Lenovo ThinkStations think green
Refreshed ThinkStations get upgraded processors, graphics cards, and green credentials.
Lenovo is hoping to lure game developers and others to its refreshed workstation line, the ThinkStation.
Originally launched in late 2007, the ThinkStation S20 and D20 get some spit and polish, including the latest Intel Xeon processors, and a choice of either the Nvidia Quadro or ATI FirePro graphics cards.
The desktops will be on display at the Game Developers Conference here in San Francisco this week, powering a new virtual customer service world called eLounge that Lenovo is launching Tuesday. Built on the same engine as Unreal Tournament by Epic Games, eLounge looks very Second Life-esque, and functions similarly, but as a destination for customers to talk to customer service, and perhaps make online purchases of hardware for real life.
Lenovo is also pushing the green angle on the ThinkStation series. The S20 and D20 are Energy Star 5.0 certified. But the company says the exterior of the workstations are made out of plastic, 50 percent of which is recycled. Half of that recycled plastic, according to Lenovo, is post-consumer plastic.
The S20 starts at $1,070 and the D20 at $1,550.