Hi, I want to buy a Refurbished Dell Precision 7820 Workstation & install Windows-7 on it to run some old software. Also I don’t like Win-11 due to it’s tiny fonts because I am running 12 x 24 inch monitors currently using Win-7 on another very old Dell 7500 Workstation which is about to crash anytime. The shop that is trying to sell me the Refurbished 7820 workstation says they will install Win-7 on that M/C and let me test it before they ship it. So what should I look for when testing ? The specs are : Dell Precision 7820 Tower Workstation 2 x Intel Xeon Gold 6138 @200 GHz Processors 64GB DDR4 Memory Nvidia Quadro P2000 GPU New 500Gb SSD 4TB SATA 7.2k RPM HDD I will replace Nvidia Quadro P2000 GPU with 2 X Nvidia Quadro P1000 GPU that I have to run 8 Monitors. I do realize the security issues with very outdated Win-7 but I am going to use this M/C offline. I also have an SSD with Win-7 with all the Updates till 2020 that I am using on the current old Dell T-7500 workstation. Is there a way to transition it to T-7820 ? I want to run following software : Office 2016 Adobe Acrobat Pro V.XI Macrium Reflect Free V.8 Etc. My question is, is it advisable to buy this M/C and would I run into any drivers issues ? I would appreciate all your suggestions before I buy this M/C. Thank You
i agree with ai on this being a daunting task. Your plan has some significant challenges, but it's not impossible. Here are the key issues and testing recommendations: Major Compatibility Concerns Driver Availability: The Dell Precision 7820 with Intel Xeon Gold 6138 processors (Skylake-SP architecture) was never officially supported by Microsoft or Intel for Windows 7. You'll likely face: Limited or no official drivers for chipset, USB 3.0/3.1 controllers Potential issues with network adapters, audio, and other integrated components NVIDIA may not have Windows 7 drivers for Quadro P2000/P1000 on newer chipsets Essential Testing Checklist When testing the system: Hardware Functionality: Test ALL USB ports (2.0, 3.0, 3.1) with various devices Verify network connectivity (both wired and any wireless) Check audio input/output Test all display outputs with your monitors Verify storage devices are recognized properly Test any card readers or other integrated components Performance & Stability: Run the system for several hours under load Test sleep/hibernate functionality Check Device Manager for any unknown devices or yellow flags Run your intended software (Office 2016, Adobe Acrobat, etc.) Test multi-monitor setup extensively GPU Considerations: Verify Quadro P2000 drivers install and work properly Test that you can actually swap to dual P1000 cards later Confirm 8-monitor support works as expected SSD Migration Challenges Moving your existing Windows 7 SSD from the T7500 to T7820 is problematic: Different chipsets require different drivers HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) differences Boot issues likely due to hardware changes You'd essentially need a fresh Windows 7 installation anyway Recommendations Demand extensive testing time - Don't accept a quick demo. You need hours of testing with your actual workflow. Get driver guarantees - Ask the seller to provide all necessary drivers and confirm they work. If they can't provide working drivers for all components, don't buy. Consider alternatives - Windows 10 LTSC or even Windows 11 with accessibility scaling might be better long-term solutions. You can increase font sizes significantly in Windows 11. Have a backup plan - Ensure you can return the system if compatibility issues arise after purchase. Bottom line: While technically possible, this setup will likely require significant troubleshooting and may never be fully stable. The combination of newer hardware with an unsupported OS creates substantial risk. Consider whether the cost and effort justify avoiding a newer Windows version with proper scaling settings.