Upgrading

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I have an iMac 7,1 currently running 10.5.8. I would like to upgrade to Mavericks. I have 3 GB ram and 2.4 GZ core 2 duo. Will this be enough ram to run CS6 & Microsoft office?
 

pigoo3

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I'm going to say that with this setup you could technically run CS6 (Office is not a problem) and Mavericks…but it may not be a pleasant experience (old computer, slower cpu, very old gpu, not enough ram).

- Nick
 
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G'day and welcome to the forums.

Will be pretty slow with only 3GB and your model can take 6GB. If you do not wish to outlay cash for more memory, consider updating to OS X.6 Snow Leopard available from Apple Online for $20 and leave it at that. Most reports advise 8GB really requiredf for Mavericks and Yosemite for peak performance.

All your applications will still work, but backup first.
 
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chas_m

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This is a HUGE jump to make, and there are a lot of inherent issues that could pop up in making such a huge move. I would *strongly* suggest taking harryb's advice and upgrading to Snow Leopard and leave it there.

There are actually two iMac models that use the code 7,1 -- the 20-inch and 24-inch, both from the same period. You didn't specify which one, but both only take a maximum of 6GB of RAM, and both are very old now. I'd say load up the RAM to the max, run Snow Leopard, and start planning to buy a newer computer.
 

bobtomay

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Agree with the above. Will only add:

While I also recommend 8 GB RAM as the new standard and while 4 GB of RAM definitely was not enough under 10.8, the memory management of 10.9 works wonderfully and I personally have none of the issues I had in 10.8 in a MBA here that is hardware limited to only 4 GB running Mavericks. Yosemite, guess we'll find out... Or maybe I can get another computer by then.
 
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Time to dig into that big retirement fund Tom?
 
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Mavericks upgrade

Thanks for the info. I went ahead and bit the bullet and upgraded to Mavericks. It's a little slower booting up but once in the programs it wasn't too bad. I'm going to max out the ram and see what happens.
 
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That will imporve after a couple of uses when everything becomes indexed and eaier for the operating system to find. Updated to OS X.9.5?
 
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Thanks for the info. I went ahead and bit the bullet and upgraded to Mavericks. It's a little slower booting up but once in the programs it wasn't too bad. I'm going to max out the ram and see what happens.

Then you are a maverick yourself, having asked for advice and going against the recommendations you received. Hope it works out well for you.
 

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