Lenovo ThinkStation S20 Graphics Card Upgrade - Build and Use Discussion 

lumion 12

Hi, The Lenovo ThinkStation S20 workstations come in three types, the 4105, 4157, and 4217. I seem to remember that not all types support the same processors. There should be a number on the lower right side of the front panel indicating what type you have. If I remember this right, the 4105 supports less powerful processors, but you need to confirm that to be sure. Your best source of information is the Lenovo forum. forums.lenovo.com/ However, I do know for a fact that the 4157 will support an Intel Xeon X5680 @ 3.33GHz with 6 cores and 12 threads. PassMark gives the following CPU scores: Multithread Rating: 6834 Single Thread Rating: 1532 Granted, this is not a powerful CPU compared to what is offered in 2024, but I have used one for years for a variety of tasks, including graphic design and video, and it has always performed very well. The Intel Xeon X5690 may be compatible, but I have not tried it and it is only marginally better, so I have always used the x5680 because I know it will work in the type 4157 S20. Thank you for your comment, and good luck upgrading your S20!

Hi Jamal, Thank you for your comment! The five things I did were: 1) Added a Xeon X5680 CPU (6 core/12 threads). 2) Added 24 GB of memory, which is the max amount at an reasonable price. 3) Added a GTX 1060 with 6GB of memory. I believe more powerful cards would be CPU bound? 4) Added one SSD for the oprerating system, and another for programs. (overkill? maybe) 5) Install Corel VideoStudio because it is cheap, has exacellent features, and can be used with NVIDIA graphics cards and CUDA acceleration technology. (some other programs can also use this, but not all).

​@jamesturnertech thank you am doing this in 2024, I have s20 W3550 as well mainly I want to upgrade for video edting

Hi Denis, It depends on what you will be doing with your computer. If you are using your computer for gaming, a GTX 960 4GB is likely the best card for your system. The reason is many games will become CPU bound if you use a better GPU. If you are going to be doing video editing, graphic design, or other GPU intensive applications, you may want to consider a GTX 1060 with 6GB memory. The extra memory helped when I was running programs like VideoStudio on my S20, since it can make use of the GPU.

@@jamesturnertech thank you.

Hi Lucas, If you are not gaming at 4k, I think the 3060 is a good choice. However, if you will be gaming, you need to look at a 3080 or better to game at 4k with decent frame rates. The GTX 1050 Ti, 1060, 1650, and RTX 2060 all support 4k. Of those I think the best choice would be a 1060 6GB card because it offers pretty good performance at a reasonable price.

@@jamesturnertech Thanks I appreciate that! Will go for the 1060 6GB, it really is a good one for the price, had not looked at that one yet. Would the 1060 6 GB fit easily and does it have the right power feed for this card?