Why does it matter what it can be labeled?

Anyways, looks like a nice system for running Windows 2000 or XP Pro (no 9x because it's SMP); would probably do reasonably well with DirectX 7/8 games and at least a few DX9 titles (the Radeon 9550 would be the biggest "hang up" there, but with AGP 4x you could upgrade to something more powerful if you needed to, PSU permitting).

I think it's not the graphics card is the bottleneck:

These cpus are not as fast as r9550 judging this screenshot from 3dmark 2001se... quick test made ​​on windows 98-single cpu.
On hp x4000 i've got radeon 4650 1GB ddr2 on agp bus, 'll take out the card and must test it with ap550.
Just to satisfy my curiosity.

Very modern "bridge AGP" cards (like the 4650) may have compatibility issues with older systems; I'm not saying it will or won't work, just that it *may* be a problem.

As far as the 3DMark scores - 3DMark's composite score heavily favors faster CPUs, however things like the theoretical fillrate and high-LOD game tests tend to be more GPU bound.

It's already upgraded it looks like. Also 1998 didn't have dual P3 733s 😀

I would replace the Radeon with something else more from its time like a Voodoo3 or something. Save those faster radeons for the P4s and AthlonXPs

Also the HD AGP Radeons have poor AGP support since it has buggy bridge drivers, and it would be severely bottlenecked anyway. Also considering power consumption and the OEM PSU issues I'm afraid you'll short the compaq with it 🙁

COnsidering R9550, it's basically R9600Pro with slightly lower clock, unless your version has 64-bit bus.

RacoonRider wrote:

COnsidering R9550, it's basically R9600Pro with slightly lower clock, unless your version has 64-bit bus.

"Slightly" is slightly misleading. 😀

R9550 is 250/400; R9600P is 400/600. Technically the 64-bit version should be labeled as "9550SE" but I'm sure there are AIBs that didn't follow that convention.

Here's a comparative review that includes the 9550 and the 9600Pro:
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php … 1675&cid=3&pg=1

Callahan wrote:

Specifically brought it out of the basement, 5 floors below to ask a question: […]
Show full quote

Specifically brought it out of the basement, 5 floors below to ask a question:

is this compaq ap550 professional workstation (dating '98) qualify to call it "retro"?

I must know what do I do with it, take back to basement for another 2 years or... what are your suggestions?
Onboard:
Dual pIII 866/133, i840 NB, 4x256MB rimm pc800-40, radeon 9550 128MB, agp 2x/4x, 120GB ATA 66, u160 scsi, integrated soundmax ac'97.
Still ready to work 😉

If it's more than 10 years old, I'd automatically consider it retro by age alone. Nice rig, I think I saw one of these or an SP700 on ebay a while ago. Would probably pick one up if I could get one cheap locally.

thanks for the feedback!
low results 3d mark... It is a drivers issue , for this card must using omega drivers. I read a lot about it since yesterday.
Also I checked with everest that mine r9550 is really 128b 250/400. Yes, it is.
Now i'll install win2k and apply omega drivers.

Radeon 4650 works on ap550 - tested about 2 years ago, no issues. Only in bios colors are "different" 😀 Like I said before, the card works currently in x4000 without a hitch on xp.

after installation I'll see what comes next with it.

EDIT:

Found my very old & interesting screenshot from benchmarking 3dmark with 2003 r2600Pro AGP on Compaq sp750 with dual Pentium III Xeon 900/100 2MB L2:

I got a free P2 Xeon 450 Compaq workstation around 2005-ish. It was a temperamental thing and was glad when it was replaced.
Once I got it home my opinion changed and had grand ideas of making it my server with SCSI and getting a 2nd CPU for it. Sadly it didn't like the move and wouldn't turn on, so I stripped the ram/drives/etc and binned the rest.

I like the idea of getting a workstation an installing an older workstation OS like NT4 or 2k Pro and "maxing out" its CPU limit

chinny22 wrote:

...

I like the idea of getting a workstation an installing an older workstation OS like NT4 or 2k Pro and "maxing out" its CPU limit

Yeah, old workstation means that installed os is also old. Especially when is installed from original recovery disks 😉

Actually my sp750 works under heavy modded nt4 sp6a wks. Mod include: cd with sp6 slipstreamed; usb, large disks,fat32 boot support, sys tray 256 colours tweak etc.
I took instructions from the website:
http://bearwindows.boot-land.net/winnt4.htm#p1
Runs great!
No antivirus software! Checked that modern viruses/malware can't run on it!

Callahan wrote on 2014-04-26, 22:52:

Onboard:
Dual pIII 866/133, i840 NB, 4x256MB rimm pc800-40, radeon 9550 128MB, agp 2x/4x, 120GB ATA 66, u160 scsi, integrated soundmax ac'97.

Callahan hello.
Tell me you still have this computer - Compaq Professional Workstation AP550??
I am trying to repair my motherboard. Could you help me??

Weird Compaq Motherboard

Retro yes, vintage no.