It’s a shame that the NPU situation diminishes the overall score.
1.Pricing, specs, and availability2.Design and internal layout3.Performance and AI4.Features, security, and warranty5.Competition6.Scorecard7.Should you buy it?
Is it worth your money?
The front of the neo Ultra offers USB-A, USB-C, and 3.5mm audio ports.
Let’s take a look.
Lenovo supplied Windows Central with a temporary review unit of the ThinkCentre neo Ultra.
It had no input on the contents of this review.
The front of the neo Ultra offers USB-A, USB-C, and 3.5mm audio ports.
This massive reduction isn’t uncommon at Lenovo, especially for its business PCs.
Prices are often sky-high, with massive discounts available at practically any time.
If you’re buying this PC, wait for it to be hit by a big sale.
Tons of video ports make it easy to connect ALL of your external monitors.
At the time of writing, it’sdown to $2,032.68 at Lenovo.
For example, it’s down to $2,032.68 as I’m writing this review.
It’s built from a mixture of recycled aluminum and plastic that feels truly solid.
(Image credit: Future)
Hidden along the back of the PC is a cutout for ports and exhaust venting.
It’s a nice touch that’ll no doubt come in handy for some professionals.
You’ll still get support for six displays if you opt not to fill the punch-out slots when configuring.
(Image credit: Future)
Not bad at all.
Unfortunately, there’s noUSB4 or Thunderbolt 4.
As for the bottom of the PC, there’s some perimeter venting and four rubber feet.
(Image credit: Future)
This is also where you’re free to gain access to the internals for upgrades or servicing.
The bottom panel of the PC can be removed with nothing more than a screwdriver and a pry tool.
The rubber feet pads spin and click out without issue, revealing four screws.
The Kinara Ara-2 discrete NPU M.2 chip covered with a heatsink and tiny fan.
Once removed, the panel pulls off easily.
Lenovo has a bunch ofhandy video guides on disassembling the PC, and I used them to gain access.
Even the PSU is contained inside of the PC, reducing clutter in your office.
The neo Ultra’s discrete NPU is attached to the GPU’s PCIe conversion card.
Eager to test it out, I set up the usual AI benchmarks we use forAI PCs.
I quickly ran into an issuelarge enough to warrant its own article, but Ill recap here.
No tests seemed to reflect the fact that I was enabling and disabling the NPU in machine Manager.
(Image credit: Future)
The ThinkCentre neo Ultra has something inside that Ive never seen before.
The reply wasnt what I was expecting.
As it turns out, the NPU cant be utilized by anything until Lenovo provides a software update.
(Image credit: Future)
Whats worse is the lack of transparency on Lenovos website.
At best, it’s disingenuous on Lenovo’s part.
As usual, I ran a 30-minute system stress test to see how well the compact PC handles heat.
(Image credit: Future)
It ran at about 2.98GHz, jumping to 5.2GHz during the Turbo period.
At the same time, the GPU hotspot hit 83C but lowered to 78C as the fans sped up.
It pulled 112W and ran at about 2.6GHz for the duration of the stress test.
(Image credit: Future)
I grabbed some images with my FLIR camera to see where all that heat was going.
As long as you don’t have the exhaust pointed at you (and why would you?
), there shouldn’t be any problems.
(Image credit: Future)
Beyond that, and without the GPU under load, the CPU leveled off at a more reasonable 82C.
I saw RAM temperatures up to 90C while testing the CPU alone.
On the high end, that’s about the same as regular conversation.
(Image credit: Future)
I also ran the Handbrake Tears of Steel (4K) benchmark, which took 1,764 seconds to complete.
In Procyon’s AI Image test using Stable Diffusion 1.5, the GPU scored 1,226.
In Geekbench AI’s ONNX model, I got back a score of 6,399.
(Image credit: Future)
Intel adds its own layer of security and professional management with vPro Enterprise tools in its CPUs.
If you’re in search of a secure PC, the neo Ultra checks a lot of boxes.
As for the warranty, your coverage depends on how you buy the PC.
(Image credit: Future)
Too bad it doesn’t yet do anything.
From that viewpoint, it does a lot right.
However, added enterprise features keep it well above standard mini PCs.
(Image credit: Future)
I do with it had USB4 or Thunderbolt connectivity.
Lenovo ThinkCentre neo Ultra: Should you buy it?
You should buy this if …
You’d like desktop performance without traditional desktop size.
(Image credit: Future)
You weren’t going to add the discrete NPU for $125 anyway.
You have a desktop setup with a lot of external monitors.
you might take advantage of Lenovo’s ThinkShield security suite and other business features.
The ASUS ROG G22CH is a great choice for gamers who want a compact system.
You want a mini PC that’s designed specifically for gaming.
You don’t need business features and don’t want to pay extra for them.
With no confirmed date for that release, you’re essentially throwing away money.
Lenovo’s ThinkCentre neo Ultra is a compact and secure mini PC offering desktop-class CPU and GPU performance.
Its discrete NPU is intriguing, but unfortunately it’s useless until Lenovo releases an update.
The Luna Grey exterior finish is only interrupted by the ThinkCentre logo.
