First Generation G4 to Newest OS X ???

[matthew1114]

My fiancee is convinced that if I add the newest OS X software to my computer that it will run much smoother and faster. It does have the first OS X package and runs rather slow most of time. I would think that the newer OS X would just slow down an older computer even more.

Any answers?

 

[spinnerlys]

If you mean Leopard by newest OS X, then be aware, that Mac OS X 10.5 needs at least 867MHz to run, but some have managed to run it on slower machines.
I would advise you to go to Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) at maximum, as it wouldn't strain the G4 so hard.
I ran Tiger on my iBook, and it was wonderful, but as soon as I upgraded to Leopard on that 1GHz G4 with 1.25GB RAM, it ran much slower, and the fan started to kick in more often.

You can also have a look at Everymac.com, for lsiting of the maximum OS one Mac will support.
Here is an example of the first G4 iMac: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/stats/imac_700_fp.html

 

[toolbox]

I was able to get it running on my powerbook G4 running at 867 and it's was struggling even after upgrading to a faster hard disk and extra memory. It still was unable to handle leopard.

Tiger well that runs perfectly.

 

[gr8tfly]

Are you talking about a first gen G4 PowerBook or PowerMac? In either case, the first gens were far below the minimum requirements for Leopard.

I had an 867 G4 PowerMac with Leopard server running fine, but wasn't taxing it much. I now have a 933 PowerMac, with better GPU and more RAM - 10.5 runs fine on it.

My sister has a 1GHz Al PowerBook running 10.5 - it seems to run fine, but obviously has some trouble handling hi-res YouTube and some Flash. That's not a PowerMac, though. They will handle 10.5 better than the PowerBook.

If you have a PowerBook 667 or earlier, I wouldn't bother trying to put 10.5 on it. If it needs an upgrade, go with 10.4, Tiger.