News Overview
- The Lenovo ThinkSystem ST45 V3 is a single-socket tower server aimed at the entry-level server market, featuring AMD EPYC 4000 series processors.
- The server offers a balance of performance, expandability, and affordability, making it suitable for SMBs and remote offices.
- The review highlights the server’s build quality, easy serviceability, and competent performance for its target market.
🔗 Original article link: Lenovo ThinkSystem ST45 V3 Review: AMD EPYC 4000 Entry Server
In-Depth Analysis
The Lenovo ThinkSystem ST45 V3 leverages the AMD EPYC 4000 series CPUs. These are single-socket processors designed to bring server-grade performance to more budget-conscious environments. The review showcases that despite being an “entry-level” server, the ST45 V3 doesn’t skimp on features.
- Processor: The ST45 V3 supports the AMD EPYC 4000 series, offering a range of core counts and clock speeds. The article tested the server with a mid-range processor from the series.
- Memory: The server supports up to 1TB of DDR5 memory across multiple DIMM slots, allowing for sufficient memory capacity for various workloads.
- Storage: The server provides ample storage options including bays for both 3.5” and 2.5” drives, supporting SAS/SATA HDDs and SSDs. It also features M.2 slots for high-performance NVMe storage.
- Expansion: The ST45 V3 includes multiple PCIe slots for adding GPUs, network cards, or other expansion cards.
- Build Quality and Serviceability: The review praised the server’s solid construction, tool-less design for easy component access, and overall ease of serviceability. This is particularly important for smaller businesses that may not have dedicated IT staff.
- Performance: The review indicated that the ST45 V3 performs adequately for its intended use cases like file and print servers, small database servers, and virtualization hosts for small businesses.
- Management: The server integrates with Lenovo XClarity Controller, offering remote management capabilities.
- Noise Levels: The review noted the ST45 V3 is relatively quiet, making it suitable for office environments.
The review highlights the balance between cost and performance that the ST45 V3 offers, noting it isn’t a high-performance powerhouse but provides a solid foundation for SMB workloads.
Commentary
The Lenovo ThinkSystem ST45 V3 is a strategically positioned product for businesses looking to upgrade from desktop-class hardware or older server systems. The AMD EPYC 4000 series provides a compelling alternative to Intel-based entry-level servers, offering a competitive performance-per-dollar ratio. The server’s focus on expandability and serviceability further adds to its appeal for resource-constrained businesses.
The server occupies a potentially sweet spot in the market, offering server-grade reliability and manageability without the high price tag typically associated with more powerful servers. This makes it particularly attractive to businesses that need more than a NAS but can’t justify the cost of a full-fledged enterprise server. The key consideration is the actual price point of the configurations, which the review doesn’t deeply delve into but which ultimately determines its market competitiveness. The rising popularity of edge computing could further increase demand for servers like the ST45 V3 that can be deployed in remote offices and smaller locations.