Check Lenovo ThinkStation Upgrade

[samuelgb]

Hello! I would like to upgrade my Lenovo ThinkStation P300 (Lenovo) with an MSI GTX 970 (Amazon). This is my first upgrade, and I've been fighting with proprietary Lenovo configurations, so I would like to check my build before buying the parts.

According to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, I'll need about 600W of power (for later upgrading, mostly with 2x GTX 970 SLI). The upgrade to 750W was an extra $5 from Newegg, so I would like to get the decently reviewed Thermaltake SP-750PCBUS (Newegg). This appears to have all of the cables I will need (aside from the proprietary 14-pin Lenovo main pin, for which there is a converter [Amazon]). The Lenovo machine's standard PSU is the FSP450-50ERN.

The Lenovo case is 6.9" x 16.97" x 16.7" (175mm x 431mm x 424mm). I have measured it, and I believe that there is just enough room for the GTX 970 (10.9", 2 PCI slots). Note that I have a larger case available, a Gigabyte Cooler Master (after a quick search, I couldn't find the right case, but I can find its model number if requested), which is significantly larger than the current case. However, a) I don't know if the motherboard will mount onto it (I haven't checked), and b) I would prefer not to use it, as changing the case will void my warranty with Lenovo (though, changing out the PSU and graphics card might, as well, I haven't checked that either).

I have the following questions:

Question 1: According to the FSP450-50ERN's webpage, it is 5.9" (150mm) wide, while the Thermaltake is 6.3" (160mm) wide. Is this width difference significant/will this PSU fit in the current case?

Question 2: Will there be enough airflow in the case? It is a somewhat small. Will the available space be sufficient?

Question 2(b): Will the Lenovo motherboard mount in the Gigabyte case? Are motherboard mounts generally pretty standard, or is there a significant amount of variance?

Question 3: Can you think of anything that I have missed? I believe that I covered required power usage, power cable compatibility, and size compatibility. Should I be considering another area?

Thank you for reading, and for any help!
~ Sam

 

[bambiboom]

Hello! I would like to upgrade my Lenovo ThinkStation P300 (Lenovo) with an MSI GTX 970 (Amazon). This is my first upgrade, and I've been fighting with proprietary Lenovo configurations, so I would like to check my build before buying the parts.

According to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, I'll need about 600W of power (for later upgrading, mostly with 2x GTX 970 SLI). The upgrade to 750W was an extra $5 from Newegg, so I would like to get the decently reviewed Thermaltake SP-750PCBUS (Newegg). This appears to have all of the cables I will need (aside from the proprietary 14-pin Lenovo main pin, for which there is a converter [Amazon]). The Lenovo machine's standard PSU is the FSP450-50ERN.

The Lenovo case is 6.9" x 16.97" x 16.7" (175mm x 431mm x 424mm). I have measured it, and I believe that there is just enough room for the GTX 970 (10.9", 2 PCI slots). Note that I have a larger case available, a Gigabyte Cooler Master (after a quick search, I couldn't find the right case, but I can find its model number if requested), which is significantly larger than the current case. However, a) I don't know if the motherboard will mount onto it (I haven't checked), and b) I would prefer not to use it, as changing the case will void my warranty with Lenovo (though, changing out the PSU and graphics card might, as well, I haven't checked that either).

I have the following questions:

Question 1: According to the FSP450-50ERN's webpage, it is 5.9" (150mm) wide, while the Thermaltake is 6.3" (160mm) wide. Is this width difference significant/will this PSU fit in the current case?

Question 2: Will there be enough airflow in the case? It is a somewhat small. Will the available space be sufficient?

Question 2(b): Will the Lenovo motherboard mount in the Gigabyte case? Are motherboard mounts generally pretty standard, or is there a significant amount of variance?

Question 3: Can you think of anything that I have missed? I believe that I covered required power usage, power cable compatibility, and size compatibility. Should I be considering another area?

Thank you for reading, and for any help!
~ Sam

samuelgb,

In my view, if the warranty of the Lenovo P300 is important, first check with Lenovo. Probably, changing the GPU would not be so important as the power supply and case- especially the power supply. If the system failed, a new, much more powerful PSU and rewiring would void the warranty as would changing the case.

In the P300 specification, it mentions using a Quadro K4200 which is 108W. The NVIDIA specification for the K4200 is a 500W power supply- quite close to the P300's 450W. The new GTX 1070 is 150W and also recommends a 500W power supply. It would take some study, but you might consider keeping the P300 as is and buying a single GTX 1070, which should provide plenty of video power plus produce about half the heat and be much less expensive than two GTX 970's, new power supply, and voided warranty.

Results are still somewhat rare, but on Passmark, there are seven systems using a GTX 1070 and the lowest 3D mark is 10334- that's on an i7-2600K system. The average is 12603. Comparatively, a Ttan X averages 10873 and the GTX 970 is 8663. There is also the issue of the number of PCIe lanes avialable and I suspect the 2nd GTX 970 would run at x8 or even x4- not sure.

My suggestion is in basis to keep the upgrade as simple as possible.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz) > 32GB DDR3 1866 ECC RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Samsung SM951 M.2 256GB AHCI / Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) / Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)>
[ Passmark Rating = 5581 > CPU= 14046 / 2D= 838 / 3D= 4694 / Mem= 2777 / Disk= 11559] [6.12.16]

.

 

[samuelgb]

Hello! I would like to upgrade my Lenovo ThinkStation P300 (Lenovo) with an MSI GTX 970 (Amazon). This is my first upgrade, and I've been fighting with proprietary Lenovo configurations, so I would like to check my build before buying the parts.

According to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, I'll need about 600W of power (for later upgrading, mostly with 2x GTX 970 SLI). The upgrade to 750W was an extra $5 from Newegg, so I would like to get the decently reviewed Thermaltake SP-750PCBUS (Newegg). This appears to have all of the cables I will need (aside from the proprietary 14-pin Lenovo main pin, for which there is a converter [Amazon]). The Lenovo machine's standard PSU is the FSP450-50ERN.

The Lenovo case is 6.9" x 16.97" x 16.7" (175mm x 431mm x 424mm). I have measured it, and I believe that there is just enough room for the GTX 970 (10.9", 2 PCI slots). Note that I have a larger case available, a Gigabyte Cooler Master (after a quick search, I couldn't find the right case, but I can find its model number if requested), which is significantly larger than the current case. However, a) I don't know if the motherboard will mount onto it (I haven't checked), and b) I would prefer not to use it, as changing the case will void my warranty with Lenovo (though, changing out the PSU and graphics card might, as well, I haven't checked that either).

I have the following questions:

Question 1: According to the FSP450-50ERN's webpage, it is 5.9" (150mm) wide, while the Thermaltake is 6.3" (160mm) wide. Is this width difference significant/will this PSU fit in the current case?

Question 2: Will there be enough airflow in the case? It is a somewhat small. Will the available space be sufficient?

Question 2(b): Will the Lenovo motherboard mount in the Gigabyte case? Are motherboard mounts generally pretty standard, or is there a significant amount of variance?

Question 3: Can you think of anything that I have missed? I believe that I covered required power usage, power cable compatibility, and size compatibility. Should I be considering another area?

Thank you for reading, and for any help!
~ Sam

samuelgb,

In my view, if the warranty of the Lenovo P300 is important, first check with Lenovo. Probably, changing the GPU would not be so important as the power supply and case- especially the power supply. If the system failed, a new, much more powerful PSU and rewiring would void the warranty as would changing the case.

In the P300 specification, it mentions using a Quadro K4200 which is 108W. The NVIDIA specification for the K4200 is a 500W power supply- quite close to the P300's 480W. The new GTX 1070 is 150W and also recommends a 500W power supply. It would take some study, but you might consider keeping the P300 as is and buying a single GTX 1070, which should provide plenty of video power plus produce about half the heat and be much less expensive than two GTX 970's, new power supply, and voided warranty. Results are still somewhat rare, but on Passmark, there are seven systems using a GTX 1070 and the lowest 3D mark is 10334- that's on an i7-2600K system. The average is 12603. comparitively, a Ttan X averages 10,873 and the GTX 970 is 8663.

Just a thought, but my suggestion is to keep the upgrade as simple as possible.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz) > 32GB DDR3 1866 ECC RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Samsung SM951 M.2 256GB AHCI / Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) / Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)>
[ Passmark Rating = 5581 > CPU= 14046 / 2D= 838 / 3D= 4694 / Mem= 2777 / Disk= 11559] [6.12.16]

.

Thank you for your quick response! I'm actually not very interested in production (aside from Blender, which benefits only from increased CUDA cores, not from production GPU's), however you do make a good point on keeping the upgrade simple. I wanted a bigger PSU for a potential further upgrade down the road, but if the current PSU is enough, I can just add another GPU and upgrade the PSU at the same time later.

The current PSU is only 450W, and I plan on using the manufacturer's overclocking software for the GTX 970. Do you think 450W will be enough for it? While reading through forums, I've seen other people recommend against it.

 

[bambiboom]

samuelgb,

Could you say more about the uses of this system: the software and the priorities- which software should run the best?

My sense is that the 450W power supply is already minimal for the standard GTX 970 which recommends a 500W supply. Overclocking will increase the power draw and I would not recommend it.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 

[samuelgb]

samuelgb,

Could you say more about the uses of this system: the software and the priorities- which software should run the best?

My sense is that the 450W power supply is already minimal for the standard GTX 970 which recommends a 500W supply. Overclocking will increase the power draw and I would not recommend it.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

The system will most likely be used for gaming (high-end, if possible), as well as production in Blender (which will use a good amount of power during rendering). Because of this, and the fact that it will be OC'd, I thought a PSU upgrade would be in order.

However, the purpose of this post was mostly to make sure that I covered all of the bases when designing the upgrade (specifically for the GPU, and then the PSU upgrade which I believe will be required to get any reasonable performance out of the GPU). While I do very much thank you for any and all of your input, do you have any opinions on the specific questions I posted? If the PSU and/or GPU upgrade voids the warranty, then so be it (however, I don't THINK it will, because I saw a section in the Lenovo ThinkStation hardware maintenance manual on replacing the PSU and GPU). I will confirm whether it does or does not later today.

 

[bambiboom]

]samuelgb,

BambiBoom

The system will most likely be used for gaming (high-end, if possible), as well as production in Blender (which will use a good amount of power during rendering). Because of this, and the fact that it will be OC'd, I thought a PSU upgrade would be in order.

However, the purpose of this post was mostly to make sure that I covered all of the bases when designing the upgrade (specifically for the GPU, and then the PSU upgrade which I believe will be required to get any reasonable performance out of the GPU). While I do very much thank you for any and all of your input, do you have any opinions on the specific questions I posted? If the PSU and/or GPU upgrade voids the warranty, then so be it (however, I don't THINK it will, because I saw a section in the Lenovo ThinkStation hardware maintenance manual on replacing the PSU and GPU). I will confirm whether it does or does not later today.

samuelgb,

I think you've been quite methodical. Given there will be two overclocked GPU's, consider adding one or two small fans- 90mm or so to the back panel set to extract air out the back of the case.

Also, unless you're planning to buy used GTX 970's, it still seem worth consider comparing the performance ,prices, and availability of GTX 1070. The performance by reviews and the numbers is really impressive and the current price difference of $50- or so seems reasonable. My tactic would be to try a single non-O/C GTX 1070 in the current system. If there is a software power use monitor, use that to see how much overhead is left. If performance is insufficient in gaming or Blender, then add the higher rated PSU and a 2nd non-O/C GTX 1070. I mention trying to maintain a non-O/C system if possible as most reports suggest that of GPU rendering is not fond of overclocking which is oriented toward FPS and not image quality. I had quite poor image quality the last time (2012) I tried rendering on a stock GTX 285.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 

[samuelgb]

Great, thank you so much for your feedback! I will give strong consideration to the fans, and definitely will look into the GTX 1070's (which previously were not on my radar). You've given me a number of great ideas for different ways to modify/improve my system, so thank you very much!