Specifications

A Principled Technologies report 2
Workstation heat, sound, and power usage: Lenovo
ThinkStation S30 vs. HP Z420 Workstation
WHICH WORKSTATION MAKES FOR A RELIABLE, PLEASANT,
AND POWER-EFFICIENT WORK ENVIRONMENT?
A workstation that generates more heat and noise and uses more
power than necessary can be more prone to system failure, can be distracting
and uncomfortable for workers, and can boost electricity bills—both because of
the power the system itself draws and the power that additional air
conditioning uses. To determine how two workstations compared on these
fronts, we measured the heat, noise, and power consumption of the Lenovo
ThinkStation S30 and the HP Z420 Workstation.
We performed the tests while the two systems were idle and again
while they were running a heavy workload that consisted of two benchmarks
stressing each system’s hard disk, processor, and memory.
Figure 1 presents highlights of our test results.
Lenovo ThinkStation S30
HP Z420 Workstation
Comparison
Heat (degrees Celsius above room temperature)
Rear system fan
exhaust (idle)
1.9
2.4
26.3% cooler
Average of 5 internal
locations (idle)
9.4
10.8
14.5% cooler
Acoustics (decibels)
Idle
24.4
34.1
48.9% quieter*
Under load
24.4
34.7
51.0% quieter*
Power usage (watts)
Idle
40.2
55.9
Used 28.0% less power
Under load
86.4
101.0
Used 14.5% less power
Figure 1: Test result summary. Lower numbers are better. *For explanation of acoustics comparison, see the
Quieter is Better section below.
For detailed specifications of our test systems, see Appendix A. For
details of our testing, see Appendix B.