Lenovo M700 Think Center disassembly

The form factor is consider a Mini-DT, or mini desktop. They are generally cheaper then normal desktops because they will have lower end components, usually designed for light operating systems, daily activities in a home office, or even deployed in a business like in your case.

The copper bar you saw below the fan was a heat pipe. It has copper fiber inside it, as well as a small amount of water. The water will evaporate as it heats, and travel to the end of the tube, before condensing and returning to continue the process.

I’ve got to say, I really appreciate seeing someone who doesn’t understand computers taking the initiative to dive in. So many people I’ve encountered lacked the ambition or drive to even learn how their phones worked, when they used them everyday.

The ‘little WiFi thing back here’ is called an I/o shield/ports. That is the point where the motherboard will allow you to connect peripheral devices (such as keyboard, monitors etc)

You asked if a core 5 is good. Typically I’ll say that the CPUs that are present in these aren’t the best, but it’d be better to determine its quality with the whole number (ex. i5-13900k, i5-1135G7, i5-1235U etc)

You were right m, that little square was an NVME SSD, in the mSATA form factor. The more common variant of that (in towers) is the m.2 form factor, which is like that only bigger. It probably didn’t come with a hard drive, because the SSD was probably enough for the companies needs when they ordered it, but the HDD tray is always a nice inclusion for additional storage if needed.

Also, don’t call yourself stupid. Ignorant is a better term, as you are aware that you have a lack of knowledge, and are actively trying to better understand what you don’t. Awesome endeavor, I hope you learn a lot. If you can’t tell I love tech, and I love seeing others discover the wonders of it. ☺️