Lenovo ThinkCentre M70q Gen 5 Black 2024 Review

The Lenovo ThinkCentre M70q Gen 5 is all about ports and a tiny footprint. Its port selection is best-in-class, but the Intel UHD Graphics 730 means gaming is off the table. If you can snag it under $700, it's a smart buy for office work; otherwise, look at the Mac mini M4.

Lenovo's ThinkCentre M70q Gen 5 is a tiny desktop that punches way above its weight in the port department. Look, it's basically the size of a thick paperback, yet it packs seven USB-A ports, a USB-C with Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, HDMI, and Ethernet. If you need to hook up a ton of peripherals without a messy dongle life, this thing is a dream. But don't let the 'Intel Core i5' badge fool you: the low-power 14400T is built for office apps, not for rendering or gaming. We ran it through our benchmarks, and it's a solid but unspectacular performer for everyday business tasks.

This unit ships resealed by IST Computers with a 1-year warranty and an extended RAM/SSD warranty, which is a bit unusual. The price swings wildly depending on where you look, from $630 to almost $1800. At the low end, it's a compelling little Windows 11 Pro box. At the high end, it's a head-scratcher. Our full breakdown will help you figure out if it's worth a spot on your desk.

The i5-14400T has 10 cores and a base clock of just 1.5GHz, but it can boost when needed. In our database, it lands right around the middle of the pack for desktop CPUs, which is fine for crunching spreadsheets, juggling browser tabs, and running Slack. It's not going to leave you hanging for basic work. The integrated UHD Graphics 730, however, drags things down, landing in the bottom third of all GPUs we've tested. Forget about modern games or GPU-accelerated creative work. The 512GB SSD is on the smaller side and falls below average, but boot times are quick and it'll hold your apps. Overall, it's a capable office machine that doesn't break a sweat with ordinary loads, but any heavy lifting reveals its limits fast.

This is where things get tricky. The M70q Gen 5 is listed everywhere from $630 to $1796. At the low end (around $630 from Best Buy, based on our tracking), you're getting a well-built mini PC with a solid port spread and decent office performance, which is a fair deal. But as you creep toward four figures, it becomes a tough sell. For $800 or more, you could buy an Apple Mac mini M4 that absolutely demolishes it in raw performance, or a more capable mini PC with a proper AMD APU. Unless that unique port selection is make-or-break for you, don't pay more than $700. The IST Computers reseal and extra warranty does add a bit of peace of mind, but it doesn't justify a huge markup.

Stacked against other tiny desktops, the M70q's strongest rival is the Apple Mac mini M4. That machine pulls ahead massively in compute and graphics, and starts at a similar price point, but it runs macOS and has fewer legacy ports. The HP OmniDesk M03-0074 and Dell XPS EBT2250 are closer Windows competitors, but they typically cost more while skimping on USB-A connectivity. If you're comparing it to gaming towers like the ASUS ROG G700 or iBUYPOWER Element, that's a different conversation entirely: those are hulking rigs with dedicated GPUs, and the M70q doesn't even pretend to compete. For a pure office workhorse in a tiny chassis, the M70q's port selection gives it a real edge over most rivals.

If you need any sort of 3D performance, avoid this machine. The integrated graphics can't handle modern games, CAD, or heavy video editing. If you want a compact PC that can do light gaming or creative work on the side, grab a mini PC with a Ryzen APU or a Mac mini M4. Also, if you find it priced above $800, it's just not worth it, period.

This tiny Lenovo is made for one very specific person: someone who wants a clean, compact Windows PC for work and has a desk full of USB gadgets. If that's you, the M70q Gen 5 is a loyal work companion. It's not a performance monster, but it's reliable, quiet, and lets you ditch the USB hub. At the right price, it's an easy recommendation for business and home office setups.