Upgrading OS on Mid-2007 iMac

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I've got a couple of questions about upgrading the OS on my mid-2007 iMac (2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM). It is currently running 10.58, and I just upgraded from 1GB to 4GB Ram. I have been using Adobe CS1, but would like to upgrade to a non-prehistoric version of Creative Suite. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what the drawbacks would be to upgrading to Lion and CS6. I'm concerned that there could be performance issues I might not expect since the machine is such an early model. CS6 requires a minimum of 2GB Ram, but 8GB is recommended. I've been running CS1 with 1GB Ram for years, so I'm used to some slowness issues, but I'm hoping an upgrade would still be better than what I currently have since I added the new Ram. I do not have any operating issues with this iMac, I would just like to run a newer CS. Honestly, I could live with CS4 or CS5, even, and be willing to move up to just Snow Leopard if that would for some reason be better on this machine. If I would be asking for trouble by upgrading, I think I might prefer to live with what I have until I can afford a new computer.

If it would be more appropriate if I posted this in the graphic design forum, do let me know. I wasn't sure since it was an OS- and CS-related question if that would be a better bet or not. Thanks for your help!
 

RavingMac

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I can't speak to the CS6 performance (or 4 or 5 for that matter) since I don't use Photoshop, but unless you have a specific reason to upgrade to Lion you might be better served by Snow Leopard.
Lion loses all PPC compatiblity, so say goodbye to any older legacy programs. Snow Leopard gains you the Mac App Store (a big plus in my book) and only costs $29 to upgrade.
 
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chas_m

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You're certainly eligible to run Lion and CS 6. More RAM (which I am fairly certain is an option for your machine) would be strongly recommended for any Photoshop use.

I am currently running CS3 on Lion so it's not required to jump to CS 6 (you have a big learning curve ahead of you regardless), but I'd say at this point to just go for CS 6 and be done with it. Reviews have been strong for it.
 
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Thank you both for the info. Razormac, I didn't realize that Snow Leopard let me retain use of some of the older programs, so that is certainly something to consider. Of course, there's not much older stuff that I use, but it would certainly be a little cheaper for me. Chas_m, I personally am terrified of moving up from CS to CS6. I use CS2 at work, but I know the change will be drastic. I use InDesign more than Photoshop, so I'm hoping that transition will be slightly easier. I called Adobe to ask them questions about CS6 and inquired about about just buying an older version to make my learning curve easier, and they told me they don't sell anything other than 6 now. My husband is a teacher, so we get the fabulous educator discount. If you have any idea of how I could legally get, say, CS4 standard for the $300-$350 range, please let me know. I can't buy used software can I? And on the other note, my machine will only hold 4 GB Ram max, so do you think that will cause issues with any newer CS? Keep in mind, I was running CS1 with only 1 GB until two weeks ago. Thanks again!
 

RavingMac

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