In IT you would think there was only one color—green.
Everything nowadays seems to refer to green technology and reduce energy costs
and carbon footprints. Sure, being environmentally friendly benefits everyone,
but sometimes green technology is just too hard to sell.
Lenovo is looking to take the pain out of the green process with the
ThinkCentre M57/M57p, a diminutive desktop that sips electricity like an out-of-work
yuppie sips lattes at Starbucks. First off, the ThinkCentre M57/M57p machines
won't impress anyone looking for raw horsepower, but these latest PCs from
Lenovo are the first desktops from any PC maker to garner Greenguard
certification. The units go even further when it comes to the Eco-ability
factors, which include an EPEAT Gold rating and Energy Star 4.0 rating, and the
units are the first ThinkCentres made with recycled material from consumer
plastics.
As with most ThinkCentre PCs, there are a range of models. A basic M57 lists
for $699 and includes an Intel 1.8GHz Celeron 430 processor with 1GB of RAM,
a DVD-ROM drive and Serial ATA hard drive
with 80GB of capacity. While not especially cheap, the unit is affordable
considering the use of notebook computer components to reduce the size and
energy consumption of the M57.
Click here for some green ideas VARs can take to their customers.
Lenovo sent over an M57 Model 29U for review, a unit that is at the top of
the line of the M57 spectrum and retails for about $1,350. It includes Windows
Vista Business, an Intel 3GHz Core 2 Duo E8400 processor, 2GB of RAM,
a 160GB SATA hard drive and a DVD-Recordable
optical drive. As with most of the M57p models, the unit is equipped with an
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 series, integrated audio, Gigabit
Ethernet and an external power brick. Buyers will also find a USB
keyboard and mouse included with the system.
Performance was tested using PerformanceTest V6.1 from PassMark Software,
while power consumption was judged using a KillaWatt Pro from P3 Electronics.
The unit scored exceptionally well under PerformanceTest, netting an overall
PassMark rating of 798.5. That score was relatively impressive, considering the
system was using integrated graphics from Intel and running Windows Vista
Business edition.
During testing, the unit peaked at 68 watts of power consumption. Power consumption
hovered around 32 watts when the unit was idle. During sleep mode, the M57p
only consumed 3 watts of power, proving that the unit truly was an efficient
power sipper. Users will find that putting the system into sleep mode only
takes a mouse click and a couple of seconds, while waking the system up is
almost instantaneous.
An added benefit of the low-power design is how quiet the system is. By
eliminating a large internal power supply, which usually has a noisy fan, and
using cooling technology suited for a portable system, all operational noise
was virtually eliminated, save for the audio provided by the built-in speakers.
Lenovo has done a commendable job of combining power efficiency with a small
size and more than adequate performance, and the little M57p should be a
welcome addition to most anyone’s desktop.
The only downsides to the unit are limited expansion options and a price
point a little bit higher than systems with comparable processor performance.
Otherwise, Lenovo has put together a system that should meet the green needs of
most any corporate user today
/ 8 
