The M55e's internals are components I've seen before, including the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors. (The M55e is also available with Celeron D, Pentium D, and Pentium 4 processors.) The Intel GMA 3000 integrated graphics are new, though performance-wise they're not much different from the GMA 950 they replace. The system I reviewed came with Windows Vista Business, though Windows XP is available as well. DVD burners are available for the M55e, but the review system that Lenovo sent came with a DVD/CD-RW combo drive. While the combo drive will let you get by, I really want to see a DVD burner in a small business system for quick backups and for burning project files.

Since the system has an enterprise pedigree, the M55e is extremely easy to service. The chassis flips open easily, and everything is tool-less—no screwdriver needed. Your company's techs will be able to replace components quickly and effortlessly—and if you're in charge of servicing hundreds (or even just dozens) of desktops in an office, every minute counts. An on-site tech will spend less time in your office (a good thing), or, if you do it yourself, the case is really easy to get into and service, with clearly marked handholds and brackets (a great thing). Speaking of service, the M55e comes standard with three years of on-site service. This is an improvement over buying consumer-grade PCs, which usually have a one-year (or even just a 90-day) warranty for your business.

Included with the system are the ThinkVantage utilities that are one of Lenovo's big strengths. Carried over from when IBM ran the show, these utilities are geared toward business computing. The Rescue and Recovery tool can back up and restore your system from a catastrophic failure, such as a virus attack. I'd recommend keeping your important files backed up on an external drive or on a network drive, but the Rescue and Recovery tool can help if your system is too sluggish at start-up, or if it won't boot at all. Just make sure to create a recovery save file when you have the system loaded up with your standard business apps. Lenovo will let you create a system to order with Microsoft Office 2007 preloaded, so even if your system has boot problems, Rescue and Recovery will factory-restore your system with Office and Vista loaded up. Another good business-centered app is the ThinkVantage Client Security Solution, which supports fingerprint readers for one-touch security and log-ins. This particular configuration lacks hardware TPM, but other models in the ThinkCentre M-series do have TPM. One nit is the fact that the Symantec Client Security tool (including antivirus) comes with only a 90-day subscription. I'd like to see at least a year, and preferably two years on business systems.

I don't have a lot of comparative performance numbers (yet) for Vista Business systems, since we just recently switched to BAPCo's new SYSmark 2007 Preview benchmark test. Compared with a decidedly consumer-grade Dell Dimension E521 desktop with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, the 1.86-GHz Core 2 Duo E6300–equipped M55e came out slightly ahead. The M55e's Office Productivity score (78) shows that the system is capable of doing all the day-to-day activities you expect from your workers. The M55e's 3D Modeling score is notable: At 95, it bests that of the Dimension E521 (81) by 17 percent, showing the Core 2 Duo's prowess at rendering 3D models. This is a good system for both office drones and light multimedia workers, like those you'd find in an architect's office.

With only a couple of trade-offs for the price—like a DVD/CD-RW drive and only 90 days of antivirus protection—Lenovo has turned in yet another winner in the "fits all businesses" PC model. While a bit pricey compared with consumer PCs and lesser single-core business PCs, the ThinkCentre M55e is a corporate powerhouse. This is true whether that corporation has two employees or 2,000 in the local branch of the worldwide conglomerate. Hardware-wise the M55e is pretty buff, with a dual-core CPU, 250GB of drive space, and 2GB of DDR2 memory. Add ThinkVantage utilities, a three-year on-site service warranty and enterprise-level support, and we have ourselves a new Editors' Choice for mainstream/high-end ($1,000+) business systems.

Benchmark Test Results
Check out the Lenovo ThinkPad M55e's test scores.

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