Can Mac OS X 10.7.5 "Lion" be installed on a late-2006 iMac?

[King Mustard]

• Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 (1.83 GHz, 64-bit) (1,028 PassMark CPU score)
• 17" display (1440×900)
• 2 GB RAM (DDR2 PC5300 SODIMM 667 MHz)
• 160 GB hard disk drive (SATA, 7,200 RPM)
• Intel GMA 950 (64 MB shared memory)
• 24× combo drive (DVD-ROM, CD-RW)
• Internal AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g)
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Apple Remote infrared receiver
• iSight Camera (640×480, 0.3 MP)
• Mini-DVI video out
• 3× USB 2.0 ports
• 2× Firewire 400
• Headphone/digital audio output
• Audio line-in/digital audio input
• Mac OS X 10.6.8 "Snow Leopard"

Wikipedia states, "Maximum operating system: Mac OS X 10.7.5 "Lion". Mac OS X 10.6.8 "Snow Leopard" where < 2 GiB RAM is available."

However, the system has 2 GB RAM.

Software Update shows no updates.

Any ideas?

 

[redheeler]

Mac OS X Lion is not a free update, you can still get it from here. It's worth noting that Lion performance is worse compared to Snow Leopard on older hardware such as your Late 2006 iMac, but it is supported and will install with 2 GB RAM.

 

[Guy Clark]

Yes the late 2006 can run Lion but with 2GB RAM performance will take a hit. Better off sticking with Snow Leopard which is still to this best release of OS X. Bear in mind Steam and Spotify are no longer supported and the best browser to use is Firefox 45.9 ESR
https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/45.9.0esr/mac/

If you don't mind running older versions of software then Snow Leopard is still a viable option in 2018.

 

[Fishrrman]

You can run Lion if you want.
I use it on my own white Intel 24" iMac.
I also have a copy of Snow Leopard I can boot from if need be.