Power Macintosh 5400
The Power Macintosh 5400 is an all-in-one Macintosh computer that was released in 1996. It shared the same case as the 5200 and 5300 Series, but with improved specifications.
Specifications
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Release Date | April 1996 |
| Discontinuation Date | February 1997 |
| Processor | PowerPC 603e @120, 180, or 200MHz |
| RAM | 2x 168-pin 70ns slots - 16MB Standard - 136MB Maximum |
| Hard Disk | 3.5" IDE - 1.2 or 1.6GB Standard |
| Display | 15" Shadow Mask CRT supporting the following resolutions: 832x642, 800x600, or 640x480 |
| Graphics | 1MB VRAM |
| Audio | - Stereo Speakers - Microphone |
| Internal Drives | - Manual Inject 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive - Tray-Loading 8X CD-ROM |
| Expansion | - 1x PCI Slot - 1x Comm Slot - 1x TV Slot - 1x Video I/O Slot |
| Networking | 10Base-T Ethernet |
| Other I/O | - 1x ADB - 2x Serial - 1x DB25 SCSI - 1x Mic In - 1x Line Out |
| PRAM Battery | 4.5V Alkaline block battery |
| Original Mac OS | System 7.5.3 |
| Maximum Mac OS | Mac OS 9.1 |
Power Macintosh 5400 Upgrades
SSD Upgrade
Check our page on IDE SSD replacements for more info.
Processor Upgrades
Upgrades were available to get up to PowerPC G3 @500MHz in a 5400.
Resources
 Service Manual |
|---|
Common Faults & Maintenance
PRAM Battery Leaks
The 5400 uses a 4.5V Alkaline battery for backing up the computer's PRAM. The original batteries are prone to leaking in their age and need to be removed immediately from any 5400.
Brittle Plastic and Yellowing
The 5400's case is now extremely brittle. These will not, and I repeat will not survive shipping. You can add all the packing material that you want, but I have only heard a single case in recent years of one of these arriving intact when shipped. If you are looking to purchase one, do it locally.
When disassembling, use extreme care with all parts. Any parts that are clipped in place should be hit with a hair dryer first to soften up the plastic a bit, or they will break.
Nearly all of these have also turned yellow to some extent. For those cases, a retrobrite process can restore them to the proper color.
Other Notes
Many original SCSI hard drives for these have gone bad, especially those made by Quantum, which suffer from sticky rubber bumpers in the head assembly.
The floppy drives in these often get too full of dust to work. A cleaning and relubrication will often bring back dead drives.
Page last updated (MM/DD/YYYY): 03/02/2025
Update Reason: pages consolidated, stylesheet updated
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