Lenovo ThinkStation P510 Hardware Configuration page 3

2. Hard Drive Controllers used on ThinkStation P500/P510,
P700/P710, P900/P910
ThinkStation P500/P510, P700/P710 and P900/P910, have several hard drive controller options that can
be used to support a wide variety of drive configurations. Selecting the correct controller will directly
depend on the number and type of drives a user wants to support in their specific configuration. RAID
requirements also play a big part in determining which controller to choose when configuring your
ThinkStation.
Onboard Intel SATA Controller
The "default" controller on P500/P510, P700/P710, and P900/P910 is the onboard Intel SATA controller,
sometimes called S-SATA. This controller is capable of supporting up to four SATA HDDs/SSDs at Gen3
(6Gb/s) max theoretical bandwidth. It's important to note that only SATA devices are supported with
the onboard Intel controller. RAID modes 0/1/5/10 are supported as well. Refer to "P500-P510-P700-
P710-P900-P910 How to Create and Configure RAID Arrays" for more info about how to configure RAID
arrays.
Unlike previous ThinkStation systems that used onboard Intel SATA controllers, all three platforms have
support for the same number of drives with this controller. Connection methods do vary by platform.
P900/P910 SATA Support via Intel Onboard S-SATA Controller
Maximum Number of Drives
Connection Method
Drive Locations
Hardware Required
Drives Types Supported
(6Gb/s)
RAID Level Support
Drive Speed
*BCA-S comes standard in P900/P910.
4 (2 drives per BCA)
Tool-less via BCA
Drives install into FLEX Bays via FLEX Tray.
One drive per FLEX bay.
Drives install in upper () position labelled P1 & P2.
BCA-S* or BCA-P
3.5" SATA HDD (7200rpm)
3.5" SSHD (Hybrid)
2.5" SATA SSD
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 10
Maximum speed is 6Gb/s.