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Wondering about Mac Mini 2006 OSX support

Mr.Veink

Mr.Veink

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 14, 2021
7
2
Finland
Referring to this post.

I'm going to get a Mac Mini 2006, upgrade CPU to T7200 and upgrade RAM. After this I was thinking about upgrading to a newer MacOS version. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with running unsupported MacOS versions on a Mac Mini 2006 with 2,1 Firmware?
I would disable as much visual effects as possible to have as little work on the GPU.
 
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I realize you didn't solicit the advice I'm offering in this reply, but...

Can't you "do better" than a 2006 Mini ??

I'd look for at least a "late 2012".
It's the first Mini with USB3.
Far superior to a 2006, and can be found quite cheaply.
 
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I'm born in Late 2006, so that's the biggest reason for getting it. Also I want to spend time upgrading it. I'll probably have it for my parents as a bill paying machine.
Fishrrman said:
I realize you didn't solicit the advice I'm offering in this reply, but...

Can't you "do better" than a 2006 Mini ??

I'd look for at least a "late 2012".
It's the first Mini with USB3.
Far superior to a 2006, and can be found quite cheaply.
Click to expand...
 
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Amethyst1 said:
You can run Lion (10.7.5) or Mountain Lion (10.8.5; with patches). Maybe Mavericks (10.9.5; with patches).

Forget about Yosemite or El Capitan. No graphics acceleration due to the GPU makes it absolutely useless.

And the GPU is garbage.
Click to expand...
Should I still be able to compile new software even tho I would use old MacOS?
 
Some software, yes. Macports has a plethora of software you can compile. Just remember that there are some things in there that still require newer versions of OS X to be able build them. These older OS's and mini's are still plenty capable for many things. However if you plan on using it for paying bills i'd suggest installing a current Linux distro on it for security reasons. At the very least, install Lion and then grab chromium-legacy to have a current up to date web browser for such purposes.

Cheers
**Posted from a 2006 mac mini **
 
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Mr.Veink said:
The machine is not for gaming. Well, I'd love to try out Minecraft 1.2.5 with Optifine and ActionMC Mod on it.
Click to expand...
I gotta be honest. On my daily driver MacBook Pro mid 2010, I have yet to leave snow Leopard (for now it is the only os I have installed).

Snow Leopard would run fine on the 06 mini, and I think it’s pretty cool you want one because it’s as old as you.

They are definitely still usable, and while I haven’t tried the Arctic fox Tiger build, the snow Leopard build has been more then enough for me, just don’t expect every single website to be perfect. I still reach for my Windows 7 machine when dealing with the GitHub website (but push and pull/clone from git on Tiger CLI).

You could probably pay the bills on the 06 Mac mini even running Tiger. GPU might not be great for even Minecraft however.

To really max it out, you’d be better off technically with Linux. But I’m just an old OS X hold out that may never upgrade from ancient unsupported versions.
 
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alex_free said:
I gotta be honest. On my daily driver MacBook Pro mid 2010, I have yet to leave snow Leopard (for now it is the only os I have installed).

Snow Leopard would run fine on the 06 mini, and I think it’s pretty cool you want one because it’s as old as you.

They are definitely still usable, and while I haven’t tried the Arctic fox Tiger build, the snow Leopard build has been more then enough for me, just don’t expect every single website to be perfect. I still reach for my Windows 7 machine when dealing with the GitHub website (but push and pull/clone from git on Tiger CLI).

You could probably pay the bills on the 06 Mac mini even running Tiger. GPU might not be great for even Minecraft however.

To really max it out, you’d be better off technically with Linux. But I’m just an old OS X hold out that may never upgrade from ancient unsupported versions.
Click to expand...
I use opensuse Tumbleweed on my main computer and love it. Tho on a Mac, I want to use MacOS. I'll probably use 10.7 and then just compile everything myself. Thanks alot to everyone!
 
alex_free said:
Snow Leopard would run fine on the 06 mini
Click to expand...
If your monitor resolution is less than 1680x1050, it slows down real bad because the GPU can't handle the transparency effects or new window animations, apparently. If animation lag doesn't bug you though, it does run well overall. Tiger is flawless at max 1920x1200.

Maybe try to look for an SSD if you can, from time to time these pop up with them already installed for the same price as HDD ones and it will make a major difference in speed and in longevity. As for longevity, these seem to be nearly bulletproof computers other than the average mechanical failures like said HDD and the optical drive.
 
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retta283 said:
If your monitor resolution is less than 1680x1050, it slows down real bad because the GPU can't handle the transparency effects or new window animations, apparently. If animation lag doesn't bug you though, it does run well overall. Tiger is flawless at max 1920x1200.

Maybe try to look for an SSD if you can, from time to time these pop up with them already installed for the same price as HDD ones and it will make a major difference in speed and in longevity. As for longevity, these seem to be nearly bulletproof computers other than the average mechanical failures like said HDD and the optical drive.
Click to expand...
I want to keep the ODD but I already have an SSD for it. I have a 1920x1200 Aluminum Cinema Display
 
Fishrrman said:
I realize you didn't solicit the advice I'm offering in this reply, but...

Can't you "do better" than a 2006 Mini ??

I'd look for at least a "late 2012".
It's the first Mini with USB3.
Far superior to a 2006, and can be found quite cheaply.
Click to expand...

I'd say a 2011 mini, for highly biased reasons, but those 2012's are good ones also.
 
Have you already bought the Mini?, if not I would advise you to look for a 2009 model. Only reason to go for a 2006 would be sticking to OS X Tiger. With a 2009 you can dual boot Snow Leopard (compatibility with Power PC and "classic" feeling") and El Capitán (or even a patched High Sierra). And you can upgrade to 8Gb.
Running Snow Leopard on a 2009 feels like using a 2006/2007 and could be cheapear than upgrading the 2006 to 4gb(3gb) and 2.33 T7600.
 
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esbardu said:
Have you already bought the Mini?, if not I would advise you to look for a 2009 model. Only reason to go for a 2006 would be sticking to OS X Tiger. With a 2009 you can dual boot Snow Leopard (compatibility with Power PC and "classic" feeling") and El Capitán (or even a patched High Sierra). And you can upgrade to 8Gb.
Running Snow Leopard on a 2009 feels like using a 2006/2007 and could be cheapear than upgrading the 2006 to 4gb(3gb) and 2.33 T7600.
Click to expand...
I have not bought it, but I want a Late 2006
 
esbardu said:
Have you already bought the Mini?, if not I would advise you to look for a 2009 model. Only reason to go for a 2006 would be sticking to OS X Tiger. With a 2009 you can dual boot Snow Leopard (compatibility with Power PC and "classic" feeling") and El Capitán (or even a patched High Sierra). And you can upgrade to 8Gb.
Running Snow Leopard on a 2009 feels like using a 2006/2007 and could be cheapear than upgrading the 2006 to 4gb(3gb) and 2.33 T7600.
Click to expand...

You also don't have to deal with Intel Integrated Crap Graphics. The 2009 ones are infinitely better than that 2006 piece of garbage mini.
 
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