Lenovo Thinkcentre/ThinkStation Tiny (Project TinyMiniMicro) Reference Thread

[seadog2441]

Re: m93p i7 K CPU question

Wondering if it is possible to stick a gen4 K processor (88w) into a m93p?
Just decommissioned my big honking old workstation and trying to give the i7-4790k processor a 2nd life in a small form factor setup. Don't mind modding for cooling, just wondering if the mobo will accept the cpu.
Thanks.

A few things would required when I tried to put an i7 2600k in the M73p. First should be changing the power brick to more than 90w or the board wont POST at all.
2nd should be the cooling, back in the day the i7 4th K running hot even in the desktop enviroment.
Otherwise you good to go.

 

[seadog2441]

Care to explain why? ))

In China there are a lot of Tinys on sale. You can get almost anything you want. Many sellers offer ES and QS CPUs as an option.
View attachment 29261
M910x NAS

View attachment 29262

List of options. You can choose even mobile Xeon or 9980HK

That M910x Nas is awesome, would love to get my hand on one.
The most extreme of Chinese modding I owned is a M910q with the i7 9850H laptop chip and soldered on 2nd M2 Nvme slot like the M910x. That tiny Nas would be another level on its own.

 

[seanherron]

Does anyone have an STL file for a AOC-STGN-I2S back plate for a Tiny6? I’ve reached out to the guy on Reddit with no success. I printed my own for my m720q that worked great, but I just got a Tiny6 and I haven’t been able to find them online anywhere….

 

[gamernorbi]

You can put a dual port 10GbE PCIe card into the top end Tiny models (see the first post for which ones) no problem. As long as you're just running a firewall and you don't want something like IPS then I would say something like an M90q or later should work fine, or you could probably use an M720q/M920q at a pinch but I guess you would want something faster than the i3 models.

There's not much point putting TrueNAS on it because there isn't room for many drives inside, a maximum of 3 realistically, and you'll need one of those as boot disk anyway. You can add external USB enclosures for more drives but I don't think that's an ideal configuration for TrueNAS. All the other stuff should run no problem.

Well I would do IPS and IDS but for zones,for example, IoT and phones and VPN maybe becasue here i would use banking.For the main PC that will use the 10Gbps for torrents.
As for storage 1NVME for proxmox and OS and 2TB SSD for movies and cloud...90% of the time the traffic would be max like 100Mbps~ down and up.

 

[Zune]

Care to explain why? ))

In China there are a lot of Tinys on sale. You can get almost anything you want. Many sellers offer ES and QS CPUs as an option.
View attachment 29261
M910x NAS

View attachment 29262

List of options. You can choose even mobile Xeon or 9980HK

That M910x Nas is awesome, would love to get my hand on one.
The most extreme of Chinese modding I owned is a M910q with the i7 9850H laptop chip and soldered on 2nd M2 Nvme slot like the M910x. That tiny Nas would be another level on its own.

Do you guys know what kind of NAS device for Thinkcentre is?

 

[AWBbox]

After much planning and deliberating, I finally joined the club and bought myself a P360 with an i9-12900, the plan being to create a firewall capable of pushing a lot of packets! I plan to share my progress here over the coming weeks so that others might be able to benefit from my trial and error.

Photos 1+2 show that with the speaker and Bluetooth antenna removed, there is around 172mm length of clearance for PCI-E cards. It is not the full length of the motherboard as the top case assembly encroaches a little when fitted (hence the gap at the front). But that could be modded as well if you really needed to.

Photo 3 shows my NIC of choice, the Supermicro AOC-STG-i4s, the 4 port version of the popular AOC-STG-i2s. I needed at least 3x SFP+ ports and so I decided to try this out and mod away any heat issues.

Photo 4 suggests (unsurprisingly) that I may have heat issues, as the heatsink on the NIC reaches 55ºC while idle. This is the maximum operating temperature for the Intel X710 chipset, although a Supermicro representative claimed the maximum operating temperature for the card was much higher.

Photo 5 shows some research into creating a cooling solution. The AOC-STG-i4s has a "Thermal Alert Connector" header which I was curious about, although there was little to no information in the Supermicro manual. It turns out that the header itself is a Molex "picoblade" part number 53047-0310 which mates to part number 51021-0300. It runs of 3.3v logic from the Nuvoton chipset onboard supplying voltage between the centre and outer pins when the card is below its maximum temperature threshold, and voltage disappears above the threshold. Unfortunately it turns out that the threshold is 115ºC which is too high for me, so I will have to find another option.

More experiments, details and photos to come!

 

[tinfoil3d]

For it to run at 55C it has to have active fan preinstalled, i don't see how 55C is even supposed to be max temp... I use older gen mellanox 3 and that sits at 70 to 80C with no airflow and has no issues whatsoever... Even the i350-t4 is ~60C in ambient of ~20C with no airflow at all.

 

[AWBbox]

For it to run at 55C it has to have active fan preinstalled, i don't see how 55C is even supposed to be max temp... I use older gen mellanox 3 and that sits at 70 to 80C with no airflow and has no issues whatsoever... Even the i350-t4 is ~60C in ambient of ~20C with no airflow at all.

That's reassuring to hear you say. I would be interested to hear from others about their experiences with NIC temperatures and what they've found to be workable.

 

[livmatus]

Hello guys. I need a bit of an advice.

I recently purchased my M720q Tiny ... found one with an i3 8100T for 100€ (4/128GB ... which is fine because some 8GB dimms and SSDs laying at home) ... I want to use it to host a Jellyfin server (streaming on Apple TV 4K 2021), Homebridge, maybe a NAS of some sort and also to use for KODI and PS1 emulation (Duckstation) - possibly using Ubuntu(/Server)

I am thinking about buying a GPU and there are 2 options/offers I have - an RX 6400 for 75€ or Quadro T400 4GB for 100€ ...

Really don't know which one should I go for. It seems like the RX 6400 is much more powerful and more recent and also has HDMI 2.1 for easy connection with my LG C2 OLED 55" TV. But it lacks HW encode for HEVC.
However I've also read that the T400 needs some fiddling with driver or something to get that encode. I don't even know whether I need that.

Thanks for any opinions and advice.

 

[evil_santa]

That M910x Nas is awesome, would love to get my hand on one.
The most extreme of Chinese modding I owned is a M910q with the i7 9850H laptop chip and soldered on 2nd M2 Nvme slot like the M910x. That tiny Nas would be another level on its own.

Hi from Germany
I'm new to the tiny club and saw this awesome Chinese Nas mod, found a video in a description from the seller on idelfish maybe it's interesting.

【开源】 Lenovo 2L迷你主机 DIY NAS/小型服务器_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

BOM表以及3D模型、https://linit.cn/archives/687模型下载链接 : https://pan.baidu.com/s/1U1c3t7ZnsXagJ0VTU_5IoQ 提取码: vryn有建议及技术讨论可以加群225190020以下是主要使用部件M900 主机M3600C上盖浪潮硬盘背板3D打印硬盘笼Sata扩展卡 如果要支持可以工坊购买模型支持注:视频中焊接DC模块及添, 视频播放量 159559、弹幕量 44、点赞数 2412、投硬币枚数 1237、收藏人数 3594、转发人数 677, 视频作者 跑路的靓仔, 作者简介 ，相关视频：联想2L...

b23.tv

There are also some other videos.

 

[Zune]

After much planning and deliberating, I finally joined the club and bought myself a P360 with an i9-12900, the plan being to create a firewall capable of pushing a lot of packets! I plan to share my progress here over the coming weeks so that others might be able to benefit from my trial and error.

Photos 1+2 show that with the speaker and Bluetooth antenna removed, there is around 172mm length of clearance for PCI-E cards. It is not the full length of the motherboard as the top case assembly encroaches a little when fitted (hence the gap at the front). But that could be modded as well if you really needed to.

Photo 3 shows my NIC of choice, the Supermicro AOC-STG-i4s, the 4 port version of the popular AOC-STG-i2s. I needed at least 3x SFP+ ports and so I decided to try this out and mod away any heat issues.

Photo 4 suggests (unsurprisingly) that I may have heat issues, as the heatsink on the NIC reaches 55ºC while idle. This is the maximum operating temperature for the Intel X710 chipset, although a Supermicro representative claimed the maximum operating temperature for the card was much higher.

Photo 5 shows some research into creating a cooling solution. The AOC-STG-i4s has a "Thermal Alert Connector" header which I was curious about, although there was little to no information in the Supermicro manual. It turns out that the header itself is a Molex "picoblade" part number 53047-0310 which mates to part number 51021-0300. It runs of 3.3v logic from the Nuvoton chipset onboard supplying voltage between the centre and outer pins when the card is below its maximum temperature threshold, and voltage disappears above the threshold. Unfortunately it turns out that the threshold is 115ºC which is too high for me, so I will have to find another option.

More experiments, details and photos to come!

Hey bro! Could you please tell me if this Supermicro NIC are able to set different bandwidth in its ports (100BASE, 1000BASE and 10GBASE) manually?

Hi from Germany
I'm new to the tiny club and saw this awesome Chinese Nas mod, found a video in a description from the seller on idelfish maybe it's interesting.

【开源】 Lenovo 2L迷你主机 DIY NAS/小型服务器_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

BOM表以及3D模型、https://linit.cn/archives/687模型下载链接 : https://pan.baidu.com/s/1U1c3t7ZnsXagJ0VTU_5IoQ 提取码: vryn有建议及技术讨论可以加群225190020以下是主要使用部件M900 主机M3600C上盖浪潮硬盘背板3D打印硬盘笼Sata扩展卡 如果要支持可以工坊购买模型支持注:视频中焊接DC模块及添, 视频播放量 159559、弹幕量 44、点赞数 2412、投硬币枚数 1237、收藏人数 3594、转发人数 677, 视频作者 跑路的靓仔, 作者简介 ，相关视频：联想2L...

b23.tv

There are also some other videos.

Wow, bro. Look at this gorgeous NAS! Has Lenovo made a 2L thinkcentre version only for Asia or is It a mod?

 

[evil_santa]

Wow, bro. Look at this gorgeous NAS! Has Lenovo made a 2L thinkcentre version only for Asia or is It a mod?

As far as I can tell it's a mod. I just don't know where he got the parts from, especially the case and the hard drive frame. I would like to send you the link from idelfish but first I have to see how I can register there. everything in chinese

 

[AWBbox]

Hey bro! Could you please tell me if this Supermicro NIC are able to set different bandwidth in its ports (100BASE, 1000BASE and 10GBASE) manually?

Wow, bro. Look at this gorgeous NAS! Has Lenovo made a 2L thinkcentre version only for Asia or is It a mod?

The X710 chipset on this card does not support 10BASE/100BASE speeds! If you have an SFP that supports 10/100/1000 then it should be able to operate at 1000 but not lower. Equally, if you have an SFP+ that is 1000/10000 then you should be able to manually set negotiation speed at either.

 

[livmatus]

As far as I can tell it's a mod. I just don't know where he got the parts from, especially the case and the hard drive frame. I would like to send you the link from idelfish but first I have to see how I can register there. everything in chinese

looks like the 2l M600 shell exists ... it can even be seen on Lenovo's website https://www.lenovo.com/jp/ja/jppart...ies-tiny/10GJ/p/11TC1MTM60010GJ/gallery/image

the rest is definitely mods ... haven't figured out the connection from the video ... there was some kind of ribbon cable to SAS -> 4x SATA ? idk really

looks very interesting however and I'd love to see it for M720q and so

 

[axotopia]

Wow, bro. Look at this gorgeous NAS! Has Lenovo made a 2L thinkcentre version only for Asia or is It a mod?

Could be a M3600c top cover according to Google Translate of the video notes ...
Lenovo Lenovo ThinkCentre M3600c Thin Client (WES7) - Citrix Ready Marketplace

 

[evil_santa]

Could be a M3600c top cover according to Google Translate of the video notes ...
Lenovo Lenovo ThinkCentre M3600c Thin Client (WES7) - Citrix Ready Marketplace

Yes you are right, installed the bilibili app and saw the video description and translated it.
There is a group whit the number 225190020 (weechat?) You can get the bom and 3d printer files.

 

[kodi]

I recently purchased my M720q Tiny ... found one with an i3 8100T for 100€ (4/128GB ... which is fine because some 8GB dimms and SSDs laying at home)

Take me to your dealer... are they still available for that price?

 

[evil_santa]

Take me to your dealer... are they still available for that price?

Got 2 for this price (each) with same specs, want to try the NVME mod on both.
Will sell one after the mod.

 

[livmatus]

Take me to your dealer... are they still available for that price?

Just a local listing on the biggest second hand market in Czechia... I assume people saw "i3, 4GB, 128GB" and lost interest

As far as I can tell it's a mod. I just don't know where he got the parts from, especially the case and the hard drive frame. I would like to send you the link from idelfish but first I have to see how I can register there. everything in chinese

found the "case" ... well the whole PC actually on eBay in Italy ... so it's easy for Europeans to get hands on it ... might as well buy one myself when the situation about 3D prints and other necessary things get more clear

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[joeribl]

found the "case" ... well the whole PC actually on eBay in Italy ... so it's easy for Europeans to get hands on it ... might as well buy one myself when the situation about 3D prints and other necessary things get more clear

PC Computer Desktop Fisso Lenovo Intel Celeron Ram 4GB SSD 120GB Windows 10 8052275521256 | eBay

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Yeah I found the same the other day.

Then I tried to find the group in WeChat, but no luck. Also searching for the Inspur backplane, didn't amount to much either.

Furthermore the shell (well whole thinclient) seems to be an older m600/m700 based model. Which has different USB port then m720/m920.