Lenovo ThinkStation P520c

Compact 25-litre single-socket tower that puts the Xeon W (LGA2066) platform of the bigger P520 into a cheaper chassis with 4 RDIMM slots, 4 PCIe slots and a 500 W or 625 W supply. Aimed at CAD and content users who want Xeon W and ECC memory on an entry-level budget.

Memory

Slots: 4 DDR4 DIMM, 4 channels
Type: DDR4-2666 or DDR4-2933 ECC RDIMM (RDIMM only)
Max: 256 GB (4 × 64 GB DDR4-2933 RDIMM); 128 GB (4 × 32 GB) with DDR4-2666 RDIMMs
DIMM sizes: 8 / 16 / 32 GB DDR4-2666; 8 / 16 / 32 / 64 GB DDR4-2933
Population: Install in the alphabetic slot order shown in the user guide
Protection: ECC

Storage

Support: Up to 4 × 3.5" SATA HDD / 2.5" SATA HDD / 2.5" SATA SSD + 5 × M.2 PCIe SSD
Drive bays: 2 × 3.5" disk bays standard; 2 more 3.5" via the flex bays
Onboard M.2: 2 × M.2 PCIe NVMe slots on the system board (up to 2 TB each)
More M.2: 3 via single M.2 to PCIe adapters (5 total)
Drive sizes offered: 3.5" SATA 7.2K HDD 1 / 2 / 4 / 6 TB; 2.5" SATA HDD 500 GB; 2.5" SAS 10K HDD 300 / 600 GB; 2.5" SATA SSD 256 GB to 2 TB; M.2 NVMe 256 GB to 2 TB
Onboard RAID: Intel RSTe SATA RAID 0/1/5/10
Optional RAID: Broadcom 9440-8i (SAS 12 Gb/s / SATA, RAID 0/1/5/10, no cache); Intel VROC NVMe RAID Basic (0/1/10) or for Intel SSD (0/1/5/10) via an upgrade key on the VROC connector
Optical: Up to two half-height or 9.0 mm slim drives (DVD-ROM, DVD±RW, Blu-ray)
Card reader: SD card reader or 15-in-1 reader (optional)
Flex bays: 2 flex bays: 2 × HH optical, 2 × 9.0 mm optical, 9.0 mm optical + 2 × 3.5"/2.5" drives, front-access storage enclosure (1 × 3.5"/2.5"), or flex module
Flex module: Tray 1: 9.0 mm optical; tray 2: 15-in-1 reader, 2 × Thunderbolt 3 or 4-digit diagnostic display; ports: USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 or eSATA

Graphics

Top card: NVIDIA RTX A5000 24 GB (230 W, dual slot); one card
NVIDIA T / RTX A: T400 2 GB / 4 GB, T600 4 GB, T1000 4 GB / 8 GB, RTX A2000 6 GB / 12 GB, RTX A4000 16 GB, RTX A4500 20 GB, RTX A5000 24 GB
Quadro: P400, P600, P620, P1000, P2000, P2200, P4000, P5000, RTX 4000, RTX 5000 (RTX 5000 factory-configured only)
RTX limits (Lenovo 2018 matrix): Up to 1 × Quadro RTX 4000; no Quadro RTX 8000 / 6000 / 5000 at the time; 1 × GeForce RTX 2070 with a 6-pin to 6+8-pin splitter (FRU 5C10U58127)
Onboard video: None; displays depend on the graphics card

Expansion

Slot 1: PCIe 3.0 x16, full height, full length, 75 W, double-width, CPU
Slot 2: PCIe 3.0 x8, full height, full length, 25 W, CPU
Slot 3: PCIe 3.0 x16, full height, full length, 75 W, CPU
Slot 4: PCIe 3.0 x4, full height, half length, 25 W, PCH
M.2: 2 × M.2 SSD slots on the system board
Other headers: Internal USB 3.0, Thunderbolt control, VROC key, TCM, four-digit diagnostic display, SATA serial (COM)

Networking

Onboard: Intel Ethernet Connection I219-LM Gigabit, 1 × RJ-45, Wake-on-LAN
Optional Ethernet: Up to two extra adapters (up to four more 10 GbE ports): Intel I210-T1, I350-T2, X540-T2, X550-T2, X710-DA2 (SFP+); Broadcom BCM5719 (4 port), BCM5720 (2 port); Marvell AQtion AQN-107 (10 GbE), AQN-108 (5 GbE); Bitland BN8E88
WLAN: Intel Dual-Band Wireless-AC 8265 + BT 4.2, or Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 + BT 5.1 (optional)

Power

PSU options: 500 W or 625 W fixed, 92% efficient, 80 PLUS Platinum, autosensing
Input: 100-240 V ac, 50/60 Hz

Ports

Front: 2 × USB 3.2 Gen 1, headphone, microphone, SD card slot (on SD reader models)
Front optional: 2 × Thunderbolt 3 (flex module, USB-C, one with video out), 1 × USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, 1 × eSATA, 15-in-1 reader
Rear: 2 × PS/2, 2 × USB 2.0, RJ-45, 4 × USB 3.2 Gen 1, line-in, line-out, microphone
Rear optional: 1 × Thunderbolt 3 card, 2 × USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (2-port expansion card), serial port
Audio: Realtek ALC662 HD Audio, internal speaker

Physical

Form factor: Tower, 25 L
Dimensions (W×D×H): 175 × 426 × 375.5 mm (6.89 × 16.77 × 14.78 in)
Weight: 14.5 kg (31.97 lb) maximum configuration
Machine types: 30BX, 30BY
Security: Discrete TPM 2.0 (FIPS 140-2), Kensington slot, padlock loop, optional chassis intrusion switch
Operating environment: 10-35 °C, up to 3048 m

Management

Remote: Intel vPro with Intel AMT 11
Diagnostics: ThinkStation Diagnostics, Lenovo UEFI Bootable Diagnostics, optional front 4-digit diagnostic display
Announced: PSREF model announce dates 2018-01-25 to 2023-04-25
Status: End of support 2025-12-21 for most models (PSREF)

Operating systems

Preloads: Windows 11 Pro for Workstations, Windows 10 Pro for Workstations (incl. Win 11 downgrade), Ubuntu Linux LTS, no OS
Certified: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.5

Processors

Intel Xeon W-2102
Intel Xeon W-2104
Intel Xeon W-2123
Intel Xeon W-2125
Intel Xeon W-2133
Intel Xeon W-2135
Intel Xeon W-2145
Intel Xeon W-2155
Intel Xeon W-2175
Intel Xeon W-2195
Intel Xeon W-2223
Intel Xeon W-2225
Intel Xeon W-2235
Intel Xeon W-2245