Lenovo ThinkStation E31 2019, Core i5-3570, 8GB, 500GB HDD, Black

The Lenovo ThinkStation E31 is a refurbished small form factor workstation with a 2012-era Core i5, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and a slow 500GB HDD. It's cheap at around CAD 290, but the performance is bottom-tier by modern standards. Unless you need a legacy-port Windows box and plan to add an SSD, skip it.

Let's be blunt: the CPU sits at the 9th percentile in our database, and the RAM and GPU aren't far behind at 8th and 9th percentile respectively. That's not a typo. The Core i5-3570 was a solid mid-range chip in its day, but that day was over a decade ago. Four cores at 3.4GHz sounds okay until you realize modern budget chips run circles around it while sipping power.

The 8GB of DDR3 RAM is enough for a handful of browser tabs and a word processor, but push it with a dozen tabs and a video call and you'll feel the swap file kick in. And that swap file lives on a 500GB mechanical hard drive, which is the real performance killer. Boot times will be measured in minutes, not seconds. If you're wondering whether this is good for gaming, the answer is a hard no. The integrated Intel graphics score in the single digits for a reason. This is a spreadsheet machine, not a gaming rig.

Stacked against something like the Minisforum DeskMini UM880 Plus or the ASUS NUC 14 Pro, the ThinkStation E31 looks like it was dug out of a time capsule. Those mini PCs are smaller, faster, and come with modern connectivity like USB-C and NVMe storage. They cost more, sure, but the gap in performance is enormous. The E31's CPU is a decade behind, and the integrated graphics are a joke compared to even the most basic modern iGPU.

The HP OmniDesk M03-0054 and Dell Tower Desktop ECT1250 are closer in spirit, budget desktops aimed at basic office work. But even those come with newer processors and, crucially, SSDs. The E31's only real advantage is its workstation pedigree, which mostly means it was built to run 24/7 back when that was a selling point. For a home office or basic business machine, any of these competitors will feel dramatically more responsive out of the box.

At CAD 290, the ThinkStation E31 is cheap, but cheap isn't the same as good value. You're paying for a Windows 10 Pro license and a case, basically. The components inside are worth maybe half that on the used market. For the same money, you could find a used mini PC with an SSD and a newer processor that would run circles around this thing. The only scenario where this makes sense is if you specifically need a small form factor Windows box with a serial port for legacy hardware, and even then, there are better options. The storage situation alone, a 500GB HDD in a world where 500GB SSDs cost pocket change, is a dealbreaker for most people.

The Lenovo ThinkStation E31 is a refurbished small form factor workstation that's been kicking around long enough to remember when 8GB of RAM felt generous. It's built around an Intel Core i5-3570, a quad-core chip from 2012, paired with integrated graphics and a 500GB spinning hard drive. At around CAD 290 on the refurb market, it's cheap, but you're buying into a platform that's well past its prime.

People searching for a budget desktop for basic office work or a cheap home server will find this thing on paper and wonder if it's worth it. The short answer: only if your expectations are firmly set in 2013. It runs Windows 10 Pro, which is nice for business use, and the small form factor means it won't eat your desk. But the specs are a time capsule, and not in a charming way.

For basic web browsing, email, and light document work, it'll get by. Just don't expect it to feel snappy. The 500GB HDD is the biggest bottleneck here, and the integrated graphics mean gaming is essentially off the table. This is a machine for people who need a cheap, compact Windows box and nothing more.

Skip the ThinkStation E31 if you need anything beyond basic office work. Gamers, content creators, and anyone who multitasks heavily will be frustrated by the slow HDD and ancient integrated graphics. If you're setting up a home office and want something that feels responsive, look at a used mini PC like the Minisforum DeskMini or a newer budget desktop with an SSD. The only people who should consider this are those who specifically need a cheap Windows 10 Pro box with legacy ports like a serial connection, and even then, you should factor in the cost of an SSD upgrade before pulling the trigger.

Should you buy the Lenovo ThinkStation E31? Probably not. Unless you have a very specific need for a cheap Windows 10 Pro machine with legacy ports and you're willing to live with a spinning hard drive, this thing is a tough sell in 2025. The reliability scores are decent, and the build quality is typical ThinkStation, solid and unassuming. But the performance is so far behind that even basic tasks will test your patience.

If you do pick one up, budget for an SSD upgrade immediately. That alone would transform the experience from painful to tolerable. But at that point, you're spending more money on a machine that still has a bottom-tier CPU and integrated graphics. For most people, a used mini PC or a newer budget desktop is the smarter play.