Won a Performa 5210CD, importing it. What should I look out for?

[k24a1]

I've heard these computers are not particularly reliable, but I wanted one anyway for the hell of it. I'm importing one from japan with protective packaging via Sendico and I am getting it in about 3-4 months time because of surface mail. However, I've also heard that some of these computers suffer from reliability issues (I saw the one I won was made in September of '95) and that Apple ended up having to internally redesign the computer.
So I'd like some input, what should I watch out for? I've been looking for one of these macs for a while and as soon as I saw that Apple ran a repair program for these macs, I knew something had been going on. Obviously I know this is basically a Quadra 630 on steroids, although I do plan to install a PCI based PowerMac board in here (there are some that fit if I'm correct!).

Any input would be appreciated. I've been looking after a system of this form factor since I was in 2nd grade a little over a decade ago for some... strange reason. Thank you.

 

[CircuitBored]

First and foremost: plastics. The 5XXX series of Performas and PowerMacs are well-known to simply turn to dust at a moment's notice. If yours is black then it will be even worse, although I don't think they made 5210s in black. Be extremely careful when taking that thing apart, especially when removing the front CD/floppy bezel. The threaded holes where the screws meet the plastic tend to shatter so you must meet the original thread alignment when reinserting the screws. You can crack the case plastics just by lifting the machine wrong. Be sure to lift from the centre of the machine and avoid compressing the sides as much as possible. Don't try to retrobrite it, it'll crumble.

Obviously I know this is basically a Quadra 630 on steroids, although I do plan to install a PCI based PowerMac board in here

The 5210CD is a PowerPC Mac with a 75MHz 603 CPU. I don't believe that this model had a CPU cache slot so if you want to install a CPU upgrade you will need the logic board from a later 5XXX or 6XXX PowerMac. The 5500/6500 board is the one to have as it has a built-in graphics card but these are increasingly hard to find and they also do not fit the original rear panel plastics. The 5300 and 5400 series logic boards are still a huge leap up in CPU power and will fit properly with the original plastics. In short, you are pretty much stuck with the original CPU unless you replace the logic board.

The power and analogue boards on these machines are fairly nightmarish. They have dozens of electrolytic caps in very awkward positions and there tends to be hot glue mess everywhere. You cannot operate the power supply without the analogue board connected, and you cannot operate the analogue board without the CRT connected. This means that troubleshooting these boards is incredibly hard, dangerous work.

One of the most fun things about these Macs is the A/V card. You can hook up period-appropriate games consoles for some retro fun and even record and edit footage to make silly montages. If your 5210 doesn't have one I recommend grabbing one just for the pure fun factor.

Similarly, these Macs are infuriating to use without ethernet. Get yourself a CS ethernet card if you can so you don't waste hours transferring stuff on floppy disks or CDs.

The CD and floppy drives in this model are cheap and nasty so be ready for trouble with those.

The IDE implementation on this model is moronic and the range of modern-ish disks that work with it is very limited. I have yet to find an SD-based storage solution that works.

The system fan is in the very centre of the machine and requires the removal of everything but the CRT in order to replace it. You should do this, as this model is prone to overheating and the original fans have not aged well.

Don't be put off by what seems like a long list of potential failures. I think these are one of the most underrated Mac formats but they are undeniably an "enthusiast-tier" machine with the amount of work they tend to need. Enjoy!

 

[k24a1]

Well hopefully everything goes well with this one. Sendico seems to be a very nice service for importing goods from Japan, too. I'd definitely recommend it over Buyee, although their site is kinda janky sometimes.

 

[k24a1]

Uh-oh.

 

[Johnnya101]

Oh no

 

[rjkucia]

View attachment 39774
Uh-oh.

At least they included the nice little emoticon to make it a little easier to swallow

 

[k24a1]

Well, if this doesn't go through, if anyone's willing to sell me a Performa 5000-series Macintosh, hit me up. Shipping will still be expensive as you'd have to pack it real well...

 

[rjkucia]

Well, if this doesn't go through, if anyone's willing to sell me a Performa 5000-series Macintosh, hit me up. Shipping will still be expensive as you'd have to pack it real well...

What's the cost difference between surface and air? Worst case you can probably find someone in Japan who would want a good deal on it and ship it to them, I wouldn't want them to end up destroying a perfectly good computer.

 

[k24a1]

Surface is around 13000JPY, FedEx is around 56000JPY.
I'm not going to pay $500 for a Performa 5200 to mess with and upgrade. lol

 

[rjkucia]

Surface is around 13000JPY, FedEx is around 56000JPY.
I'm not going to pay $500 for a Performa 5200 to mess with and upgrade. lol

Yikes! Yeah I can't say I blame you.

 

[rjkucia]

If you can't find anyone on here to take it, you can try TinkerDifferent - I know they have at least a few members in Japan

 

[k24a1]

Alright. Not sure if Sendico will allow such a thing, but I'm sure someone will enjoy working with it. Shame I can't seem to find an intact 5000-series Power Macintosh myself. My bike got stolen at the recycling center and I'm not going to risk going there again.

 

[LaPorta]

Did someone cut the chain off it??

 

[k24a1]

They managed to cut my lock off (SOMEHOW...) and just took off with it. I wasn't there to see it.

Louisville's west end is truly a fight-or-flight inducing area.

 

[LaPorta]

Man, that really is rough....geez...

 

[k24a1]

Sure is. Unfortunately there is no other recycler here, let alone one with a "Safe Place" sign on it.
One of the reasons I want to move out of Louisville once I'm older.

 

[Franklinstein]

Sucks about the bike. People are the worst. You're in KY, yeah? Unless there's another Louisville somewhere. They're not like Springfield.

Anyway the 5210 is a 5200/75LC with a non-USA badge. The education model was all over schools in the States though so it shouldn't be that hard to find one. Of course as noted they're mostly dust by now. If this falls through and you don't have another one in a year or two, I may have one you can take off my hands (assuming it survives the move back to the States).

I don't have any info regarding specific service bulletins for these models, but they were many, just like the PB 5300. Also like the 5300, if the service(s) have been performed, there's usually an associated sticker placed on the machine somewhere (usually on one of the labels on the back). Most of these repairs seem to have been for power or video-related problems.

These were low-end models (the only AIO models sold at the time) in the same class as the 62xx. This means they shared the same sad logic board based on the 75MHz 603. I'm not terribly interested in retreading any arguments about why it was a sad little thing because it has been covered all over the place, but basically there were a number of cost-cutting measures and the end result was a machine with roughly the same performance as a 6100/60, only not as capable from stock but selling for about the same price (assuming you were comparing end-of-life sale/refurb 6100s to new 52/62xx models). Much of the cost-cutting was beneficial to a degree: you could use basically the same expansion cards as the earlier Q630 and LC models (no processor upgrades though), the hard drives were cheaper and easier to get after a few years, and RAM didn't have to be installed in pairs. Later models with the 100 or 120MHz 603e CPUs were markedly better than the early 75MHz units, partially because of the doubled L1 caches but also thanks to the increased clock speed (both of the CPU and the system bus). It was still essentially a Q630 with a built-in PPC upgrade but now it was actually properly usable.
If you want to put in a PCI-based logic board, you're going to have to modify the wiring harness. At the very least, for the 55/6500 Gazelle boards, you'll have to remove one of the ground pins. Some people have apparently gotten these to work without also adding a 3.3v regulator but I've never had one be stable without it. For the 54/6400 Alchemy boards you'll need to cut that same ground pin and install a 3.3v regulator on it or it won't work at all.

As mentioned, though, try not to disassemble it unless necessary. It probably won't go back together.

 

[k24a1]

Yes, I'm in KY. Here we have quite a high crime rate... and there are FEW areas where it's safe. Luckily I do live in such an area, but the recycler I went to is on the polar opposite of that scale.
Not sure if I will end up getting this and I can't seem to ship it to another domestic japanese address. I might be interested in your unit considering that school surpluses around me don't usually have computers. All of them told me to go to GovDeals. No dice.

On the bright side, I have a 20" iSight iMac G5 coming along with a Performa 6360 with a G3 card. Shame about the 5210, I always thought old all-in-one Macintosh systems were cool. They're not exactly easy to find too.

 

[LaPorta]

I'll actually soon be just a few hours north in Fort Wayne.

 

[k24a1]

Nice. Thinking of moving to somewhere more up north when I'm older. I've always never really liked it here.