Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z AIO

Post date: Nov 09, 2019 9:22:4 AM

First Time We Delivered AIO

On 9 September 2019, we delivered our very first AIO desktop to a customer here in Singapore.

Having little experience with AIOs and touch screen, I discovered that the Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z AIO is a very interesting desktop that enables new ways of using a desktop.  While not the most powerful of desktops, it is good enough for my customer to do electrical CAD.  This version of the ThinkCentre M920z is a new model and I believe we received the very first shipment.

Specifications

The specifications of the Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z AIO:

Part Number: 10S6-002NSG

ThinkCentre M920z: AIO (Q370 Chipset)

23.8" Borderless With Touch

Intel Core i7-9700 vPro Processor

Memory: 2x8GB (16GB) DDR4 2666 SoDIMM

512GB SSD M.2 PCIe / Slim DVD-ROM Drive 

Graphic: INTEGRATED VIDEO

Media Card Reader / 1080p Camera & Mic / Intel 9560 2x2AC+Bluetooth 5.0 vPro

USB Keyboard Mouse

UltraFlex III Stand / LAN / Serial Port / DisplayPort / Chassis Intrusion Switch 

Win 10 Pro 64

This item comes with 3 years on-site warranty in Singapore.

The Intel Core i7-9700 is a vPro processor, with 8 cores and 8 threads, base clock speed of of 3.0 GHz, Turbo clock speed of up to 4.7 GHz, with 12 MB of cache.  8 CPU cores is plenty for any business usage.

This machine has two memory sockets fully populated with two 8GB DDR4 2666 MHz SO-DIMM.  Memory is dual channel.

The graphics is the Intel CPU UHD 630.  It uses system memory, has DirectX 12.

It has Intel Q370 Chipset.

For management, there is Intel Active Management Technology 12.0 (Intel AMT 12.0), Intel vPro technology, including vPro function through wireless connection.

For security chip, there is Discrete TPM 2.0, TCG Certified.

Lenovo business computers come with TPM.

According to the specifications sheet:

MIL-SPEC test

MIL-STD-810G military certification (Low Pressure [Altitude], High Temperature, Low Temperature, Temperature Shock, Humidity, Sand and Dust, Vibration, Shock, Fungus)

Actually MIL-STD-810G is only a set of guidelines to conduct various types of tests.  There is no such thing as MIL-STD-810G military certification.  All test profiles are meant to emulate actual usage conditions.  Back in Data Storage Institute, I did vibration testing on a 10 kN electrodynamic shaker according to MIL-STD-810G standard.

Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z AIO is a very rugged piece of equipment.  It can be deployed in tough environments.

Box

One box contains everything, just as with ThinkPads.  Right click on all photographs to view in full resolution

SSD and Networking

You can see from Windows 10 Device Manager the SSD model as well as the Intel Ethernet and wireless module.

It is a Hynix M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x 4 OPAL2 SSD.  Note that Lenovo has multiple suppliers and another unit could have another SSD brand and model.  There is an empty bay for a 2.5 inch SATA hard drive or SSD.

Front

Customer requested for AIO for space saving.  This photograph and subsequent ones show how little space the entire package occupies.

The UltraFlex III Stand can rotate left right, tilt forward and back, plus do height adjustment.  You can tilt the screen at a small angle to the horizontal.  The arm joint is very tight and requires strength to tilt the screen.

The UltraFlex III Stand swivels +/- 45 degrees left and right.  The screen tilts 5 degrees forward and 70 degrees back.  Lift is 136 mm.  The screen can be tilted backward and the top arm folded down so that the screen is at a low height and at a small angle to the horizontal for tablet mode.

For audio, we have: High Definition (HD) Audio, Realtek ALC233 / two internal speakers (3W x 2), Dolby Audio Premium.

This unit is installed with Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 1903.

The same Lenovo Vantage utility used in the legendary Lenovo ThinkPad is also used in the ThinkCentre M920z.  Various functions in the ThinkCentre M920z are controlled using Lenovo Vantage.

Lenovo Vantage was used to update the drivers and firmware, although the factory image was so new that there were no Lenovo driver and firmware updates available.  I updated Windows 10 Pro 1903 during the set-up.

Screen

Specifications of screen:

23.8" (604.5mm) Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) TFT color, Borderless design,

WVA panel, wide viewing angle (+/- 89°), LED backlight, 250 nits, 16:9 aspect ratio,

1000:1 contrast ratio, anti-glare, support Low Blue Light Mode, work as standalone monitor via DisplayPort (DP in / out combo)

External monitor support via DisplayPort

Max resolution:  4096x2304 (DP)@60Hz, 1920x1080 (Panel)@60Hz

Advanced In-cell Touch

This is a high technology touch screen: multi-touch, supports 10-point, AIT (Advanced In-cell Touch) technology.

The touch sensor is embedded inside of the LCD cell, and not separate on a top layer.  This makes the display panel thinner and lighter, with high transmittance and low reflectivity.

One can swipe, pinch in and out to zoom.

Click bottom right of task bar to enable tablet mode.

The screen is matt and non-reflective.  The screen did not seem to be get smudged when I tried out the touch function.

Camera and Microphone

1080p camera, with dual microphone, LED indicator, physical switch on/off, supports multi-degree rotation (horizontal 0° to 180°, vertical -25° to 25°)

The camera is attached to the top, the lens can be covered with the slider.

Keyboard

The Lenovo USB Calliope US Keyboard.  It has a small footprint.  It has special function keys on the top row for sound volume etc.

Mouse

The USB Calliope Mouse.

Right Side

The left side has media card reader, one USB 3.1 Gen 1, one USB 3.1 Gen 2 (the yellow port, Always On and fast charge), one USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1, one headphone / microphone combo jack (3.5mm), microphone mute / unmute control, power button.

Left Side

The SATA DVD-ROM on the left side.  The customer does not actually require a DVD drive.  Personally I would prefer a DVD multi format writer instead.

Back

The recess in the centre is for lifting and carrying the AIO.  All the components are inside the chassis.  Opening the back cover does not require tools.  Power supply is 150 watts, autosensing, 90%.  The chassis supports VESA mount, 100 mm

The hook to route cables through.

There is a 9 pin serial port.  The DisplayPort 1.2 is for both input and output; external video signals can be displayed on the monitor, and can be used to send audio and video signals for display on external monitor.  RJ45 Ethernet port, four USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, two for general use, one for mouse, one supports Smart Power On for keyboard.  Turn on computer or wake up from S4 hibernation mode with ALT+P on the keyboard.  Left of serial port is security slot for attachment of optional Kensington MicroSaver cable; Kensington lock also locks chassis.

This is a certified Intel vPro platform.

Conclusions

We have done a comprehensive review of the features of the Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z AIO that we delivered to our customer.

The Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z is a very well engineered all in one desktop computer.  It has a small overall footprint but is literally packed with performance and features.

This particular configuration is very well equipped with all the essential features.  It has multiple USB Type-A ports on the side and back, one USB Type-C on the side, media card reader and even a serial port.  The keyboard has a small footprint, and has special function keys.  8 CPU cores is plenty for a business computer.  That should make multi-tasking and web browsing with multiple tabs very quick.

The M.2 NVMe OPAL2 SSD is very fast with very fast boot up.

This ThinkCentre M920z configuration makes for a great video conferencing machine, with dual microphone, 1080p camera, and a big, wide viewing angle, anti-glare screen.

It is tested to MIL-STD-810G standard, for low pressure (altitude), high temperature, low temperature, temperature shock, humidity, sand and dust, vibration, shock, fungus.  That means that one can confidently deploy the ThinkCentre M920z in tough environments.

The 10 point multi-touch screen with AIT (Advanced In-cell Touch) is a very nifty feature that opens the ThinkCentre M920z to new ways of usage.  With the screen lowered and tilted at a small angle to the horizontal, it becomes a big desktop tablet, for collaborative working.

While I am not a fan of touch screens, the short time spent on this particular Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z has convinced me that a big touch screen computer with flexible stand is useful for certain ways of usage, especially for multiple persons collaboration.