Help! Which OS to install, ML, L or SL on a 2008 MacBook Pro

[elliecut]

Hi all,

I have an early 2008 Macbook Pro. These are the specs from everymac:


Intro. Date:
February 26, 2008
Disc. Date:
October 14, 2008
Order No:
MB133LL/A
Model No:
A1260 (EMC 2198)
Subfamily:
Early 2008
Model ID:
MacBookPro4,1
Std. RAM:
2 GB
Std. VRAM:
256 MB
Std. HD:
200 GB (5400 RPM)
Std. Optical:
8X DL "SuperDrive"
Complete MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 15" (08) Specs

I have never installed a new OS so am still running 10.5.8. I'm not very technical and my mac has served me well all these years so I've never seen any reason to change it. However, my partner has just got Office 365 and I'd like to use one of the subscriptions which means I need os x 10.6 or higher.

My question is this: should I update to snow leopard or go all the way to mountain lion? Can I even install ML on my macbook pro? I can't afford to get a new mac right now so I'm trying to make this one last as long as possible. I recently got a new logic board installed (paid for by apple) so i'm hoping that will extend its life a wee bit.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks,
Elliecut.

 

[ConCat]

I'd go with Mountain Lion, and yes, you can install it on that computer.

 

[elliecut]

I thought I read somewhere that you need snow leopard already installed to upgrade to mountain lion. But you think I'll be fine going straight from leopard to mountain lion?

 

[Jessica Lares]

I thought I read somewhere that you need snow leopard already installed to upgrade to mountain lion. But you think I'll be fine going straight from leopard to mountain lion?

I would go with Snow Leopard for now. Just because you don't have very much RAM. I'm on a 2011 MacBook Pro, and I have issues and I'm using 4GB.

 

[ConCat]

I thought I read somewhere that you need snow leopard already installed to upgrade to mountain lion. But you think I'll be fine going straight from leopard to mountain lion?

Oh right. You can't do it without the App Store... It seems you can get SL from Apple by contacting Customer Service for $19.99 and then upgrade to ML from it. SL is decent enough I suppose, but it's already at the tail end of support for most apps out there. It doesn't seem advantageous to stick with it. The added features are nice too.

 

[elliecut]

Cool thanks for your help. I'll install SL and if the mac is happy with that I'll move up to ML.

 

[ConCat]

Cool thanks for your help. I'll install SL and if the mac is happy with that I'll move up to ML.

I suggest you consider investing in a RAM upgrade though. As Jessica said, it can get a little dicey with 2GB of RAM, but that really depends heavily on what you're doing. My grandmother's laptop has 2GB and Mountain Lion and she doesn't have any issues, but then again all she does on it is check eMail and Facebook and watch Netflix.