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Is it Worth It to 'Upgrade to Leopard' on 1 Yr Old MB?

A

ArchiMark

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Appreciate everyone's input to help me decide whether or not to take the plunge and 'upgrade to Leopard' on my 1 year old MB C2D....

I put 'upgrade to Leopard' in quotes as from reading various posts it seems that many users have been having problems with Leopard or think it runs slower than Tiger..so, quite a few people say they will 'upgrade back to Tiger'....

Overall, Tiger, latest version, works pretty well for me on my MB.

Only problem I have is with getting disconnected from internet message lately...think it started after the last Tiger update...but I also changed from AirPort base station/DSL modem combo to an all-in-one Diamond SupraMax DSL Modem/WiFi/Ethernet Router...so don't know for sure which is the problem....

Anyway, the only compelling feature that I see in Leopard is TimeMachine, but even that can be pretty much replicated by other 3rd party solutions....

Anyone want to convince me why I should 'upgrade to Leopard' or not???

Thanks!

Mark
 
I think so. Leopard flies on my Macbook, and the small differences (e.g. borderless QT) are great, and Quick Look makes all the difference.
 
It's worth the upgrade on a 3 year old iBook, definitely on anything Intel. Leopard is much improved over Tiger.
 
As with .Mac, it all depends on your situation and your needs. If you were to buy a Time Capsule, the laptop backups would become vastly simplified, so that'd be a plus. I find that the ability to see remote desktops via iChat to be profoundly useful, far better than Chicken of the VNC, and I hope it'll come in handy when my parents need help the next time, now that that have a Leopard system as well.

I've had some issues with sleep/waking on my MBP, but that might or might not be due to Leopard.

I use Spaces constantly, and I'm working on getting the improved Parental controls set up.

However, if there are no appealing reasons for you to upgrade, I'd wait. It's not that noticeably different from Tiger for most users who do not use/need/want the new features. I personally am glad I upgraded to it, though.
 
I wouldnt upgrade to Leopard on Time Machine alone as this has yet to work for me. I tried 3 times now and it just doesnt want to play.
As each first time you use it takes an age I have now given up on it and use Backup 3 that comes with Dot Mac.
There are other great benefits of Leopard though and a massive one for me was pressing the centre mouse button to enable spaces.
 
I upgraded my early '06 MacBook to leopard as soon as it was released. Glad I did too - it's quick and just *nicer*. Hard to say exactly why but it feels more polished than Tiger and made my MB feel new again.

There have been some issues but I've had no probs myself. Don't forget that people who are happy with a product are less likely to shout about it on forums 😉
 
ArchiMark said:
...it seems that many users have been having problems with Leopard or think it runs slower than Tiger
Click to expand...

If anything, Leopard is faster than Tiger on comparable hardware (unless you are on constrained RAM like 512MB). And although there are always some teething problems with a new OS, most of them should be handled by now, especially when 10.5.2 comes out soon.
 
Thanks for your input! Leaning Towards Upgrading Now...

THANKS! to everyone who's posted so far, this feedback is very helpful and quite encouraging....so, now, leaning towards taking the plunge again....

😉
 
Eraserhead said:
What the problem its been fairly painless for me???
Click to expand...

It seems to stop and start, I have left it going overnight before and it hadnt even done a full backup so at first I thought there was a problem with my external drive but there wasnt.
There was another error that was generated but I am sorry I cant remember what it was, I stopped trying to get it working about 2 weeks after Leopard was out thinking that it would have updates and maybe work when I tried again in a few months.
Its no big deal anyway, like I said I just use Backup 3. 🙂
 
ive got leopard running on an iBook that's closing in on 3 years old as well as a white intel iMac, definitely worth the upgrade, all the new features are great, i especially have developed a liking for time machine and the few stacks i have in my dock, also Mail much improved and quicklook is great!

take the plunge as you put it!
 
My MB is 19 months old, and I will not be installing 10.5 on my MB just yet, I WILL try it on my Mini tho (since I got cheap one off craigslist for $35)

My MB is my main working computer, Rev A, following concerns stop me from considering leopard

1. I use Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2.
2. I heard network dropping problem
3. I have too much data need to be backed up in the process, kinda too lazy for that project right now
4. I tried Leopard in an Apple store, I don't really see compelling reason for putting it on my MB
5. MB battery can only hold 1.5 hours power now, Applecare rep told me its "normal", which I don't buy it
6. Screen is flickering in first 5 minutes after I turn on the machine, Im not sure if it will just die on me soon.
 
Despite a few bugs here and there (which should be squashed very soon with the 10.5.2 update), Leopard has made my computer run better than before. I have a late 2006 Intel iMac C2D 2.0 ghz with 2.5 gb ram. I'm not sure, so it might be a reverse placebo effect (if that is such a thing), I do think, however, that it takes a little longer to boot into Leopard than Tiger. But, it seems to shut down much quicker.

I have noticed that Leopard is much better at using the dual cores than Tiger was. Computer-intensive apps are a little more responsive now. Leopard is also a little better at giving ram back to the pool for use again once I quit an application. I think the improvements under the hood really make Leopard better than Tiger, and these are noticeable even on machines few years old. I should note, however, that my iBook G4 runs Leopard fairly slowly. The only thing keeping me from putting Tiger back on it is I already paid for the family pack.

So far, the only bugs I've encountered have been with Mail, Safari, and a little bit of a sleep insomnia issue. As far as the core OS goes, Leopard has been very good.

I think you'll like it. YMMV.
 
What About Older PhotoShop Version?

Thanks for the additional replies...all helps!

Meanwhile, clevin's post got me wondering whether my old version of PhotoShop will run in Leopard. It's the last version before Adobe came out with the CS series of apps....

Anyone know if there'll be a problem running it in Leopard?

😕
 
ArchiMark said:
Appreciate everyone's input to help me decide whether or not to take the plunge and 'upgrade to Leopard' on my 1 year old MB C2D....

I put 'upgrade to Leopard' in quotes as from reading various posts it seems that many users have been having problems with Leopard or think it runs slower than Tiger..so, quite a few people say they will 'upgrade back to Tiger'....

Overall, Tiger, latest version, works pretty well for me on my MB.

Only problem I have is with getting disconnected from internet message lately...think it started after the last Tiger update...but I also changed from AirPort base station/DSL modem combo to an all-in-one Diamond SupraMax DSL Modem/WiFi/Ethernet Router...so don't know for sure which is the problem....

Anyway, the only compelling feature that I see in Leopard is TimeMachine, but even that can be pretty much replicated by other 3rd party solutions....

Anyone want to convince me why I should 'upgrade to Leopard' or not???

Thanks!

Mark
Click to expand...

Just do not choose Update as your install choice... choose Archive and Install or do a clean install but not update.... you can search the forum for why.
 
ArchiMark said:
Anyone know if there'll be a problem running it in Leopard?

😕
Click to expand...

no, photoshop 7.0.x will not run in leopard
http://www.fixya.com/support/t273974-photoshop_7_0
Unfortunately the "official" word is out. Photoshop 7.0, 7.0.1 is not compatible with Apple's newest Operating System, Leopard (10.5).
Adobe Photoshop versions CS (8.0) CS2 (9.0) and CS3 (10.0) do run in Leopard but may have some issues. The only suggestion I have for you is either revert back to Tiger (10,4) or upgrade your Photoshop to CS3. Adobe offers a discounted upgrade price from 7.0, CS1, CS2 to CS3 for $199. That's a lot better then paying the full retail price of $649.00. I wish I had a better suggested solution for you. You're not alone on this one.
Click to expand...
 
ArchiMark said:
Well, after reading some of the recent posts, I think I understand why....

😉
Click to expand...

Yep, any flaws are blown WAY out of proportion.

Apple lists three hundred compelling reasons to change on the Leopard website.

Although honestly, only about fifty of them are compelling enough to make someone upgrade.

I could probably go back to Tiger and only miss about a dozen of the features hourly. But the network flakiness Tiger of compared to the stability of Leopard would make it very, very frustrating.
 
CashGap said:
Yep, any flaws are blown WAY out of proportion.

Apple lists three hundred compelling reasons to change on the Leopard website.

Although honestly, only about fifty of them are compelling enough to make someone upgrade.

I could probably go back to Tiger and only miss about a dozen of the features hourly. But the network flakiness Tiger of compared to the stability of Leopard would make it very, very frustrating.
Click to expand...

Good points, CashGap!.....but which 50 are the compelling reasons?????

😉
 
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