The Lenovo M93/M93P is an ultra small form factor (SFF) PC, originally designed for enterprise use. However, it has since gained popularity in the home server/home lab enthusiast market and is an ideal high-performance alternative to the ever-popular Raspberry Pi.
These all-in-one computers can be found on eBay for prices ranging between $50 to $200, depending on their specifications.
What many people may not know is that these machines come equipped with a standalone CPU that can be upgraded, providing even greater performance capabilities.
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Officially supported Lenovo M93/M93P Tiny CPU Upgrade options
According to the official ThinkCentre M93/M93P Tiny Platform Specifications these are the following supported CPU options.
4th Generation Intel Core™ i3 / i5 / i7 Processors
| Processor | Cores / Threads | Frequency (Base/Max) | Cache | Memory Types | Integrated Graphics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i3-4150T | 2 / 4 | 3 GHz | 3 MB | DDR3-1600 | HD 4400 |
| Core i3-4130T | 2 / 4 | 2.9 GHz | 3 MB | DDR3-1600 | HD 4400 |
| Core i5-4570T | 2 / 4 | 2.9 GHz / 3.6 GHz | 4 MB | DDR3-1600 | HD 4600 |
| Core i5-4590T | 4 / 4 | 2 GHz / 3 GHz | 6 MB | DDR3-1600 | HD 4600 |
| Core i7-4765T | 4 / 8 | 2 GHz / 3 GHz | 8 MB | DDR3-1600 | HD 4600 |
| Core i7-4785T | 4 / 8 | 2.2 GHz / 3.2 GHz | 8 MB | DDR3-1600 | HD 4600 |
Unofficially supported Lenovo M93/M93P Tiny CPU Upgrade options!
If you’re feeling adventurous, there are other upgrade options available for the Lenovo M93 and M93P!
There are numerous Reddit threads discussing running standard desktop CPUs or Xeon processors in the M93 and M93P, we do not recommend doing so. For most home lab setups, the officially supported CPUs will be more than sufficient.
For optimal performance, the sweet spot is any of the i5 CPUs, which offer four cores and four threads and are not too expensive. These machines are more than capable of handling most computing needs.
How to upgrade the Lenovo M93/M93P Tiny CPU
If you have experience upgrading processors or building PCs from scratch, then upgrading the CPU on a Lenovo M93 or M93P will be a breeze.
Despite their compact size, the installation process for these machines is quite standard, as shown in the video below. The process is fairly straightforward and can be completed without the need for any specialized tools or equipment.
What’s the difference between the Lenovo M93 and the Lenovo M93P?
The ‘p’ versions” refers to a specific subset of Lenovo computer models. In this context (e.g. M93p), the “p” stands for “pro” and indicates that the model is designed for professional or corporate use.
The ‘p’ versions are fully Intel ‘vPro’ compatible to support corporate remote management.
“Intel vPro” is a technology platform designed for business and corporate use, which provides advanced security and remote management features. When a Lenovo computer model is said to be “fully Intel vPro”, it means that the system has integrated support for all of the features offered by the Intel vPro platform, including remote management capabilities.
What CPU do you have in your M93/M93P?
In our opinion, the Lenovo M93 and M93P are excellent choices for anyone looking to build a budget home lab setup. Personally, we’d probably recommend something a little newer if your budget can afford it, but if you want the cheapest of the cheapest Lenovo Tiny PCs then the M93 are an excellent choice.
We’d love to hear what you use your M93 or M93P for and what CPUs you have had success running on them. Let us know in the comments below!
I have had a desktop I-5 with 16 GB of RAM for 7 years now and I see very little reason to upgrade other than the new windows. You can buy an m 93 cheaper than you can get a license of windows 10 or 11
You said “single-threaded,” but the specs on that exact processor are 2 cores, 4 threads, so it is multi-threaded. I have a similar: M93P, with i-5 2 cores, 4 threads. Seems quite slow, but I haven’t yet place an M.2 or SSD in it yet, and I’m at 8GB, but thinking of moving to 16GB. I run Linux Mint with Cinnamon and Plex server. It does okay as a Plex server, yet if I connect with TeamViewer, it goes to a crawl. I think the hard drive is one bottleneck. CPU and memory seem to be average, as far as use – no large processing or memory loads. Since my unit takes an i-5 with no problem, I’m wondering if I can find a 4-core, 8-thread i-5 that would work. Thanks for the video.