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#51
I had a feeling that's why the quadro card was important to you - because of the sticker :)
When Dell sold the machine, it was advertised and configured as a "Quadro Workstation" which essentially means that it was a normal Dell PC with a Quadro card aimed at developers, Programmers, CAD (Computer Aided Design) users and various other disciplines that take advantage of what a quadro card has compared to a regular one.
The biggest difference between a quadro and a normal card is that the Quadro range has extra features that are only used for specific applications designed to take advantage of the extra features. In everyday useage/games the extra capabilities are simply not used.
Put simply, it's just another card that has the same compatibility, performance and function as a regular card when used "as a regular card".
If you took the exact same Dell machine and removed the Quadro card, the only difference would have been the sticker on the case.
Play it as it lays. You have the card. It's most important function will be for display. You can still use it to play games with.Would it be wiser to eat the $11.50, and try for a different card, or keep it, and play it as it lays?
Yes and yes.As for the SSD I am looking to the Crucial M550 128GB from newegg. Will this be a good buy? I guess more importantly: can I use it with what I have so far?
Newegg.com - Crucial M550 CT128M550SSD1 2.5" 128GB SATA 6Gb/s MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Although this is cheaper and will perform virtually identical in your machine:
Newegg.com - Crucial M500 120GB SATA 2.5" 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT120M500SSD1