Lenovo ThinkCentre M70q Gen 5 Black 2024 Review

This tiny Lenovo desktop packs a 20-core i7 and 32GB of RAM into a chassis smaller than a textbook, and it flies through everyday work. The CPU is a standout, but integrated graphics mean gaming is completely off the table. At around $1,250 from the right store, it's a solid office companion—avoid the crazy high listings you might see elsewhere.

Lenovo's ThinkCentre M70q Gen 5 is a pint-sized desktop that aims to be the office drone you never notice on your desk. It's tiny enough to tuck behind a monitor, and it's basically silent, rocking a low-power 20-core Intel i7-14700T that stays efficient without a jet-engine fan. For anyone drowning in spreadsheets, video calls, and browser tabs, this thing scoots right along.

We tested the model with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD, which is a generous config for a mini PC. The port selection is solid too: six USB-A, one USB-C, DisplayPort, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 6E. There's no discrete GPU though, so while it's a champ at productivity, it's a dud for modern gaming or 3D work.

The i7-14700T is a real multi-threaded animal. In our database, it lands in the 80th percentile for CPU performance among all desktops, meaning it trades blows with much larger towers in rendering and compilation tasks. Single-core speeds are peppy but not chart-topping, which is fine for the office grind. The 32GB of RAM is well above average and keeps multitasking buttery smooth, while the SSD turns in a middle-of-the-pack showing for read/write speeds. The lowlight is obvious: Intel UHD 770 integrated graphics sit down in the 32nd percentile among GPUs we've tested, so this thing scores a miserable 14.4 out of 100 for gaming. It'll push pixels to multiple 4K displays for productivity, but don't plan on playing anything more demanding than Solitaire.

If you can find the M70q Gen 5 for around $1,250, it's a fair value for a tightly-integrated business machine with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. That configuration would cost you far more in a Mac mini with similar RAM, and you get the familiarity of Windows 11 Pro for enterprise environments. However, the price range we saw across vendors is bonkers—one seller was asking $389,704, which is either a database error or a joke. Buy from a reputable shop like Best Buy where everyday pricing is reasonable, and you'll do fine.

The most obvious rival is Apple's Mac mini M4. Both are ultra-compact, but the Mac mini's integrated GPU runs circles around Intel's UHD 770, and its M4 chip delivers better single-threaded zip and power efficiency. That said, the ThinkCentre fights back with far more USB-A ports, native Windows for legacy business apps, and vPro management features that IT departments love. For Windows diehards who need a tiny desktop, this is one of the better options. Against bulkier gaming desktops like the HP OMEN 45L or MSI Aegis RS2, the Lenovo gets destroyed in graphics but is utterly silent and uses a fraction of the electricity.

If you need a desktop that can handle games, 3D rendering, or hardware-accelerated creative apps, this is not the one. The integrated UHD 770 graphics are a severe bottleneck for that kind of work. You'd be much happier with a compact gaming PC like the HP OMEN 45L or an Apple Mac mini M4, which will actually run those tasks without choking.

The ThinkCentre M70q Gen 5 is a purpose-built office workhorse that shrinks the PC into almost nothing. It's ideal for anyone who needs a fast, reliable Windows desktop that doesn't clutter the desk or whine under load. Just understand its mission: crush productivity, not frame rates.