The HP RP5800, an ideal solution for legacy compatibility

da na · October 21, 2023

The HP RP5800 is a cheap, compact, quiet, and efficient system with legacy compatibilty yet modern advantages.

At first glance, this may look like a standard SFF business PC with nothing special about it. However, there is a lot more to the HP RP5800 than meets the eye.

I quite like the design language: Simple, modern, and functional with large vents and brushed aluminum accents. It certainly has a unique look.

The front panel does not have much I/O, just a 5.25" bay and these two USB 2.0 ports hidden under a sliding door. In addition to power and disk lights, the RP5800 also features two lights to indicate LAN activity. Audio jacks, a typical feature of front panels, is missing here.

Around the back, however, is where things get a little weird. In addition to the typical half-height slots of a small form factor computer, the RP5800 also features two full-height horizontal slots. In addition to the typical audio, LAN, PS/2, USB, and display outs, it has a few interesting additions. Two serial ports are a bit uncommon to see on a ~2013 machine, as is the 24-volt USB port, an uncommon connector used in the POS industry for barcode scanners and receipt printers among other things.

Much of the inside is what you'd expect from a standard SFF system: Three SATA ports for the two hard drive bays and optical drive, four RAM slots with dual channel support, and a socketed 2nd-gen Core i3 processor. However, those horizontal slots and the 24-volt USB port are run off of a riser featuring two PCI slots and a PCIe x1. Legacy compatibility is clearly the name of the game here.

That said, I'd say this is the best small form factor system for people needing to run XP applications. Whether you're looking to use some old hardware/software or want to play some early 2000s 3D games, it's an excellent choice. It's quite new and efficient, unlike more era-appropriate Pentium D small form factor systems.

For gamers, Its PCIe 2.0 16x half-height slot allows for installation of a very capable graphics card with a faster PCIe bus (eg Quadro K620, the best-value XP-compatible SFF card) while the PCI slots allow for a fully fledged Sound Blaster XtremeMusic. Heck, you could even stuff the Sound Blaster front panel in the 5.25" bay. HP supports XP through 7 on this system, so you won't have to dig for drivers either.
In short, the RP5800's legacy compatibility yet modern expandability and efficiency make it the ideal choice for XP gaming with space and price constraints.