"Overall, I'm thrilled with the computer. Its build quality is nothing short of the very best, its very quiet, performs exceptionally, and exceeds my expectations.

I purchased an E31 small form factor on Lenovo.com. I wanted a small desktop that included a top of the line processor that could be configured with at least 16 GB of RAM. I also wanted a deskop with a TPM chip, which are common in laptops but not desktops. This has a TPM chip, so I can use bitlocker and other crypto software the uses a TPM.

I was willing to settle for one that could only accommodate one hard drive without a DVD drive.

This thing can be configured with any of Intel's best (single) processors, including zeons intended for single chip boards. I went with an I7. It can accommodate 32 GB of RAM, 3 hard drives, discreet graphics, and a DVD reader.

Lenovo did a superb job of engineering the capability of having this much stuff in a such a small form factor.

I had a few initial frustrations with it. Mine included their top of the line Quadro 600 LP graphics card. Once I installed the video driver, it blue-screened. I spent hours trying to find a driver that would work, but none would. I finally just replaced the video card with a low profile GeForce card (I don't need the Quadro for anything specific anyway), and that solved the problem. I'll try the Quadro again in a few months once there are newer drivers, and if it still won't work then I will see about a warranty replacement. It smells like a software problem.

I noticed that it can be configured with three drives. Indeed, there is enough empty space in the box for a 3rd 3.5" drive, right under the DVD reader. There also might be enough space where the two drives go, but the bracket they included only accommodates a single drive. Some specific part is required for either the 2 drive or 3 drive configuration, and its not easy to understand the parts list for this. I spent a lot of time tracking down the web-site from which one can order parts, but doing so requires understanding very short part descriptions from a different web site. I tried to get someone to help me one the phone, but they did not know what I needed.

I was able to configure it with two 2.5" solid state drives by purchasing a 3.5" to 2.5" retail adapter that puts two 2.5" drives in a 3.5" space (It was cheap and worked perfectly).

The hardware manual (available online) is excellent and comprehensive. It does a great job of explaining how to add memory, which was easy and required no tools. Adding the two 2.5" drives was basically obvious, but the manual does not explain anything about Lenovo brackets for hard drives -- this is my biggest frustration with it. Just be aware that if you order it with a single drive, it will not come with what you need to add additional hard-drives.

It's more computer per square-inch (if there is such a measurement) then I've ever seen from any manufacturer."

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