[SOLVED] Can I put an AMD GPU in my Lenovo Thinkstation??

[Dryeetz]

Hi all,

I recently ordered a Saphire nitro+ RX 580 for my Lenovo Thinkstation P300 tower with an i7-4790.
I was told on another thread that there might be a whitelist or compatability problems with an AMD gpu and my stock lenovo mobo. Can anyone help me out with this? Should I cancel my order and look for an intel gpu?
Thank yo so much in advance!

 

[13thmonkey]

You won't find an Intel GPU, if Lenovo has whitelisted things (not too uncommon for CPU's) then it won't work. The best idea you can get of what's whitelisted (if anything) is to understand what GPU's your family of thinkstations was offered with, if they were offered with Nvidia then probably any nvidia would work, probably, if they were offered with AMD then they might also work.

 

[jojesa]

Hi all,

I recently ordered a Saphire nitro+ RX 580 for my Lenovo Thinkstation P300 tower with an i7-4790.
I was told on another thread that there might be a whitelist or compatability problems with an AMD gpu and my stock lenovo mobo. Can anyone help me out with this? Should I cancel my order and look for an intel gpu?
Thank yo so much in advance!

You will have to go with Nvidia or AMD, since there are not Intel dedicated GPUs.
You may have an issue with the power supply on the Thinkstation P300, which cannot provide enough power for a GPU like the Saphire nitro+ RX 580 .
That system comes with either a 280W or 450W PSU.
The 450W unit has one 6-pin GPU connector and the Saphire nitro+ RX 580 requires a 6-pin and 8-pin power connectors.

You might be able to house a workstation GPU or a GTX 1050 Ti.

 

[Dryeetz]

@jojesa @13thmonkey So will the Saphire nitro+ RX 580 work then? I'm planning on upgrading the psu. Honestly I'm confused as to whether it is an AMD card or not. I apologize for how little I know, I thought I did a lot of research before I jumped into trying to create a budget pc but there are so many nuances to it.

 

[Azzyasi]

your P300 came with these configs: https://www.lenovo.com/hk/en/workst...-series/30AH/p/33TS3TPP30030AH#tab-tech_specs

I see they only had Quadro and NVS (proffesional cards). I don't believe they would whitelist only that. They are expesive and rare. So I'm 95% sure whitelist on GPU would not be a problem.
On CPU will likely have a whitelist, and for RAM .. idk, check if the original is ECC and REG, or not, you likely need the same. (but again, being i7, i doubt they use ECC, or REG)
Measure the PSU to see if it's standard ATX, look at connectors to see if the lenovo MB uses the standard 24pin ATX and EPS 8pin or P4 4PIN.. if anything is odd on MB connectors you need to dig into the oddity some manufacturers use (lenovo sometimes uses this 10pin connector that would need this adapter https://www.amazon.com/Eyeboot-Supply-Adapter-Computer-Motherboard/dp/B01M7ZD0FZ to hook a normal PSU)

I'd carefully check if the PSU can be easly upgraded (sizewise and connectorwise) and then with fingercrossed try a dedicated videocard. Chances are high that it will work


LE: based on this picture https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Thinkstation-P300-Motherboard-03T6815/dp/B07KCQLCTC you have the odd 14pin psu connector. No biggie, just need this adapter https://www.amazon.com/COMeap-Adapt...cs&sprefix=24pin+to+14,electronics,251&sr=1-1

 

[Dryeetz]

your P300 came with these configs: https://www.lenovo.com/hk/en/workst...-series/30AH/p/33TS3TPP30030AH#tab-tech_specs

I see they only had Quadro and NVS (proffesional cards). I don't believe they would whitelist only that. They are expesive and rare. So I'm 95% sure whitelist on GPU would not be a problem.
On CPU will likely have a whitelist, and for RAM .. idk, check if the original is ECC and REG, or not, you likely need the same. (but again, being i7, i doubt they use ECC, or REG)
Measure the PSU to see if it's standard ATX, look at connectors to see if the lenovo MB uses the standard 24pin ATX and EPS 8pin or P4 4PIN.. if anything is odd on MB connectors you need to dig into the oddity some manufacturers use (lenovo sometimes uses this 10pin connector that would need this adapter https://www.amazon.com/Eyeboot-Supply-Adapter-Computer-Motherboard/dp/B01M7ZD0FZ to hook a normal PSU)

I'd carefully check if the PSU can be easly upgraded (sizewise and connectorwise) and then with fingercrossed try a dedicated videocard. Chances are high that it will work

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and look up that information for me, I really appreciate it! I'll update when I get home and can take a look. Also I found a good deal on the gpu i mentioned on R/hardwareswap so i'm going to go ahead and not cancel it. Its $110 shipped for a Saphire nitro+ RX 580.