The market for high-end workstations to run CAD/CAM and other graphically demanding applications has long been dominated by the likes of Sun, HP and Dell.

Lenovo, however, is hoping to get a look in with its new ThinkStation S20, which can be fitted with Intel quad-core processors based on the latest 45nm Nehalem technology.

First impressions are good, the S20 showing its IBM pedigree in the form of an exceptionally sturdy tower case, tool-free access and a very neat internal layout with plenty of cooling. Despite the latter, the S20 is very quiet in use, becoming almost eerily silent when idle. It also has a lot of green credentials, conforming to the latest Energy Star specifications as well as being made from over 50 per cent recycled plastic.

The ThinkStation S20 has a sturdy tower case, tool-free access and a neat internal layout with plenty of cooling. (Credit: CBS Interactive)

Three standard configurations are offered on Lenovo's website — with either the Intel Xeon E5520, 5530 or W3520 inside, all quad-core on a 1066MHz bus. Strangely, there are no internal configuration options available on Lenovo's website — you'll need to speak with an account manager or reseller for customising your spec.

DDR3 memory is the order of the day, with 4GB installed on the review system occupying two of the available six DIMM sockets. Up to 12GB can be supported altogether. Both Nvidia's Quadro and ATI's FirePro are supported install options.

The storage options are reasonable if a little disappointing, with only 250GB available on the base models. RAID is more or less a must-have on this type of workstation, and there's support for Level 0, 1 and 5 set-ups on the motherboard. However, with a maximum of three internal disks supported in the case you're a bit limited and might need to add a plug-in host bus adapter and external drives to beef up this part of the S20 offering.

The ThinkStation S20's back panel offers a serial port, up to two gigabit Ethernet ports, analog 7.1 audio ports, an eSATA port, an S/PDIF port and eight USB ports. (Credit: CBS Interactive)

On the plus side, you do get an eSATA port for external storage expansion, together with the usual DVD burner plus space and an interface for one other drive, if needed. A gigabit Ethernet port is also built-in, plus eight USB 2.0 connectors, a 20-in-1 flash card reader and comprehensive analog and digital audio connections.

On the software front it's either Vista or XP, 64-bit implementations of which can be factory installed with minimal "bloatware" beyond backup and security utilities, plus a trial version of Office 2007.

The keyboard and mouse are nothing special and there's no monitor unless otherwise ordered. The S20 compares well on price with other workstation vendors' offerings, and if you have deep pockets there's even a dual-socket version — the ThinkStation D20 — that also supports SAS storage. The price includes a three-year next-business-day warranty.