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The P920 was officially certified by the Qubes OS project for Qubes 4.x (see the official HCL - Hardware Compatibility List), and the certification still applies to the current Qubes R4.2 and the upcoming R4.3.

Why the ThinkStation P920 is excellent for Qubes OS

Requirement / Recommendation for Qubes ThinkStation P920 (typical config) Verdict
CPU with Intel VT-x + EPT or AMD-V + RVI (mandatory) Dual Xeon Platinum/Scalable (up to 56 cores total) – full VT-x/EPT support Perfect
Intel GPU (strongly preferred; AMD/NVIDIA cause problems) Ships with Intel-integrated graphics disabled by default, but you install an Intel UHD Graphics 630 (P630) card (very cheap, ~$50 used) in a PCIe slot → 100% compatible Required minor mod, then perfect
IOMMU (VT-d or AMD-Vi) for proper isolation Excellent IOMMU grouping on dual-Xeon platforms, officially confirmed in Qubes HCL Excellent
RAM (64 GB minimum strongly recommended, 128+ GB ideal) Supports up to 384 GB DDR4 ECC (some configs up to 1–2 TB) Overkill in the best way
Storage Multiple M.2 NVMe + SATA bays, RAID capable No issues
UEFI / Secure Boot Fully supported Works
Wi-Fi (Intel cards only) Usually ships with non-Intel cards → replace with Intel AX210/AX211 or BE200 (cheap and officially supported) Easy fix

Real-world experience (2023-2025)

  • Many journalists, security researchers, and whistleblower-support organizations (including some using SecureDrop workstations) run Qubes on P920s or the very similar P720.
  • After swapping in an Intel GPU and (optionally) an Intel Wi-Fi card, installation is completely smooth.
  • With 128–256 GB of RAM you can comfortably run 20–30 qubes simultaneously (Whonix, multiple Disposables, Debian VMs, Windows VMs for HVM, etc.) without swapping.

What you need to do before/during install

  1. Add an Intel Quadro P630 / UHD Graphics 630 (or any cheap Intel GPU with Qubes-compatible i915 firmware).
    → The discrete NVIDIA/AMD card can stay in the system but must be left unclaimed (blacklisted) or used only in specific PCI-passthrough VMs.
  2. (Optional but recommended) Replace the Wi-Fi card with an Intel one.
  3. Enable VT-x, VT-d, and IOMMU in BIOS (already default on most P920s).
  4. Install normally with the Qubes installer.

Conclusion

Yes — the Lenovo ThinkStation P920 exceeds Qubes OS requirements by a huge margin once you add a cheap Intel GPU (and ideally Intel Wi-Fi). It is effectively one of the “gold-standard” workstations for serious Qubes users who need maximum compartmentalization, huge RAM for many VMs, and rock-solid stability.

If you can find a used/refurbished P920 in 2025 (they are very common on the second-hand enterprise market), it is arguably the best value-for-money Qubes machine available.

Original Author: admin

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  • 2025-11-21 23:21:39 (Viewing)