r/minilab • u/Kobedie • 1d ago

Help me to: Hardware Looking for a small dev machine

Hey I am working on software in the lighting and entertainment industry. And one of the goals is to also have a headless server mode.
I want to have a small (thinkcentre tiny) pc with a lp quad Ethernet card ( I have one laying around) and I want to know how to look out for thinkcentre Tinie’s that are pcie compatible.

How do I know? I am currently looking at a used M720Q, which seems compatible. I do not really care about ram or ssd capacity, I just need a cpu and at least 4 Ethernet interfaces. Any suggestions?

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u/PhilipRoman 1d ago

Used ThinkCentre is definitely a good option. Look for M720q, M920q, M920x. I haven't used it but I believe you also need a nonstandard Lenovo adapter to use the PCIe slot.

Depending on your exact needs you could go for one of the cheap chinese router boards/firewall appliances. They usually include 4-10 ethernet ports and despite their name they are general purpose mini PCs with HDMI/DP, etc.

Most of them are fanless and built for industrial purposes, so if you plan on carrying it around that could be an advantage.

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u/SirKiren 14h ago

After that generation it is the M90q that retains a riser slot. As far as I'm aware neither of the other main vendors (HP/Dell) makes anything this small with a riser, so the other option would be the minisforum MS-0x They're obviously a less well known vendor but have more ethernets built in and still have a low profile slot.