At CES 2023, Lenovo announced a new 1L PC that we may cover one day as part of the Project TinyMiniMicro series. The new Lenovo ThinkCentre neo 50q Gen 4 is a 1L PC that incorporates the 13th Gen Intel Core series processors, except there is a small catch with the new units. Let us get to it.
Lenovo ThinkCentre neo 50q Gen 4
The new Lenovo ThinkCenter neo 50q Gen4 seems to use Lenovo’s updated 1L PC design. It is also a lower-end unit, in the vein of the Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini 5i we reviewed insofar as it uses the mainstream 1L PC chassis but only offers up to a Core i5 H-series CPU. It is also still a DDR4 model. This is a lower-end and lower-priced option from Lenovo.
The key specs are below, but some of the other interesting throwbacks are that this only has “up to WiFi 6” when we are starting to see WiFi 6E as common and WiFi 7 at the leading edge. These appear to be both Windows and thin client versions.
Here are the key specs for the Lenovo ThinkCentre neo 50q Gen 4:
| ThinkCentre neo 50q Gen 4 Key Specs | |
| Processors | Up to 13th Gen Intel Core i5 H-series |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home, or IGEL |
| Memory | Up to 32GB DDR4, 2x SODIMM (Full PC version) Up to 16GB DDR4, 2x SODIMM (ThinClient version) |
| Storage | Up to 1TB SSD Up to 1TB HDD (7200 RPM) |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe Graphics |
| PSU | 65W / 90W Adaptor (full PC version) 65W Adaptor (ThinClient version) |
| Form Factor | 1L Tiny |
| Dimensions | 182.9mmx 179mm x 34.5mm (7.20 x 7.04 x 1.35 in) |
| Weight | 1.1kg (2.45 lbs) |
| Wireless | Up to Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Color | Raven Black with Terrazzo Exterior |
| Ports | Front: 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 1 x Type C USB 3.2 Gen 2 1 x Combo AudioRear: 1 x LAN (RJ45) 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 2 x USB 2.0 1 x HDMI 2.1 TMDS 1 x DP1.4b 1 X BTB punch-out port (not available with Celeron SKUs on ThinClient version) |
| Software | Lenovo Vantage; Lenovo Smart Storage; MS Office (Trial); McAfee Livesafe (Trial); Kaspersky |
Overall, not too impressive, but we are hoping pricing is along the same lines and lower as well when these come out. That brings us to the catch.
Final Words
The catch with the new units is the timing. Announced in early January 2023, and with processors also announced at CES (at the same time as the N and X series) one may assume that these systems are coming soon. That assumption would seem to be incorrect. Here is an excerpt from the company’s press release:
ThinkCentre neo 50q Gen 4 with Windows 11 OS will start at $499 and is expected to be available starting October 2023. (Source: Lenovo)
As excited as we are for the new line, announcing 10 months before they ship feels like this announcement is too early in the process. Hopefully, when they do ship, we will get to try one out for Project TMM.
If they’d just make a model with 2 x Ethernet ports, preferably 2.5 or 10Gbe, without having to faff around with risers, modules, etc
@Occamsrazor and add AMT vPro KVM on one of the ports, then it would be perfect.