64-bit workstations are here, bringing power to CAD and graphics workers.
The Precision 370 is Dell’s first PC using Intel’s 64-bit Extended Pentium 4 range. Based on the Prescott Pentium 4 core, 64-bit Extended Memory Technology (EM64T) CPUs are designed for high-end graphics and CAD uses by allowing ‘ 64-bit memory addressing, increasing the amount of memory the CPU interacts with. Based on the Intel 925X chipset, the Dell motherboard includes support for a single-socket LGA Socket 775 CPU, a single Gigabit Ethernet port, four DDR-2 DIMM sockets and four Serial ATA ports. The board has a total of three PCI slots, of which two are populated, plus 16x and 1x PCI Express slots. The system was built with a 3.4GHz Intel Pentium 4 with 1 MB of cache and EM64T extensions, 2GB of Samsung DDR-533 memory in four 512MB modules and a Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB Serial ATA hard disk drive.
The bundled Nvidia Quadro 128MB FX1300 video card suits CAD and 3D design and provides two DVI outputs. An LG-manufactured GRA-4120B DVD+RW drive provides support for DVD+R at 12x, DVD+RW at 4x and DVD+RW DL at 2.4x. There is no support for DVD-R/W writing but discs can be read. A 1.44MB floppy drive is also installed.
It’s housed in Dell’s standard mini tower case, capable of holding two optical drives, two 3.5in external drives and two 3.5in internal drives. One of the external bays can be used for a hard disk. Eight USB 2.0 ports are available, including two at the front of the case. The unit comes with a FireWire card in a PCI slot alongside a Creative Audigy 2 for high quality audio. Our review system shipped with a 19in 1901 LCD monitor with a native resolution of 1,280 x 1,024 pixels, a 600:1 contrast ratio and a brightness measurement of 250 cd/m2.
The test unit included the 32-bit Windows XP Professional OS, but it’s also available with Red Hat Enterprise Workstation Edition 3, with support for EM64T for 64-bit functionality.
Under tests, PCMark 2004 showed the 370’s capabilities with a high score of 4,549. Business Winstone 2004 gave a result of 23.5, while Multimedia Content Creation Winstone recorded an excellent 29.8.
The 370 has three years’ onsite warranty, plus weekday telephone support. Overall, a well-integrated, high-performing package.

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