Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q Tiny review: Security, ports, and performance in a compact PC

Mini PCs, desktop devices that offering almost the same functioning equally many Ultrabooks while taking upwardly far less space, are pop for those without a lot of room all the same who like to keep something connected to keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Lenovo's ThinkCentre M720q fits the bill, coming in at about the size of an optical drive yet containing impressive performance hardware, decent selection of ports, and plenty of configuration options. I used it for about a week to figure out exactly who it'due south meant for and to see whether or non it's worth your time.

Pint-size desktop PC

Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q Tiny

From $389

Bottom line: The ThinkCentre M720q Tiny brings plenty of hardware configuration options wrapped upward in a meaty body. Information technology has loads of ports, RAM and storage tin can be easily upgraded, and it has the security features to make an IT section happy.

Pros

• Very compact chassis
• Plenty of configuration options
• Upgradeable RAM and SSD
• Vertical stand included
• Keyboard and mouse included

Cons

• No Thunderbolt 3 port
• No discrete GPU option

What you'll love about the ThinkCentre M720q Tiny

Lenovo offers a generous amount of hardware configuration options for the ThinkCentre M720q, including up to an eighth Gen Intel Core i7-8700T processor (CPU), 32GB DDR4 dual-channel RAM, upward to a 1TB PCIe M.2 solid-land drive (SSD) and a 1TB SATA hard-disk drive (HDD), and rear dial-out ports that tin be used for actress Serial, DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA, or USB-C ports depending on your needs, no doubt satisfying many IT departments in bulk-purchase scenarios.

Category	Spec
Form factor	Mini desktop PC
Processor	Intel Cadre i5-8500T Upwards to 3.50GHz Six cores
Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 630
RAM	8GB DDR4-2666MHz
Chipset	Intel B360
Storage	Samsung PM981 PCIe M.ii SSD 256GB
Security	TPM 2.0 Smart USB Protection Kensington lock slot
Wireless	Intel Wireless-Air-conditioning 8265 802.11ac (2 x ii) Bluetooth four.2
Ports	Iii USB-A 3.ane (Gen 2) Two USB-A three.1 (Gen one) USB-C 3.one 3.5mm audio 3.5mm mic DisplayPort HDMI RJ45 Ethernet
Size	7 inches ten 1.4 inches x 7.2 inches (179mm 10 36.5mm x 182.9mm)
Weight	From 2.91 pounds (1.32kg)

There's too a PCIe slot inside the PC behind the punch-out ports that tin can be used for an extra LAN or COM card. In any example, no matter the internal hardware you lot checkout with, the M720q "Tiny" remains exactly that. It's only just a flake larger than an sometime optical drive and weighs in at less than three pounds, and it includes a vertical stand to help free up even more space on your desktop. Lenovo also sells a VESA mounting bracket that could exist used to attach the PC to the dorsum of a uniform monitor, as well every bit a separate mountain to keep it under your desk. In an office situation where there are, say, 30 people who all demand a desktop PC, the flexibility and size of the ThinkCentre M720q Tiny is no doubt a boon.

On the front of the M720q is a power button, status LED, 3.5mm headset and mic outputs, equally well as USB-C three.1 and USB-A 3.1 ports. On the back, you'll find another four USB-A iii.1, DisplayPort, HDMI, and RJ45 Ethernet, as well every bit the aforementioned punchouts, which in the review unit's instance has i replaced with an extra USB-C port. Desktop PCs volition most always have far more ports than the average Ultrabook, and Lenovo has done its best to emulate that here by jamming as many ports as possible into the compact chassis.

By removing one spiral on the rear of the PC, the unabridged top and front sheath slide forward away from the chief chassis. This gives you admission to the 2.5-inch difficult drive bracket — you can upgrade storage yourself after purchase with relative ease — and single-fan cooling arrangement. The fan does a respectable task of keeping the PC cool, no doubt cheers to a considerable rut sink above the CPU.

The M720q's compact, durable chassis comes apart hands for future storage and RAM upgrades.

With the elevation and front end sheath removed, a panel on the bottom of the PC tin also be removed, revealing dual SODIMM RAM slots and an M.2 PCIe SSD slot. Getting everything down to the skeleton like this only takes nigh a minute, so futurity upgrades should be equally painless as possible.

All parts feel relatively sturdy, and the PC has been subjected to MIL-STD 810G certification to prove its durability in a number of scenarios that would probable only be seen outside of an role. To put Information technology departments more at ease, the M720q features Smart USB Protection that allows for control over what is allowed through a USB port, too every bit a dTPM 2.0 chip and Kensington lock slot.

With an Intel Core i5-8500T (Coffee Lake) CPU and 8GB of RAM, this review unit of measurement was able to cutting through daily productivity tasks like give-and-take processing, heavy web browsing, and video streaming with ease. I ran some synthetic benchmarks to requite an thought of where the performance sits compared to a bunch of laptop'due south we recently reviewed.

CPU GPU PCMark SSD

CPU

Geekbench 4.0 Benchmarks (Higher is improve)

Device	CPU	Single core	Multi core
Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q Tiny	i5-8500T	3,917	fourteen,659
Lenovo ThinkPad L390	i5-8265U	4,320	11,499
Lenovo ThinkPad L380	i5-8250U	3,945	nine,775
Lenovo ThinkPad T490	i7-8565U	5,431	xv,608
Lenovo ThinkPad T480	i5-8250U	3,940	12,559
Lenovo ThinkPad X390	i7-8565U	5,472	eighteen,059
MSI PS63 Modern	i7-8565U	4,909	fourteen,466
Huawei MateBook X Pro	i7-8565U	5,192	16,757
HP Spectre x360 13t	i7-8565U	5,056	14,767
Surface Laptop two	i5-8250U	4,203	13,233
LG gram 14 2-in-1	i7-8565U	4,829	xiii,889

Multi-core scores (the Core i5-8500T has six) line up with Core i7 U-serial CPUs, while the single-core score is a flake lower than expected, at least when compared with Core i5 U-series CPUs. However, nothing to complain nearly here, and everything seemed to stay cool under load.

GPU

Geekbench iv.0 OpenCL (higher is better)

Device	GPU	Score
Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q Tiny	Intel UHD 630	30,855
Lenovo ThinkPad L390	Intel UHD 620	26,696
Lenovo ThinkPad T490	Intel UHD 620	37,920
Lenovo ThinkPad T480	Intel UHD 620	18,245
Lenovo ThinkPad X390	Intel UHD 620	37,440
Huawei MateBook X Pro	NVIDIA MX250	45,365
HP Spectre x360 13t	Intel UHD 620	37,487
Surface Laptop 2	Intel UHD 620	35,473

Information technology would be great to have the selection for a chip of extra graphics power, only integrated UHD Graphics 630 will cut it for anything not-intensive.

PCMark

PCMark Abode Conventional three.0

Device	Score
Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q Tiny	iii,283
Lenovo ThinkPad L390	3,217
Lenovo ThinkPad L380	2,762
Lenovo ThinkPad T490	3,620
Lenovo ThinkPad T480	iii,254
Lenovo ThinkPad X390	3,934
LG gram 14 2-in-1	iii,452
Lenovo Yoga C930	3,506

The ThinkCentre M720q Tiny holds up well here in a test that measures the performance of all hardware working together to complete regular tasks.

SSD

CrystalDiskMark (Higher is better)

Device	Read	Write
Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q Tiny	3,498.2 MB/southward	1,575.vi MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad L390	2,189.3 MB/s	1,350.4 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad L380	545 MB/southward	528.ix MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad T490	3,254.eight MB/s	2,954.ix MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad T480	ane,738.one MB/s	1,174.9 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X390	3,024 MB/south	1,563.2 MB/s
Huawei MateBook X Pro	3,0416 MB/s	ii,779 MB/s
HP Spectre x360 13t	three,085 MB/south	one,182 MB/s
LG gram xiv two-in-1	558.1 MB/due south	523.1 MB/due south
Lenovo Yoga C930	2,596.2 MB/s	806 MB/due south

The Samsung PM981 PCIe K.2 SSD offers excellent performance, and it can be upgraded down the line for something larger or faster. There's also a 2.5-inch SATA drive bay within the PC, which tin be used for either an HDD or SSD.

What y'all'll dislike about the ThinkCentre M720q Tiny

Information technology seems similar this PC would be an first-class fit in an Enterprise scenario, and bulk purchases usually hateful the PC is going to be in use for some years to come up. As a bit of time to come-proofing, it would be nice to see a Thunderbolt 3 port amongst the otherwise generous option. On that note, having a microSD card reader built in would also be welcome.

Other than that, the option for some actress graphics processing power I recollect would exist welcome, especially for casual buyers who but beloved the idea of a meaty PC that tin be subconscious out of sight. Something like NVIDIA's MX250 graphics bit (GPU) would be plenty to offer a improve gaming experience when the mean solar day'southward piece of work is washed.

Should yous buy Lenovo'south ThinkCentre M720q Tiny?

While a laptop is still going to exist the preferred device for a lot of people who want to hold onto mobility and go about the aforementioned level of performance, Lenovo'south ThinkCentre M720q Tiny has a lot to like. There are ample configuration options, ranging from baseline hardware that makes sense for Enterprise majority buys, upwardly to more powerful hardware for personal purchases.

The size makes this a versatile PC — you can mountain it beneath a desk-bound, behind a monitor, or merely stand it up vertically on your desktop to relieve a lot of space — nevertheless it holds onto a generous port selection with back up for up to three external monitors and your go-to accessories. It's easy to take this PC apart for DIY upgrades to keep it relevant into the time to come, and information technology has the security features to make an Information technology section happy.

The M720q runs quiet and cool, and while it would be nice to see a Thunderbolt 3 port and an option for discrete GPU, it is perfectly able to handle a regular day's work with the hardware on offer. If you're in search of a compact PC for Enterprise or personal use, definitely put the ThinkCentre M720q Tiny on your shortlist.

Pint-size desktop PC

Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q Tiny

Compact PC with plenty of features

With up to an Intel Core i7 CPU, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage, there'south a lot of hardware packed into this picayune PC. It has a generous port selection, it runs cool, and yous tin can upgrade RAM and storage down the line with relative ease.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/lenovo-thinkcentre-m720q-tiny

Posted by: morrisonthaven.blogspot.com

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