The PowerBook 5300 series was the first generation of PowerBook laptops manufactured by Apple Computer to use the PowerPC processor. Released in August 1995, these PowerBooks were notable for being the first to feature hot-swappable expansion modules for a variety of different units such as ZIP drives; PC card slots as standard; and an infrared communication port. In common with most preceding Macintosh portables, SCSI, Serial, and ADB ports were available as standard. An internal expansion slot was also available for installing a variety of modules including Ethernet and video cards to drive a second monitor in mirroring or dual-screen modes.

The Apple Macintosh PowerBook 5300/100 features a 100 MHz PowerPC 603e processor, 8 MB of RAM, and a 500 MB hard drive in a portable black case with a 9.5" grayscale passive-matrix display. Although the PowerBook 5300/100 only supports 4-bit grayscale, a video card can be added to support up-to 16-bit color on an external monitor. Although the PowerBook 5300 series heralded a couple of firsts -- it was the first PowerBook line to have PowerPC processors and "hot swappable" drive bays -- it was initially plagued by battery and quality problems and required "reworking" by Apple to perform well.

Introduction Date: August 28, 1995 Discontinued Date: August 1, 1996
Processor Speed: 100 MHz Processor Type: PowerPC 603e
Details: This model has a 32-bit processor and a 64-bit data path.
System Bus Speed: 33.3 MHz Cache Bus Speed: N/A
ROM/Firmware Type: Macintosh ROM ROM/Firmware Size: 4 MB
RAM Type: DRAM Card* Min. RAM Speed: 70 ns
Standard RAM: 8 MB Maximum RAM: 64 MB
Details: Supports up to 64 MB with a series specific memory module installed.
Motherboard RAM: 8 MB RAM Slots: 1
Video Card: Dedicated* VRAM Type: Onboard
Built-in Display: 9.5" Grayscale Native Resolution: 640x480
Standard Hard Drive: 500 MB Int. HD Interface: IDE
Standard Optical: None Standard Disk: 1.44 MB* (Manual)
Standard Modem: 28.8k (Optional) Standard Ethernet: None
Expansion Slots: 2 Type II PC Card* Expansion Bays: None
Apple Model No: M2785
Battery Type: NiMH Battery Life: 2.5-4.5 Hours
Original Mac OS: 7.5.2 Supported Mac OS: 7.5.2-9.1
Dimensions: 2.0 x 11.5 x 8.5 Avg. Weight: 5.9 lbs (2.7 kg)
Original Price: US$2200

Our machine was very kindly donated by Dr David Nichols from the University Of Waikato, New Zealand.

Manufacturer: Apple
Date: 1995

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH20975. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.

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