 | This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. (September 2017) |
 A Macintosh Performa 5200 | |
| Developer | Apple Computer, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Product family | Power Macintosh, Performa, LC |
| Type | All-in-one |
| Release date | April 3, 1995 |
| Introductory price | US$1,699 (equivalent to $3,400 in 2023) |
| Discontinued | March 1, 1997 |
| Operating system | System 7.5.1 - Mac OS 9.1 (except 7.5.2) |
| CPU | 5200 LC: PowerPC 603, 75 MHz 5300 LC: PowerPC 603e, 100 and 120 MHz |
| Dimensions | Height: 17.5 inches (440 mm) Width: 16 inches (410 mm) Depth: 15.1 inches (380 mm) |
| Mass | 17 pounds (7.7 kg) |
| Predecessor | Macintosh LC 550 Macintosh LC 575 Macintosh Color Classic II |
| Successor | Power Macintosh 5260 Power Macintosh 5400 |
The Power Macintosh 5200 LC and Power Macintosh 5300 LC are a line of personal computers that were a part of Apple Computer's Power Macintosh, LC, and Performa families of Macintosh computers. It was mainly sold in the North American education market. When it was sold to the consumer market, they were marketed as the Performa 5200 and Performa 5300.
The Power Macintosh 5200 LC was introduced in April 1995 with a PowerPC 603 CPU at 75 MHz as a PowerPC-based replacement of the Macintosh LC 500 series. Later models switched to the PowerPC 603e CPU and used model numbers above 5300, but kept the same motherboard design. Unlike previous education models, which prepended the model number with "LC", the 5200 / 5300 models use the Power Macintosh designation of Apple's main workstation line of the time, with "LC" appended to the end.
The 5200 is closely related to the 6200, which uses the same logic boards in desktop cases without integrated monitors.
In an editorial, MacWorld Magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Adrian Mello, wrote of the 5200: "The all-in-one design exhibits a lot of the same spirit that Apple vested in the original Macintosh. A deceptive minimalism belies this machine's utility and value. Apple has again figured out how to package a full-featured computer into the simplest possible shape. [...] Its predecessors, which include the Performa 520, 550, 575 and now 580, all offer good functionality and value, but they lack the 5200's design integrity. In comparison, their efforts to mimic the appearance of a conventional three-piece desktop computer just made them look clumsy."[1]
Production of the 5200 and 5300 models was discontinued in the first half of 1996, with the PowerPC 603e-based Power Macintosh 5260 (with Performa 5260CD and 5270CD variants) and Power Macintosh 5400 (with Performa 5400CD, 5410CD and 5420CD variants) being offered as replacements at different price points. The 5260 retained the overall design of the 5200 and was sold at a similar price point with similar features, but shared no parts other than the stand and lower faceplate.[2][3] The more expensive 5400 was also visually similar but with a significantly different motherboard that offered PCI instead of Processor Direct Slot expansion.
- ^ Mello, Adrian (June 1995). "Heir to the Mac Classic - A new model shows how, at Apple, design is the difference". Macworld. Vol. 12, no. 6. pp. 19–20.
- ^ "Power Macintosh/Performa 5200 and 5300 (not 5260, 5280) - Apple Service Source" (PDF). Apple. (see last page)
- ^ "Power Macintosh/Performa 5260, 5280 Series - Apple Service Source" (PDF). Apple. (see last page)