Acemagic S3A vs Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 3
Acemagic S3A is the more capable pick; Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 3 is the cheaper one - which wins comes down to the job below.
The verdict
- CPU
- Acemagic S3A has 1.8x the CPU throughput (29,232 vs 16,359 PassMark).
- Plex
- Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 3 transcodes more 4K HDR streams (~5 vs ~3).
- Idle power
- Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 3 idles lower (10W vs 12W) - cheaper to run 24/7.
- RAM ceiling
- Acemagic S3A takes more RAM (96GB vs 64GB).
- Local AI
- Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 3 has a PCIe slot for a low-profile GPU - the other needs a DIY build for local LLMs.
Which wins for each job
| Job | Acemagic S3A | Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Plex / Jellyfin | ~3 streams | ~5 streams win |
| Frigate NVR | ~4 cameras | ~4 cameras |
| Proxmox / VMs | 29,232 PassMark win | 16,359 PassMark |
| Firewall / router | 1 NICs | 1 NICs |
| Local AI / LLM | no slot | PCIe GPU slot win |
Approximate - capacity estimates from curated specs, the same logic as the recommender. Verify against your exact setup. Prices move; check the retailer.
Full specs
| Spec | Acemagic S3A | Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price (list) | $369 | $330 |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS | Intel Core i5-12500T |
| Cores / threads | 8 | 6 |
| PassMark | 29,232 | 16,359 |
| iGPU | Radeon 780M | Intel UHD 770 |
| NICs | 1 | 1 |
| NIC model | Realtek 2.5GbE | Intel I219-LM |
| RAM max (GB) | 96 | 64 |
| M.2 free | 2 | 1 |
| PCIe slot | none | x8-lp |
| Idle (W) | 12 | 10 |
| TDP (W) | 54 | 35 |