Workstation ThinkStation Lenovo D 20
For several years now, Lenovo has impressed us with a series of ThinkStation workstations aimed at midrange CAD applications (See November 2009 DE). But those systems were all equipped with single CPUs. Recently, Lenovo sent us its latest powerhouse, the ThinkStation D20, equipped with a pair of Intel X5550 “Gainestown” processors, derived from the “Nehalem” architecture. Like other recent Intel CPUs, the X5500 series provide support for tri-channel DDR3 memory as well as Intel Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading technology.
The motherboard provides a total of six expansion slots: two PCIe x16 slots, a PCIe x4 slot, a PCIe x1 slot, and a pair of standard PCI adapter card slots. One of the x16 slots on our evaluation unit was filled with an NVIDIA Quadro FX4800 graphics accelerator equipped with 1.5GB of memory. This large, ultra high-end board covered one of the PCI slots and was so wide that we questioned whether it would be possible to install a second FX4800, although Lenovo does offer that option. With two large graphics adapters installed, the only slots left accessible would be the PCIe x1 and one of the PCI card slots. Lenovo also offers less-powerful graphics boards, including the entry-level NVIDIA Quadro NVS290 as well as ATI boards including the Fire Pro V7750.
The rear panel provides eight more USB ports as well as a 9-pin serial port, two RJ45 LAN ports, six audio jacks, S/PDIF input and output connections, a second 1394 port, and an eSATA connection. Pressing a small lever on the tool-less chassis is all it takes to remove the side panel to access the well-organized interior.
Inside, the two CPU sockets were fitted with a pair of 2.67GHz Intel X5550 CPUs hidden beneath large heat sinks and cooling fans. Each of these quad-core CPUs has 8MB of smart cache and is rated at 95 watts of thermal design power (TDP). Lenovo offers the ThinkStation D20 with CPUs ranging from the 1.86GHz Xeon E5502 up to the 3.2GHz Xeon W5580. The Lenovo extended ATX form factor motherboard has capability for 12 DIMM sockets. Our evaluation unit came with 8GB installed as four 2GB DDR3 PC3-1060 1333MHz memory modules. The D20 will be able to accommodate up to 192GB of RAM once 16GB DIMMs become available.
The motherboard provides a total of six expansion slots: two PCIe x16 slots, a PCIe x4 slot, a PCIe x1 slot, and a pair of standard PCI adapter card slots. One of the x16 slots on our evaluation unit was filled with an NVIDIA Quadro FX4800 graphics accelerator equipped with 1.5GB of memory. This large, ultra high-end board covered one of the PCI slots and was so wide that we questioned whether it would be possible to install a second FX4800, although Lenovo does offer that option. With two large graphics adapters installed, the only slots left accessible would be the PCIe x1 and one of the PCI card slots. Lenovo also offers less-powerful graphics boards, including the entry-level NVIDIA Quadro NVS290 as well as ATI boards including the Fire Pro V7750.
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