Lenovo ThinkStation P5 Power Consumption and Noise
The system comes with a 1kW Delta-sourced 80Plus Platinum power supply.
We had the system running at 89W idle, and then we could get it up to around 600W under load. That is a decent range. At idle, the system was very quiet, at 37-38dba in our 34dba noise floor studio. Under load, it could top 44dba. Then again, there is quite a bit of room to go up on power in this system.
Key Lessons Learned
Buying from Lenovo, there are a few non-obvious differences between this system and some others on the market. For example, Lenovo has a decent amount of pre-bundled software, which we generally do not use, but some IT departments use. One obvious difference is the Windows version. This uses Microsoft Windows 11 Pro for Workstations.
If you do not know what that is, Microsoft has a special Windows version for Xeon-based workstations. This Windows 11 Pro for Workstations has features like ReFS, SMB Direct RDMA networking, and NVDIMM-N persistent memory support. In a system like we have, we are not using ReFS, we do not have a high-end 25GbE or 100GbE (or faster) adapter where the SMB Direct RDMA networking would make a big difference, and we do not have NVDIMMs installed.
Technically, we are getting more features than in the standard Windows 11 Pro. At the same time, usually “for Workstations” costs more, and so it is worth pondering, “what is the point?” It feels like Microsoft, the major Workstation OEMs, and perhaps Intel have some sort of arrangement for this version. At the same time, it is a bit strange to require a premium edition where the delivered benefit is effectively zero on the system we reviewed.
Let us take another step back if you look at Microsoft’s website and filter for systems that have Windows 11 Pro for Workstations, you only get Qualcomm-powered Microsoft Surface devices that similarly lack the hardware to take advantage of the benefits.
This is strange for a STH Key Lessons Learned, but the more I think about it, the more I think this version is superfluous at best. I understand that it is required, but why?
Lenovo has a very flexible system where one can add different CPUs, GPUs, memory, storage, networking, and more. There is, however, Windows 11 Pro for Workstations that one has to wonder about.
For our hardware-related one, folks are astonished when other systems like the HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11 have quad 1GbE these days. Having a workstation that can cost many times as much with only a single 1GbE link onboard seems off. We would like to see options for higher-end networking, especially onboard.
Final Words
Hopefully, this comes out in pictures, but this is a very sharp system. It is a workstation after all, and the red and black on the front makes the system look great next to, or on, a desk. Lenovo did not need to resort to RGB, but it is still very bold.
The Intel Xeon w7-2495X is going to be polarizing for some of our readers because it is a midrange model. Four channels of memory put it in the Threadripper (non-Pro) 9000 range, where it can be outclassed by offerings there like the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X. Still, ECC memory support, and more PCIe lanes than a consumer desktop make this an interesting in-between platform.
Overall, this system looks great and performed well. If you are a Lenovo shop, the ThinkStation P5 offers a lot of performance for a mid-range professional workstation.
What’s Wifi card slot?
I feel like they could have easily made the 1gbe NIC a 2.5 or 10gbe NIC but choose not to because it’s a little more expensive but is it that much more expensive? Is it the fear of cutting into their bottom line and we’ve gotten so complacent with 1gbe? Even if it’s an extra $10 I’d be willing to pay $10 more to upgrade the one network port from a 1gb to 10gb to save me from having to buy a pcie 10gb network card
I wonder if the 1GbE port was included for reliability/certification reasons.
Just one thing I’d like to make a comment on around graphs. Something I caught out was that you flip the colours/key between the two different comparison graphs. aka CPU graph Lenovo is blue, but in the GPU graph it is now black.
Can make it easy for misinterpretation of the data.
No BMC included or option? What is the blanked port on the rear?
Workstations that have faster onboard NICs also usually include a 1Gb linkas well for Intel AMT support or AMD DASH.
It’s a shame that Lenovo cheaped out here, but clearly they thought there isn’t a large enough market to warrant a faster onboard card.