 22.09.2022
Wosieue since 16.02.2023

Pay attention that the installed SSD is nVME M.2 BUT size 2230

thanks, i have ordered exactly the same adapters.

as for ssds - i will use 256gb kioxia bg4 2230 ssds (it is single chip 'bga' ssd. with bg5 they split controller in to the separate chip increasing power draw and also increasing ssds performance. not sure it is good idea to stress that wifi slot pulling >4w. it also should be able to do nvme format to 4k if needed).

any idea if some heatsink (for 2230 ssd) will fit there? how much space will we have left with front case piece installed?

 

[flame7487]

any idea if some heatsink (for 2230 ssd) will fit there? how much space will we have left with front case piece installed?

The simplest solutions are vent holes on Tiny Top Case Cover Assembly Black SKU: 02CW662 | 01MN896 | 02CW663 < €25~50
Despite reference from the FIRST post " Model upgrades : ... For the Mx20q family, the top cover is from the P330, I think the part numbers are 02CW461 or 02CW663 (please check) and it has some venting above the CPU fan... "
I had replaced the mentioned on M920q and vent holes are exactly over the Wi-Fi card (NOT over the CPU fan)

 

[damex]

The simplest solutions are vent holes on Tiny Top Case Cover Assembly Black SKU: 02CW662 | 01MN896 | 02CW663 < €25~50
Despite reference from the FIRST post " Model upgrades : ... For the Mx20q family, the top cover is from the P330, I think the part numbers are 02CW461 or 02CW663 (please check) and it has some venting above the CPU fan... "
I had replaced the mentioned on M920q and vent holes are exactly over the Wi-Fi card (NOT over the CPU fan)

Thanks, I already have 3x p330tiny with that cover and one m920q that have solid top case. Might get it just for m920q.

i would still want some heatsink
Would there be 5mm to spare?

 

[flame7487]

i would still want some heatsink

My dream is like this
Heat Pipe Cooler with Cover for PlayStation®5 Memory Extension

Heat Pipe Cooler with Cover - GRAUGEAR

G-PS5HS01-Cov

graugear.de

But unfortunately it not fit.
P.S.
Copper heat sink from M.2 SSD Cooling Kits - GRAUGEAR has 3 mm

 

[M_server]

Anyone have issues with a 01AJ940 riser on 10T8 m720q? Finally got around to moving a Supermicro AOC SGP- I4 (i350x4) card (known good) to my m720q and it is not being recognized.

Never used the riser before but don't see anything in the bios settings that applies. There's a single reddit thread I found via searching where someone complains and they just got an x4 riser instead

I don't have another pcie card to test with to see if its just card <> riser compatibility. Using the 65w power supply but doubt that's an issue since these cards pull such low power.

 

[Parallax]

Anyone have issues with a 01AJ940 riser on 10T8 m720q? Finally got around to moving a Supermicro AOC SGP- I4 (i350x4) card (known good) to my m720q and it is not being recognized.

Never used the riser before but don't see anything in the bios settings that applies. There's a single reddit thread I found via searching where someone complains and they just got an x4 riser instead

I don't have another pcie card to test with to see if its just card <> riser compatibility. Using the 65w power supply but doubt that's an issue since these cards pull such low power.

Unhelpfully I can tell you I ran the Intel version of that card with that riser in an M720q and 65W without any issues for a couple of years, no BIOS changes required.

I hate to be that guy, but are your riser and card properly seated? Tried clearing the BIOS?

It is possible that the Supermicro card has something odd about how it represents itself that needs the x4 riser, this was the fact with the Thunderbolt card for example. The risers should be back to being pretty cheap, but it depends where you are. The Intel i340 card also works and is also cheap, although careful of fakes as noted in the first post.

 

[damex]

Anyone have issues with a 01AJ940 riser on 10T8 m720q? Finally got around to moving a Supermicro AOC SGP- I4 (i350x4) card (known good) to my m720q and it is not being recognized.

Never used the riser before but don't see anything in the bios settings that applies. There's a single reddit thread I found via searching where someone complains and they just got an x4 riser instead

I don't have another pcie card to test with to see if its just card <> riser compatibility. Using the 65w power supply but doubt that's an issue since these cards pull such low power.

If you plug in cable - does status light go up?

Put bios in manufacturing mode (flash bios, change both model and serial to INVALID) and see what lenovo diagnostic tool says (f10 during boot) about present pcie devices

 

[M_server]

Unhelpfully I can tell you I ran the Intel version of that card with that riser in an M720q and 65W without any issues for a couple of years, no BIOS changes required.

I hate to be that guy, but are your riser and card properly seated? Tried clearing the BIOS?

It is possible that the Supermicro card has something odd about how it represents itself that needs the x4 riser, this was the fact with the Thunderbolt card for example. The risers should be back to being pretty cheap, but it depends where you are. The Intel i340 card also works and is also cheap, although careful of fakes as noted in the first post.

If you plug in cable - does status light go up?

Put bios in manufacturing mode (flash bios, change both model and serial to INVALID) and see what lenovo diagnostic tool says (f10 during boot) about present pcie devices

I got this to work, thanks for suggestions.

What worked was this:

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/lenovo-thinkcentre-thinkstation-tiny-project-tinyminimicro-reference-thread.34925/page-9#post-336417

What didn't work (prior steps):

bios flash + INVALID entry changes

https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...ro-reference-thread.34925/page-14#post-341299

 

[M_server]

OK, so I found a solution to my AOC-SGP-i4 issue. I stumbled upon information about the AOC-SGP-i2 not having the PRSNT signals wired, which may result in it not getting detected. Not sure if not connecting PRSNT is allowed per PCIe spec, but jumping the A1 and B31 pins on the i4 card did the trick and it got detected by the system as expected.

Note that this very likely explains why the Thunderbolt add-on does not work with the x16 riser, and this workaround should apply, too.

Also note that no soldering is required whatsoever: it's enough to plug the wire into the slots in the riser, respective to the PIN number and the side (A or B).

Old post but thanks for this, made my card work! Wondering if ever figured out a way to to enable this in software? It's a bit janky to have to have the wire running.

 

[semicole]

Are there any 10gbe dual/quad port cards that fit the tiny pc's that are either all RJ45 or are (2) RJ45 (2) SFP?

 

[legit]

Finally managed to boot a nvme from the a+e key slot. This is m920q with a M.2 KEY A E to M.2 NVME KEY M SSD Adapter. View attachment 27803

Anything special BIOS-wise needed to boot from this? Or was it mostly plug and play? Can it be set to priority boot from this? Ordered an adapter myself - excited to try it out.

 

[PigLover]

Are there any 10gbe dual/quad port cards that fit the tiny pc's that are either all RJ45 or are (2) RJ45 (2) SFP?

The Intel X540-T2 and x550-T2 both fit the Lenovo Tiny. They are 2 port 10g-baseT (RJ45). They do run quite hot though and may cause thermal issues.

The X540-t2 usually runs $50-100 used on eBay. The X550-t2 does run a bit lower power and cooler but also generally sells for 3-5x the price of the X540. You have to watch out for fake/knockoff cards with both of these. Google it - lots of info on the issues with them and how to spot the fakes.

The backplate from the Lenovo 4 port i-350 card does "fit" on these - obviously missing 2 ports, but it fits well enough to get them mechanically secure.

 

[rub1k]

Speaking of temps -- what are "typical" temperatures people are seeing with an I350-T4 card in one of these Lenovos? (as reported by a 'sensors' command or similar, I guess)

Just putting my M920Q together and gonna throw OPNsense bare metal on it so only briefly booted it up the other day and I think 'sensors' was showing 60°C? Must have been at the PCIe slot or whatever?

Seems roasty in there but guess it makes sense with pretty much zero airflow other than what little air the HSF pushes out?

 

[Fritz]

Here's my cooling solution.

 

[ahorner]

Hi there,

I had a spare Intel I340-T4 Quad NIC, which I have installed in my M720q.

The heatsink gets too hot to touch, though I do not have a themometer which I can check the temperature with right now. Is this normal/expected and known to be safe?

I don't see any additional cooling being used by thew official Lenovo NIC upgrade, though I think that might be an I350-T4v2, not sure how the temperature would differ on that.

Thanks!

 

[adman_c]

@Parallax do you have the 230W PSU for your P350s or just the 135W model they shipped with? Curious how much of a performance difference you notice between the 135W and the 230W models. I was testing Cinebench on my P350 and the poor 11500 just seemed to be starved for power with the smaller PSU--it was well below its thermal limits and the score was ... disappointing to say the least. Wondering if the 230W PSU is worth it for the additional headroom or if I'm just going to slam into thermal limits before the additional power provides much uplift. Also calling @rafale77 or anyone else who has tried to push performance with these little monsters.

 

[TinyLenovo]

Finally managed to boot a nvme from the a+e key slot. This is m920q with a M.2 KEY A E to M.2 NVME KEY M SSD Adapter. View attachment 27803

Any tips of tricks to booting from this? Just got my A/E key adapter in, cloned my boot drive in Proxmox, but the bios doesn't seem to see it. The 2230 is visible to the os, with boot partition. Probably something simple I'm missing....

 

[damex]

Any tips of tricks to booting from this? Just got my A/E key adapter in, cloned my boot drive in Proxmox, but the bios doesn't seem to see it. The 2230 is visible to the os, with boot partition. Probably something simple I'm missing....

Did you try disabling efiboot and enabling csm?