Upgrading G4 OS - Comparison Info

[aengineer]

I just retrieved a G4 (1.67GHz), 1GB, 100GB Powerbook G4 that has been unused for several years. I haven't stayed current in the Mac world so I'd appreciate some info.

- Should I be able to upgrade to the latest OSX version without any troubles?

- Should I be able to run parallels and XP with this? Will it be horribly sluggish because of the older processor or will it work OK with, say, MS Office.

- Is it likely to run MS Office 2008 without difficulties?

Thanks.

 

[Nugget]

The G4 will be able to run Leopard (current OS X) passably well but that's the end of the line for you. The next release of OS X (due this fall) will not be supported on PPC processors.

Both Parallels and VMware Fusion require an Intel processor. For virtualization your only option is to try to track down an old copy of Microsoft's Virtual PC, although with just 1GB of RAM it will be an unpleasant experience.

 

[geoffreak]

Should I be able to upgrade to the latest OSX version without any troubles?

You should be able to run Leopard on your Mac. Your Mac will not be able to run the upcoming Snow Leopard due in September.

Should I be able to run parallels and XP with this? Will it be horribly sluggish because of the older processor or will it work OK with, say, MS Office.

You cannot run Windows on a PowerPC without terribly slow virtualization software.

Is it likely to run MS Office 2008 without difficulties?

As per the requirements you can run it. As so how well, I cannot say.

 

[aengineer]

Exactly what I needed

You should be able to run Leopard on your Mac. Your Mac will not be able to run the upcoming Snow Leopard due in September.


You cannot run Windows on a PowerPC without terribly slow virtualization software.


As per the requirements you can run it. As so how well, I cannot say.

Many thanks. This was exactly what I needed.

Jim Mitchell