Should I upgrade to Mavericks

[skier777]

I have a MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) that is currently running OSX 10.8.5 and im wondering if i will run into any issues if i upgrade the software to 10.9.

What benefits will it offer and what issues if any will I have. Essentially is there good reason for me to upgrade.

This is a list of the applications i have on my machine. Will there be problems with a lot of my software?

iWeb
Rhinoceros
iPhoto
Steam
iTunes
Firefox
Google Chrome
GarageBand
iMovie
PS3 Media Server
Chopper 2
Rosetta Stone Version 3
Evernote
VLC
Kindle
Music Manager
SimCity 2000
iDVD
Google Earth
Last.fm
Google Drive
Microsoft Communicator
Gephi
Spotify
Dragon Dictate
Skype
Dropbox
StuffIt Expander
Mail
Preview
Wunderlist
iSkysoft iMedia Converter
SpeedUpMac
Calendar
Miro Video Converter
Bitcoin-Qt
Messages
Safari
QuickTime Player
Skype_old
Delicious Library 2
MakerWare
Sublime Text 2
Contacts
MakerWare for Digitizer
DVD Player
Photo Booth
Font Book
HandBrake
Automator
Ringer
Climate Consultant 5.4
Remote Desktop Connection
dupeGuru
RescueTime
iSquint
Armagetron Advanced
Chess
Reminders
TextEdit
Notes
Razer Synapse 2.0
FaceTime
Fitbit Connect
CCleaner
Little Snitch Configuration
SoundCloud Downloader
Calculator
MindNode Lite
iHomework
uTorrent
Android File Transfer
KeyRemap4MacBook
Dictionary
App Store
System Preferences
DVDTheque
Game Center
LineIn
Typist
Amazon MP3 Downloader
BitTorrent Sync
Alfred
Stickies
InsomniaX
Image Capture
Windows Live Sync
Adobe Media Player
BetterSnapTool
iProcrastinate
Time Machine
Mission Control
smcFanControl
MixMeister BPM Analyzer
Gmote
Launchpad
Dashboard
PdaNetMac
RightZoom
Xbench
Kindle to PDF
Flight Control HD
Microsoft Silverlight
Catan-galen
3Dconnexion
Adobe
Adobe Acrobat X Pro
Adobe After Effects CS6
Adobe Bridge CS6
Adobe Dreamweaver CS6
Adobe Extension Manager CS6
Adobe Flash Builder 4.6
Adobe Flash CS6
Adobe Illustrator CS6
Adobe InDesign CS6
Adobe Media Encoder CS6
Adobe Photoshop CS6
Adobe Reader 9
Audacity
Autodesk
Brother
Google SketchUp 7
Google SketchUp 8
GoPro
iWork '09
MAXON
Microsoft Office 2011
Native Instruments
Soundflower
Toast 10 Titanium
Utilities
Wacom Tablet

Thanks in advance

 

[Fishrrman]

My thoughts, random order.

On a 2010-vintage MacBook, if you're going to upgrade to Mavericks, you ought to be thinking "SSD", as well.

You -may- find yourself greatly disappointed with Mavericks on an HDD-based computer, insofar as "speed" is concerned.

I also recommend a CarbonCopyCloner backup on an external drive. This way, if you aren't happy with the OS upgrade, you can just boot from the external drive and "re-clone" it's contents back to your internal drive.

Actually, with any SSD, you should -always- have a backup clone available. Whereas HDD's will often give some advance warning of imminent failure, SSD's can often just go.... "POOF!", no recovery possible. Having a CCC (or SuperDuper) backup handy makes the difference between "an easy recovery" and a "difficult one"...

 

[mojolicious]

On a 2010-vintage MacBook, if you're going to upgrade to Mavericks, you ought to be thinking "SSD", as well.

You -may- find yourself greatly disappointed with Mavericks on an HDD-based computer, insofar as "speed" is concerned.

I'd endorse the above: when compared to 10.8, 10.9 made newer Macs a little faster, and older Macs a little slower. I don't know which side of the line your MBP is on – although some here will have had firsthand experience – but an SSD and 8GB of RAM should make a 2010 model feel like a new machine. At a cost, obviously.

Re the application list: I'm sure one or two apps on that list will be rendered a little wobbly, if not completely refuse to run. One thing you always need to look out for is printer support – check the Brother website first.

But... given that 10.10 is supposedly less than a month away, and given the time/effort/stress involved in an OS upgrade, I'd be very much inclined to wait for Yosemite then wait another month or so for the problems (both general and model-specific) to be identified and ironed out. Just think of all those lovely new iOS8 features you'll be missing out on if you're running 10.9!

 

[skier777]

My thoughts, random order.

On a 2010-vintage MacBook, if you're going to upgrade to Mavericks, you ought to be thinking "SSD", as well.

I've been thinking about it, so maybe they come hand in hand. Thoughtful advice about making a backup, thanks.

----------

I'd endorse the above: when compared to 10.8, 10.9 made newer Macs a little faster, and older Macs a little slower. I don't know which side of the line your MBP is on – although some here will have had firsthand experience – but an SSD and 8GB of RAM should make a 2010 model feel like a new machine. At a cost, obviously.

But... given that 10.10 is supposedly less than a month away, and given the time/effort/stress involved in an OS upgrade, I'd be very much inclined to wait for Yosemite then wait another month or so for the problems (both general and model-specific) to be identified and ironed out. Just think of all those lovely new iOS8 features you'll be missing out on if you're running 10.9!

Is it optimized for an SSD? Or is it about the other hardware as well. I have 8GB in already which I believe is maxed out, but I'm waiting for SSD prices to really fall.

I don't need 10.10, I just need 10.9 for FCPX. I wait as long as I can to upgrade OS's typically, since each iteration eliminates some of the functionality i'm accustomed to in exchange for a lot of features I tend to not use.

 

[YanniDepp]

You should definitely "buy" Mavericks in the store right now, while you still can. Because once Yosemite comes out, you probably won't be able to "purchase" it any more.

 

[Eithanius]

You should definitely "buy" Mavericks in the store right now, while you still can. Because once Yosemite comes out, you probably won't be able to "purchase" it any more.

Lion and Mountain Lion can still be purchased on the Apple Online Store. However since Mavericks was the first OS to be offered for free since Puma, I'll be inclined to find out how Apple will offer that as a free download on the Online Store if and when they decide to pull that off the MAS...

 

[YanniDepp]

You can't buy Lion or Mountain Lion on the App Store any more, but you can buy a download code from the Apple Store.

Since Mavericks was free and has the same system requirements as Yosemite, I wonder if they'll do the same thing.