Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 5

It suits you if you want a compact Windows 11 Pro desktop for everyday work and coding that can hang on a VESA mount and still take an add-in card. Developers should pick a 32 GB build, which is well suited to coding, while the 16 GB model is workable. A small office that needs a card in a footprint of 179 x 182.9 x 36.5 mm is another natural buyer.

Skip it if you want to play games: the Intel UHD Graphics 770 is integrated, and gaming is a poor fit. Skip it too if your homelab needs more than one network port or anything faster than 1GbE.

Everyday work is well suited: a 14-core or 20-core Intel processor with DDR5 has ample headroom for browsing, office files and video calls. Coding is workable on the 16 GB model and well suited on both 32 GB models, and the 16 GB build can grow because its two slots take up to 64 GB.

Gaming is a poor fit, because every build relies on the integrated Intel UHD Graphics 770. Homelab use is workable: the two M.2 slots leave room for a second drive, but there is one network port at 1GbE.

Local AI is a poor fit on the 16 GB model and workable on the two 32 GB models. Capacity decides which language models fit and bandwidth decides how fast they write; Lenovo gives a memory speed of 5600 MT/s but does not state the bandwidth.

Workstation work is well suited thanks to the physical x8 PCIe card slot, though Lenovo does not state how many lanes it carries. The Core i7-14700, with 20 cores and 28 threads, is the build for heavier compiles.

All three builds are new, sold at retail, run Windows 11 Pro and use the Intel UHD Graphics 770. The entry model pairs an Intel Core i5-14500 with 14 cores and 20 threads, 16 GB of DDR5 and a 256 GB NVMe drive. The middle model keeps that processor and moves to 32 GB of memory and a 512 GB NVMe drive. The top model has the same 32 GB and 512 GB but swaps in a Core i7-14700 with 20 cores and 28 threads. Pick the 16 GB model for office desks, the 32 GB Core i5-14500 for coding and local AI, and the Core i7-14700 when core count matters.

Memory is not soldered: two DDR5 SODIMM slots take up to 64 GB, so the 16 GB model and both 32 GB models can all be raised to that ceiling. Storage has two M.2 slots for 2280 drives, and neither accepts M.2 SATA drives. The first slot is PCIe 4.0, so a PCIe 5.0 NVMe drive placed there runs at PCIe 4.0 speed. Lenovo does not state the second slot's generation, so treat an M.2 drive added there as extra capacity first. There are no SATA bays. The physical x8 PCIe slot adds one more route for expansion.

Two screens is the maximum, one on the HDMI output and one on the DisplayPort 1.4 output. Lenovo does not state the HDMI version, and HDMI 2.1 features need an HDMI 2.1 output, so check before planning a 4K monitor above 60 Hz on that port.

For peripherals there are six USB-A ports and one USB-C port. Networking is one wired 1GbE port, and a wireless module is included. There are no USB4, Thunderbolt or OCuLink ports. Power comes from a 65W external supply, and the VESA mount lets the box hang behind a monitor.

The networking is the plainest gap: one port at 1GbE, and no USB4, Thunderbolt or OCuLink. Graphics are integrated in every build, which rules out serious gaming. The 16 GB entry model is a poor fit for local AI as it ships.

Lenovo does not state the graphics memory or its type, the memory bandwidth, ECC support, the second M.2 slot's PCIe generation, the Wi-Fi standard, Bluetooth, the HDMI version, an SD card reader, the TDP or the PCIe slot's lane count.

When you weigh other machines against this one, compare a handful of facts. Check the memory ceiling against 64 GB in two removable slots, the network ports against one port at 1GbE, and the display count against two. Look for a card slot like the physical x8 PCIe slot here, and note whether USB4 or Thunderbolt ports are present, since this machine has none.