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Macintosh Hardware - Software Compatibility Chart
Power PC vs. Intel Core vs. Operating System

HERE is a brief summary of the minimum hardware and minimum software required for recent Macintosh Personal Computers.





I know, I know. You love your old PowerPC. Me too. But it is time to upgrade to an Intel core, or be limited by what you can do in the future. Here's why.

-

Software
Mac Hardware
Power PC Core
.
Intel Core

OSX
Version

OS 10.1
Puma
2001
OS 10.2
Jaguar
2002
OS 10.3
Panther
2003
OS 10.4
Tiger
2005
OS 10.5
Leopard
2007
OS 10.5
Leopard
2007
OS 10.6
Snow Leopard
2009
OS 10.7
???
2010

NOTES

Latest
Update

10.1.5
10.2.8
10.3.9
10.4.11
10.5.8
10.5.8
10.6.2

-

-

Min. RAM
128 M
256 M
512 M
512 M
1G

-

-

OS 9 Support
OS 9 supported
No
No support

-

G3 Support
G3 Supported
Most
No
No support

-

G4 Support
G4 Supported
867 MHz.
minimum
No support

-

G5 Support

-

G5 Supported
No support

-

PPC Apps Support
PPC Apps Supported
OK
Dropped
Can use Rosetta

-

-

Chrome
No support
Supported

-

Firefox
FF 1.0
FF 1.5
FF 2.0
FF 2.1
FF 3.0
FF 3.5
FF 3.6
FF 3.5
FF 3.6
FF 3.5
FF 3.6

-

-

FLASH
Flash 8
500 MHz
Flash 9
G5
1.8 GHz
Flash 10
G5
1.8 GHz
Flash 10
G5
1.8 GHz

-

-

-

.

Why You Must Upgrade to an Intel-powered Macintosh in 2010 -

1. Support for OS9 ceases with Leopard - OS10.5.
2. Support for the PowerPC ceases with Leopard - OS 10.5.
3. Support for the Google Chrome browser begins with Leopard - OS 10.5.
4. Support for PowerPC applications ceases with Leopard - OS 10.5.

It is now time to upgrade your hardware - buy a new Intel-powered Macintosh, or be left behind. Sure, you can dribble along for awhile, but almost all new software for the Mac will be "Intel-only".

Since I STILL use some excellent OS9 software, I will be networking my new Intel machine with my my old PPC G4. There is some software for OS9 that has yet to be equaled by anything newer, IMHO. This has forced me to go "dual-system" for the foreseeable future, until I wean myself from my old applications.

60

90-760

60

60

60

60

60

60

60

60

130

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©2009 Vaughn Aubuchon ... All Rights Reserved
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This Vaughns Mac Hardware Software Compatibility Chart web page was updated on 2010-06-10.