Performa 5400 Directors Edition

[macgreg]

Picked this up from eBay (AU) for $11 pickup. The Directors Edition is the black one.

Came with AV card and TV card. Seems to work OK although a fresh OS install won't hurt it.

Came with the obligatory 2 ZIP drives and a whole bunch of software.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_performa/stats/mac_performa_5400_180.html

 

[jsarchibald]

I so wanted to bid on that, but the cost of shipping would have been ridiculous. It was funny, because it passed in for $10 the week before.

 

[Concorde1993]

Great find, macgreg.

It's unfortunate that they never sold this model in the North American market, as this would definitely be something I would add to my vintage computer collection.

 

[jsarchibald]

That's how I feel about the Macintosh TV and TAM, although I have one of those now.

 

[macgreg]

It's unfortunate that they never sold this model in the North American market, as this would definitely be something I would add to my vintage computer collection.

I know how you feel. Newton eMates are everywhere on eBay US yet rarely show up here in Australia.

Regarding the 5400 DE, I'm planning on upgrading the RAM (it currently has 56MB) and perhaps installing a bigger HDD.

Then I think I will have to add an ethernet card.

 

[jsarchibald]

Good work, macgreg, I'm glad it's going to someone who will use and upgrade it, rather than someone who wants to turn it into Macquarium!

 

[Byrd]

Nice one, macgreg, did you also receive the black keyboard and mouse? Just for my sad little kicks I tend to use this setup with all my Macs - looks good connected to a Powerbook Duo (which has a crappy keyboard!)!

Surprisingly, I've one of these under the house and they so seem pretty common in Melbourne - perhaps a lot of schools bought these at the time for their AV capabilities and cheap price. They are nice machines to use. Although mine essentially is a backup for the TAM should the 6500-esque board fail.

Oh and js: haven't sent the RAM yet, sorry

JB

 

[macgreg]

Cheers!

Yep - got the black keyboard and 2 mice. I actually already has a set which is fortunate because both the mice are broken (although I "may" be able to repair them). Yeah - as far as black Macs go I guess these are the easiest to obtain in Australia.

 

[jsarchibald]

No probs Byrd, you're doing me a favour anyway so no rush. I appreciate the help!

 

[protocol7]

My 5400/180 was my first conquest. Love it. I hope to up the RAM a bit one day as it's still on 32MB.

It came with a remote as well. One of these:

 

[Concorde1993]

My 5400/180 was my first conquest. Love it. I hope to up the RAM a bit one day as it's still on 32MB.

It came with a remote as well.

I wonder if this remote would work with a Performa 5215, as mine is equipped with an infrared sensor (as I am sure all of the 5200-series computers are).

I know how you feel. Newton eMates are everywhere on eBay US yet rarely show up here in Australia.

Well, I've already got my eMate, and it's a pleasure to use during lectures.

Then I think I will have to add an ethernet card.

You should. A dial-up modem is completely useless nowadays (as I have experienced with my 5215) & I am sure you could get high-speed Internet access on your 5400 (the requirements, from what I hear, are not too great. A friend of mine has an old Thinkpad hooked up to their router, and he's running Win 98, so anything is possible).

 

[macgreg]

I forgot to mention that I also got the remote.

I agree regarding the modem - I'll stash it away in the collection but it is practically useless for me now. A CSII ethernet card will get it on the web nicely.

 

[LCGuy]

I wonder if this remote would work with a Performa 5215, as mine is equipped with an infrared sensor (as I am sure all of the 5200-series computers are).

Those remotes were used on ALL the IR equipped Macs back in the day apart from the Mac TV. That remote will work with any LC/Performa/Quadra 63x/64x, LC/Performa 580/588, or Performa/Power Mac 5xxx/6xxx.

You should. A dial-up modem is completely useless nowadays (as I have experienced with my 5215) & I am sure you could get high-speed Internet access on your 5400 (the requirements, from what I hear, are not too great. A friend of mine has an old Thinkpad hooked up to their router, and he's running Win 98, so anything is possible).

Those CommSlot modems were useless even back in the day - they're actually a software based modem, just like the WinModems used in modern PCs today where the bulk of the work is done in software. On a fast, modern computer thats no big deal, but given that the Perfromas had a lot less power than modern computers, the extra overhead created by the WinModem used to really bog them down on the internet. And you also lost the use of the modem port - it wouldn't work and in fact on machines that shipped with a modem, there was a plastic plug covering the modem port to prevent you from using it. What a lot of people used to do to speed these machines up was to buy a proper hardware based external serial modem, pull the CS modem card and the plug covering the modem port, and plug in the external modem.

For the record, dialup internet sucks, but it is still somewhat usable, and a lot of people still use it...in fact for a lot of people it can often be their only form of internet connectivity available...I first got dialup Internet at home in 1998 and had it all the way up until 2009 when my finances finally permit me to upgrade to 3G broadband (ADSL isn't available where my parents live), honestly it was like going from a Daihatsu Charade to a Bugatti Veyron.

 

[Scott Baret]

Be careful about using Sony remotes near those IR-equipped Macs. When I had a 5200 for a brief period of time, it would turn on whenever I turned my Sony TV on with the remote. I seem to remember reading once that Macs used Sony technology for these sensors. Not sure what the Mac TV used.

 

[Concorde1993]

And you also lost the use of the modem port - it wouldn't work and in fact on machines that shipped with a modem, there was a plastic plug covering the modem port to prevent you from using it. What a lot of people used to do to speed these machines up was to buy a proper hardware based external serial modem, pull the CS modem card and the plug covering the modem port, and plug in the external modem.

Yes, that's completely true. My 5215 does not have a modem port because of the Global Fax modem that was installed on it instead (which sucks, because the Global Fax is rated at 28k, while my old USRobotics external modem, which requires to be hooked up to either the printer port, or the modem port, is rated at 56k). I could use the USRobotics one, but I no longer have an AOL account (got rid of it last week in favour of Rogers Hi-Speed), and I would not be able to print out anything as the printer port would be utilized by the modem.

I first got dialup Internet at home in 1998 and had it all the way up until 2009 when my finances finally permit me to upgrade to 3G broadband (ADSL isn't available where my parents live), honestly it was like going from a Daihatsu Charade to a Bugatti Veyron.

My grandfather started the Internet craze in our family when he purchased an Internet plan from Bell back in 1997. I remember on my Win 3.1 desktop using Netscape Communicator as my browser, which was replaced by Internet Explorer when I received my Win 98 computer (refurbished, of course) in 1999.

When my mom purchased her now-deceased HP desktop in 2003, she went with AOL dial-up, and stuck with them until last week after having to purchase a new computer that was not "56k modem friendly."

Bottom line- we've used dial-up for too long. It's great to finally have Hi-Speed, and to have the main phone line unoccupied simultaneously.

 

[LCGuy]

Yes, that's completely true. My 5215 does not have a modem port because of the Global Fax modem that was installed on it instead (which sucks, because the Global Fax is rated at 28k, while my old USRobotics external modem, which requires to be hooked up to either the printer port, or the modem port, is rated at 56k). I could use the USRobotics one, but I no longer have an AOL account (got rid of it last week in favour of Rogers Hi-Speed), and I would not be able to print out anything as the printer port would be utilized by the modem.

As I said - pull the CommSlot modem and pop the plug off the modem port. You will find that there actually is a modem port there, its just covered to prevent you from using it when the modem is installed. With the modem out that serial port becomes fully available, and you can connect any serial device to it - including your USRobotics modem. As I said - lots of people used to do this back int he day.