Power Macintosh · The Beige Era · 1996
Power Macintosh 5400
The 5400 carried the LC all-in-one idea into the PowerPC era, common in classrooms and consumer Performa packages.
Power Macintosh 5400: key facts
When was the Power Macintosh 5400 released?
The Power Macintosh 5400 was released in April 1996. Apple discontinued it in March 1998.
How much did the Power Macintosh 5400 cost?
The Power Macintosh 5400 launched at $1,600 in 1996 — about $3,259 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).
What are the Power Macintosh 5400’s specs?
The Power Macintosh 5400 used a PowerPC 603e running at 120 MHz, with 16 MB of memory and 1.2 GB of storage. It ran System 7.
Why does the Power Macintosh 5400 matter?
PowerPC all-in-one for education and home buyers.
Full specifications
| CPU | PowerPC 603e · 120 MHz |
|---|---|
| Cores | 1 |
| Memory (RAM) | 16 MB (up to 136 MB) |
| Storage | 1.2 GB |
| Display | 15" color CRT all-in-one |
| GPU | Integrated / NuBus video |
| Ports | SCSI, ADB, serial |
| Weight | Varies by configuration |
| Dimensions | All-in-one desktop |
| Operating system | System 7 |
| Released | April 1996 |
| Discontinued | March 1998 |
| Launch price | $1,600 |
How the Power Macintosh 5400 compares to today
A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 1,020× more memory than this device shipped with.
At 120 MHz, the clock is roughly 27× slower than a single performance core of a 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro — and that is before counting cores, width and IPC.
All of this storage holds about 300 modern phone photos.
Launched at $1,600 in 1996 — about $3,259 in today’s money (approx., US CPI).
Cross-architecture speed figures are clock-only and approximate; inflation figures use US CPI.
Did you know?
It is the kind of model collectors use to map Apple’s complicated family tree.
Related Power Macintosh models
Open the Power Macintosh 5400 in the interactive archive →
Last updated: 2026-06-27