The bigger the computer, the faster it is. Lenovo, on the other hand, has a new computer that is smaller than an Xbox Series X but packs a punch.
ThinkStation P360 Ultra
Lenovo unveiled the ThinkStation P360 Ultra on Tuesday, which is half the size of a typical small form factor desktop workstation. Its chassis has a total volume of less than 4L but nevertheless houses 12th Gen Intel Core processors and NVIDIA RTX A5000 mobile professional graphics, giving consumers tower-like performance. T
o be more specific, the entire packaging measures 3.92L and measures 87mm x 223mm x 202mm, according to Anandtech.
It may be small but Lenovo claimed that the ThinkStation P360 Ultra beats previous generation compact form factor desktop workstations by more than 50%.
Features and Specifications
Other features include up to 128GB of DDR5 4000MHz RAM (ECC and non-ECC variants), 8TB of NVMe storage, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet. However, one thing to keep in mind is that NVMe SSDs only support PCIe 3.0, which is half the performance of PCIe 4.0.
Although 12th-generation CPUs support PCIe 4.0 SSDs, this appears to be a motherboard limitation. The GPU, on the other hand, runs at PCIe 4.0, so there's no need to be alarmed, as per Digital Trends.
According to Anandtech, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports, as well as an audio jack, can be found on the front panel. Four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, three DisplayPort 1.4 ports, and two RJ-45 LAN ports are included in the standard iGPU version.
The Wi-Fi 6 AX201 is the non-vPro WLAN option, while the Wi-Fi 6E AX211 is the vPro WLAN option. The system supports a PCIe 3.0 x4 card, such as the Intel I350-T2 dual-port Gigabit Ethernet Adapter, in addition to the PCIe 4.0 x16 expansion slot for the discrete GPU.
Anandtech also noted that these systems have been tested to military grade standards and come with ISV certifications from companies like Autodesk, ANSYS, Dassault, PTC, Siemens, and others.
How Can All These Hardware Fit the Small Chassis of This PC?
As previously said, the computer is compact, therefore Lenovo collaborated with Intel and Nvidia to design the P360 Ultra from the ground up in order to fit all of this hardware into such a small chassis. However, as with many other compact form factor PCs, Digital Trends mentioned that it was not possible to use the most advanced and power-hungry components.
Although the highest-end version includes a Core i9-12900K and an RTX A5000, the 12900K is limited to 125 watts (down from the typical 241W), and the A5000 is the mobile version, with slightly fewer cores and half the memory of the desktop RTX A5000 24GB.
Nonetheless, the P360 Ultra may be the fastest small form factor PC ever released, based on these specifications.
However, it is also worth noting that this workstation is quite light, weighing only 4 pounds. With one hand, you can easily pick it up.
Cost and Availability
Prices for the ThinkStation P360 Ultra start at $1,299 for a model with a 12th-Gen Core i3 processor. Lenovo said it will be available later this month.
