wise to update OS X 10.5.8 ??

[cathymac11]

Is it wise to update an operating system to make it run more efficiently. This is what I've got.
TIA,
cathymac

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac8,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.8 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: IM81.00C1.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.30f1

 

[benwiggy]

There are lots of considerations here.
1. Do you use any software which won't run on newer versions? Old PPC apps running in Rosetta, perhaps? You may need to upgrade to newer versions for the new OS, and that may cost money.

2. You may find that adding more RAM to your Mac will help to improve its overall speed and responsiveness, more than anything else. 4 GB will do you very well.

3. You will be able to run Lion on your iMac. You may need to check about Mountain Lion, which is just about to be launched.
The trouble is that you need to buy Snow Leopard 10.6 in order to use the Mac App Store, in order to buy Lion or Mountain Lion.

When I upgraded to Snow Leopard, it was a lot more responsive and efficient than Leopard, and there were a host of new features and improvements.
Lion has had a mixed response, as it changes some of the fundamental ways of doing things.

You will also find that newer OS versions can support newer apps, so if it's important to you to have the latest Flash plug-in for Safari, or similar, then upgrading may be a necessity.

However, you have been using Leopard for a long time -- I presume perfectly happily? There is an argument that if it aint broke, don't fix it. What are you looking for when you say you want "efficiency" from your OS?

I would recommend adding more RAM and seeing if you can get a copy of Snow Leopard. Apple Stores may still sell them, I'm not sure.