It’s common knowledge that the move that put Chinese computer-maker Lenovo on the map was buying IBM’s ThinkPad notebook line: Lenovo has embraced and enhanced that line, but really hasn’t worked to leverage the “Think” brand beyond tbe boundaries established by IBM. Well, no more: today, the company announced it plans to enter the PC workstation market with the ThinkStation S10 and D10 desktops, which represent the first new “Think” brand to be introduced in five years.
“For professional users of graphically and computationally-intensive applications who require a level of performance unattainable with a standard desktop PC, ThinkStation is Lenovo’s best engineering at work,” said Lenovo’s executive director of emerging products marketing, Tom Tobul, in a statement.
The new systems are intended to offer high-performance computing to graphics-intensive environments, such as engineering, CAD, digital content creation, design automation, and oil and gas exploration. The D10 workstation will be based on Intel’s forthcoming 45nm Quad-Core Xeon 5400 processors, while the single-processor S10 will sport the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 CPU. Both will sport dual gigabit Ethernet, high-end graphics controllers from Nvidia, and multiple USB ports, slots, and bays for peripherals and expandability. Lenovo is also touting the machines as sporting quiet “leading-edge” acoustics and an environmentally responsible build: the workstations will comply with Energy Star 4 standards, use 50 percent recycled plastic content, and feature 80 percent efficient power supplies.
The ThinkStation D10 and S10 should hit Lenovo’s business partner channels in January; the S10 will start at about $1,199 while the D10 will debut for around $1,739.
