Upgrading from OSX 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard?

xEnOnn · Dec 9, 2012

I have a really old MacBook, which has been around for 5 years or so. It's still running on OSX 10.5.8, but recently after Apple has stopped its support for this version of OSX, many other applications also followed to stop supporting this version of OSX.

I intend to upgrade my OSX to Snow Leopard, but I'm not sure if first, my MacBook can support, second, even if I could install, is it going to slow my Macbook by a ton given that its hardware was probably designed to run on the OSX Leopard.

To provide more information for assessment, the following is the specs of my MacBook:

Code:

    Hardware Overview:
    
      Model Name:	MacBook
      Model Identifier:	MacBook4,1
      Processor Name:	Intel Core 2 Duo
      Processor Speed:	2.4 GHz
      Number Of Processors:	1
      Total Number Of Cores:	2
      L2 Cache:	3 MB
      Memory:	2 GB
      Bus Speed:	800 MHz
      Boot ROM Version:	MB41.00C1.B00
      SMC Version (system):	1.31f1

With the above specifications, does my MacBook support the upgrade and will there be any problems or anything that I need to take note when upgrading my MacBook from OSX 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard?

teleromeo · Dec 9, 2012

I have a MacBookPro 5,2 intel core 2 duo running Os X 10.6.8 so my guess is it will work. Anyway you'll have to find an install DVD since they are no longer available through apple.
I had to upgrade some applications that stopped working after installing snow leopard. Have a look at this page for very usefull compatibility information

rampancy · Dec 9, 2012

xEnOnn said:
I have a really old MacBook, which has been around for 5 years or so. It's still running on OSX 10.5.8

IMHO, upgrading older Intel Mac hardware (Core Solo/Duo- and Core 2 Duo-based Macs) to Snow Leopard shouldn't even be a question. Snow Leopard is the OS that all older Intel hardware should be running, not just due to third-party software compatibility issues, but because the vast majority of software now requires 10.6.x as a baseline, and most now require 10.7.x. I think everyone pretty much agrees that in terms of stability and speed, Snow Leopard is far superior to Leopard. Also, in my own experience, I've not been impressed with Lion's sluggishness on my C2D MacBook Pro.

Lucky for you, Apple has apparently just put 10.6 back up on the Apple Store, I guess due to all of those people running 10.5 or 10.4 on their Macs, and all of a sudden realizing that their brand new iPads and iPhones need newer versions of iTunes (which require 10.6).

GGJstudios · Dec 9, 2012

xEnOnn said:
I intend to upgrade my OSX to Snow Leopard, but I'm not sure if first, my MacBook can support

Yes, it supports OS X up to 10.7.5 (Lion). You can find specs on all Apple products, including maximum OS, by visiting EveryMac.com.

xEnOnn said:
even if I could install, is it going to slow my Macbook by a ton given that its hardware was probably designed to run on the OSX Leopard.

No, it won't slow your Mac's performance.

xEnOnn · Dec 9, 2012

GGJstudios said:
No, it won't slow your Mac's performance.

Seriously? Not even if I upgrade it all the way to Mountain Lion? I am expecting a new OS to use even more system resources and therefore may bog down an old machine?

I checked the Apple store but I can only find them selling the Mountain Lion OSX.

rampancy · Dec 9, 2012

xEnOnn said:
Seriously? Not even if I upgrade it all the way to Mountain Lion? I am expecting a new OS to use even more system resources and therefore may bog down an old machine?

I checked the Apple store but I can only find them selling the Mountain Lion OSX.

Judging from your config and from my own experience, unless you upgrade your memory (the max should be 6 GB) you'll see disappointing performance in Mountain Lion or Lion. But the question of Mountain Lion is kind of a moot point anyway as 10.7 is the highest you can go with your model of MacBook.

But as I said, you can buy Snow Leopard from Apple (just not the App Store): http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

throAU · Dec 9, 2012

xEnOnn said:
Seriously? Not even if I upgrade it all the way to Mountain Lion? I am expecting a new OS to use even more system resources and therefore may bog down an old machine?

I checked the Apple store but I can only find them selling the Mountain Lion OSX.

You will notice that Lion and probably Mountain lion will want more memory for good performance than you have.

But in my experience, Snow Leopard was faster than Leopard. So upgrade to that.

GGJstudios · Dec 9, 2012

xEnOnn said:
Seriously? Not even if I upgrade it all the way to Mountain Lion?

Did you read my post? I said it can support up to Lion, not Mountain Lion. It will not support ML.

xEnOnn said:
I am expecting a new OS to use even more system resources and therefore may bog down an old machine?

You asked specifically about Snow Leopard, which will not slow your computer.

xEnOnn said:
I checked the Apple store but I can only find them selling the Mountain Lion OSX.

You need to call Apple to buy Snow Leopard.

Weaselboy · Dec 9, 2012

GGJstudios said:
You need to call Apple to buy Snow Leopard.

It is in the Apple Store online.

GGJstudios · Dec 9, 2012

Weaselboy said:
It is in the Apple Store online.

Cool! Thanks!

Sorcie · Dec 12, 2012

Hi, sorry for digging up the post.
I myself have the same question for my MB.
After some research, I've found out that Snow leopard is the best choice for my old MB. But mine is an older version than xEnOnn's, the late 2007, and it has only 1GB of RAM. It is quite impossible to upgrade the RAM here where I live. So can I have some advices on whether I should update my OS to Snow leopard please?

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook3,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB31.008E.B02
SMC Version (system): 1.24f3

Thanks in advance!

brop52 · Dec 16, 2012

Sorcie said:
Hi, sorry for digging up the post.
I myself have the same question for my MB.
After some research, I've found out that Snow leopard is the best choice for my old MB. But mine is an older version than xEnOnn's, the late 2007, and it has only 1GB of RAM. It is quite impossible to upgrade the RAM here where I live. So can I have some advices on whether I should update my OS to Snow leopard please?

Thanks in advance!

Where do you live?

Sorcie · Dec 20, 2012

brop52 said:
Where do you live?

Hmmm, the end of the world I may say.
In a small city of Vietnam. Last time my airport card died and I had to go to the biggest city of the country to have it replaced.

brop52 · Dec 20, 2012

Sorcie said:
Hmmm, the end of the world I may say.
In a small city of Vietnam. Last time my airport card died and I had to go to the biggest city of the country to have it replaced.

I'm betting there are some ebay sellers willing to ship to you.

minifridge1138 · Dec 21, 2012

I'm running Snow Leopard on a mid-2007 with 2 gigs of ram. i have no problems with it at all. So I'd recommend that the OP go for it.

As for the poster from Vietnam, I'm not as confident of using it with 1 gig of ram, but I'd still do it. Snow Leopard was an optimized version of Leopard for Intel hardware, so I'd expect it to run as well or better than 10.5 with the same hardware.

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