Leopard to exclude 800mhz machines

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/09/24/leopard-to-exclude-800mhz-systems/

Looks like Leopard will require an Intel processor, PowerPC G4 (867 MHz or faster), or G5 processor. There are a number of places that will upgrade your older machine, so there may be hope for you "vintage" users yet!

http://daystartechnology.com/
http://www.powerlogix.com/products/index.html
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/processorupgradecards/index.html
etc.

Well this is understandable as apple already discontinued support for the old G3's. So there's no need to make 10.5 capable for them.

I'd just like to know what the minimum and preferred computer specs are. Cause I'm sure someone out there would be able to get ti one day to run on something rather old. So I'd like to know the absolute minimum specs also. Sure this doesn't affect me but I'd still like to know.

This could be a bad thing. I hope Leopard isn't like a new Vista... i.e. you need a top of the line new machine to run it.

the8thark said:

Well this is understandable as apple already discontinued support for the old G3's. So there's no need to make 10.5 capable for them.

Click to expand...

The G4 is far from a G3. Also do people realize just how many G4 machines are still in use? Powerbooks, iBooks, ETC? Tiger installs on any G3 with Firewire and a DVD drive by the way, but I can see the G3 machine being dropped but not the G4.

And if it will not run well on a 800Mhz G4, what about a 1.25Ghz Mini which many people own and use.

What bugs me is it won't even let it install (ON A G4) so the user can at least try it. It will stop you if the article is true.

dtravis7 said:

What bugs me is it won't even let it install so the user can at least try it. It will stop you if the article is true.

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If Apple has tried and it just doesn't work, I don't see a problem with that. 10.4 works just fine. I can't see anyone with a G3 still looking to run the newest programs on the market. A G4, yes, but not a G3.

Makes sense. They cant provide support forever.

Theres also a rumor that Apple will totally cease support for all PPC macs by 10.6. But that wont be a big problem since by that time the G5s will be atleast 4 yrs old.

Martin. said:

This could be a bad thing. I hope Leopard isn't like a new Vista... i.e. you need a top of the line new machine to run it.

Click to expand...

We are buying a MacBook Pro...want it NOW, but are going to wait until Leopard comes out.

Played this game with PC, and lost bad. Never again.

What's a few months wait.

If you read the AI article, it says they excluded slower machines because, big surprise, Leopard ran slow on them. That doesn't necessarily mean it won't install, it just means it's not recommended.

baggss said:

If you read the AI article, it says they excluded slower machines because, big surprise, Leopard ran slow on them. That doesn't necessarily mean it won't install, it just means it's not recommended.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that Baggss. Everyone else seems to be saying they locked it from installing. That is what bugged me.

Edit: This is what AI says.

According to people familiar with the matter, engineers for the company recently determined that Leopard installs on 800MHz PowerPC G4 systems ran "too slow." Support for those systems was subsequently pulled from the most recent pre-release copies of Leopard, which inform testers that the software "cannot be installed" on those computers.

Martin. said:

This could be a bad thing. I hope Leopard isn't like a new Vista... i.e. you need a top of the line new machine to run it.

Click to expand...

I don't see where this is a 'bad thing'. An 867 Mhz G4 machine is at least 6 years old. Most systems made by anyone only have a guaranteed support life span of 4 years, give or take. This would make Apple above average by a year or two.
Simple fact is, machines can't be supported forever. Still, Apple has historically kept up support for older machines much longer than their competitors.

D3v1L80Y said:

I don't see where this is a 'bad thing'. An 867 Mhz G4 machine is at least 6 years old. Most systems made by anyone only have a guaranteed support life span of 4 years, give or take. This would make Apple above average by a year or two.
Simple fact is, machines can't be supported forever. Still, Apple has historically kept up support for older machines much longer than their competitors.

Click to expand...

Ya, I guess that is true. I see them completely dropping PPC support by 10.6. By then who knows how many more intel macs there will be...?

The problem is people buying the new OS, expecting a better experience and getting one that is worse.

It is a pretty cool fact that 10.0 - 10.3 resulted in better performance on the same machine. 10.4 runs better than 10.3 in most cases, but only if you have the RAM (i.e. 512MB or better).

However, 10.5 seems jam packed with features that will be very memory hungry and require fast I/O. Time machine, preview, coverflow for files etc, all need loads of caching and fast swapping.

I notice that most 800mhz G4's are iBooks, but 867mhz G4's was the lowest end Powerbook... is this Apple just ensuring that it's Pro users are supported for longer? I don't think 67mhz will make much difference on the CPU, but more memory available on these machines, and a faster Bus/HDD certainly will.

Sorry, that's technology. Move with it, or be buried by it.

Tiger runs just fine on these older machines. The inability to run Leopard doesn't make your machine obsolete. It's not doomed to the dumpster just yet. You just won't have access to the latest and greatest OS. I'm sure Tiger will have support for a good while, yet.

I guess if it bothers people that much, they are just going to have to pony up the bucks for a new, or at least newer, machine.

Let's all be honest... It's just another excuse to justify buying a new machine. ;D

Zoolook said:

I notice that most 800mhz G4's are iBooks,

Click to expand...

Actually, the upper end of the first 2nd Gen iMacs were 800Mhz as well.

baggss said:

Actually, the upper end of the first 2nd Gen iMacs were 800Mhz as well.

Click to expand...

But not Mac Pros? Interesting.

Copied an item from http://mac.softpedia.com/ today for a friend who wants to put Leopard on her eMac.

""With the Leopard release being just a few weeks away, Apple has modified the minimum system requirements for its next-generation operating system. Developer documentation had long stipulated that the new version of OS X would require 'an Intel processor or a PowerPC G4 (800MHz or faster) or G5 processor,' which did a lot to calm the nerves of those worried that the G4 processors would be left behind. Now Apple requires a minimum of 867 MHz for PowerPC-based Macs. Although the 67Mhz increase might seem insignificant, it will exclude a number of Mac models such as the 800MHz PowerBook G4 (Titanium), 800MHz iBook G4, 800MHz PowerMac G4 (Quicksilver), 800MHz iMac G4, and 800MHz eMac. Leopard will also require a DVD drive, built-in FireWire, at least 512MB of RAM (additionally recommended), and at least 9GB of hard disk space.""

In a way it does make sense to cut down on supported machines.

For example, the 800MHz iMac G4 was introduced at the beginning of 2002, the 800MHz iBook came out in 2003. Leopard is being released two months away (or so) of 2008. Besides it's not like everyone absolutely needs Leopard....

And by supported machines, I mean it's not just the processor that need to be compatible or capable of running Leopard but the graphics cards in usage back then...