Transnational technology company Lenovo has officially announced the start of commercial shipments to the North American, European, and Asia-Pacific markets of the second-generation professional desktop workstation — ThinkStation P5 Gen 2. This event marks a significant step forward in the field of high-performance computing and the local execution of resource-intensive tasks.

Deep Modernization of the Hardware Platform

The device's hardware platform has undergone deep modernization: the system has been switched to the server-class Intel Xeon 600 series processor architecture (Granite Rapids-WS family) and supports the integration of the latest generation NVIDIA Blackwell PRO graphics accelerators. The starting cost of the base configuration on retail platforms is from $5,999 USD.

Unlike the previous modification, which was based on Xeon W-2400 (Sapphire Rapids) chips, the updated ThinkStation P5 Gen 2 station is designed based on the Intel W890 chipset and the FCLGA4710 processor socket. The system's computing core can be Intel Xeon 6th generation processors with a thermal design power (TDP) of up to 300 W. The lineup of supported CPUs includes solutions ranging from the entry-level 12-core Xeon 634 to the flagship 48-core Xeon 678X, supporting 96 compute threads and 192 MB of third-level (L3) cache memory.

Memory and Data Storage Subsystem

Key parameters of the RAM and data storage subsystem:

  • Registered RAM with error correction: The board is equipped with 8 DDR5 DIMM slots supporting quad-channel operation. The maximum supported volume of DDR5-6400 ECC RDIMM memory is 1 TB (when installing eight high-density modules of 128 GB each).
  • Controller frequency limits: The maximum effective data transfer rate is 6400 MT/s. When using a number of lower-tier processors, the bus operating frequency is hardware-limited to 5200 MT/s to ensure signal stability under peak loads.
  • Modular disk subsystem: The 33-liter chassis design allows for the deployment of a disk array with a capacity of up to 68 TB. The configurator supports the installation of up to 8 M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen 5 solid-state drives (up to 4 TB each) using specialized expansion adapters, as well as up to three 3.5-inch SATA Enterprise hard drives with a capacity of up to 12 TB each.

Graphics Subsystem and AI Accelerator Integration

The ThinkStation P5 Gen 2 graphics subsystem is designed for the local execution of resource-intensive tasks in the field of generative artificial intelligence, machine learning, 3D rendering, and working with ultra-large CAD/BIM models. The device's technical specifications provide support for the latest NVIDIA Blackwell GPU architecture.

In maximum configurations, the workstation is equipped with the professional NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell graphics card, carrying 72 GB of high-speed GDDR7 video memory with ECC support. Additionally, the chassis and cooling system architecture allows for the installation of specialized energy-efficient RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q accelerators with 96 GB of video memory. When integrating two such video adapters, the total available graphics memory of the workstation reaches 192 GB.

Certification and Ease of Use

ThinkStation P5 Gen 2 possesses a full range of certifications from independent software vendors (ISV), including compatibility with Autodesk, Adobe, and Siemens packages. The modular chassis architecture ensures tool-less access to key system components, including the replacement of the side panel, RAM modules, storage drives, and PCIe expansion cards.