From my experience, 10.5 works best on G5 and I would say that a 1 GHz single G4 withġ GB of RAM is the absolute lowest you can go while getting I'm going to speak out about 10.5: It works well for some machines,īut not for others. MHz or higher titanium PowerBooks, and all aluminum PowerBook G4s run (With the iMac G4 - they seem dog slow withĥ12 MB in 10.4, but the extra 256 MB makes all the difference.) The 800 Provided that they have their RAM upped to 768 MB - with 1 GBīeing the preferable point. It shine - it's especially ideal if you need to use Classic Mode for If you're using a Power Mac G5 or iMac G5, 10.4 will make In 10.4, so-so with 512 MB, good with 768 MB, and pretty spiffy withĪny Power Mac G3 or G4 with 1 GB of RAM or more will be rocking Some examples - a Blue and White G3 350 MHz is horrid with 256 MB General rule, I don't recommend 10.4 on anything with less than an 800 This class is also big, and it has overlap with the 10.3 class. I'd say that 256 MB of RAM is the least you needįor good performance, with 512 MB being great. IMacs hit their stride here, as do the Blue & White G3 and theĮarly Power Mac G4s. The majority of titanium PowerBook G4s also fall In 10.3, as do all G3 variations of the iBook. Lombard and Pismo PowerBook G3s work great I recommend 10.3 forĪny sub-800 MHz G4 class machine with less than 768 MB of RAM. This is, the biggest class of machines by far. Unpleasant experiences with anything higher than 10.2.8 on a tray-load Tray-load iMacs (often 128-256 MB of RAM are present on these) doīest with 10.2 as well. Without upgrades 10.3 would be pretty sluggish on these Work on basically the same tech, I recommend going no higher than MacĪpple limits the Beige G3 and WallStreet PowerBook G3 to 10.2 - and Since the Beige G3, WallStreet PowerBook G3, and tray-loading iMac all Many businesses,Īcademic institutions, and scientists are still using them to this day. To still be using them on a daily basis in 1998. The 10.2 Classīack in late 1997, when the beige G3s came out, few of us expected Working up to the latest and greatest Intel-based Macs.įor the sake of this article, I'm going to assume stockĬonfigurations (aside from RAM and hard drive). We're going to startįrom the beginning of OS X capable machines - the beige G3s, WallStreet PowerBook G3s, and I'm going to break this down into the classes of machines as IĬonsider them and the OS that works best on them. (Yeah,īut that's only worth the trouble if you're using an Intel-based Not for you, and 10.4 is as good as it's going to get.
You're running applications in Classic Mode, Mac OS X 10.5 is Just about performance, but compatibility and use with newer software.Īnother variable is what you're planning to do with the computer: If For me, the ideal version of the OS for a certain machine is not With the diverse mix of machines out there - G3s, G4s, G5s,Īnd the various Intel-based Macs - it isn't as cut and dry as it once In the past, I always advised users to go with the latest and A common question I've been asked is, "What version of OS X should I