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September 6th, 2014 18:00
Dell precision workstation 650
Now, I'll try to keep this post as short as I can. Now, I realize a workstation 650 is an old machine, but I was recently given one and I thought, with some research I've done, maybe I can get it started and it might be a decent pc. But, It's kind of confusing, I go to dells website and it shows a laptop when I click it, and as far as my research goes I have not found a lot of specific information on it. I guess the few questions I have about it is:
Would it be worth reviving? Is it a good gaming PC? As I've said, the small amount of research I was able to do with it, they were kind of high end back in the day.
Other questions I have is what kind of ram does it take? It didn't come with any harddrive or ram, and the ram I do have is the wrong type. I read up something like DDR ECC, or something like that. What is unregistered as opposed to registered ram? I've never had a dell. Anyway, I would appreciate anyone who can answer my questions.
BPC23
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October 6th, 2014 11:00
I am still using a Precision 650, but upgraded to Windows 7 32-bit. I wish I could say it was doing well, but I'm here researching upgraded drivers. It's usable, but suffers infrequent BSOD's, I think related to needing new chipset drivers. It was a flawless machine when running Win XP. I recently bought 4GB of PC-2100 DDR RAM and a new 150GB SCSI hard drive for roughly $125. I'm starting to realize I didn't need to buy a new video card.
I can't speak about it's gaming performance, since I used it strictly for unglorious home use, but it is a workstation and therefore rather robust. Since you need to add a new hard drive and RAM, you're going to spend maybe $150, depending upon what you buy, of course.
Look around the case of your 650. You should find a white rectangular sticker with a five character code printed in black. This is the service tag number, which you can enter in the Dell Support site and it will take you right to the service page specific to your unit. There you can download drivers and manuals.
I'm seriously considering buying a newer computer for home use, and therefore wouldn't need any of the new hardware in my 650 (RAM, hard drive, video card). I also have an unused copy of Win XP. I'm willing to sell you whatever you need.
Brian