What are the OS X Mavericks hardware system requirements?
I have a fairly old (I am not sure when it was bought) iMac 5,1 running OS X 10.6.8, but I just saw the free upgrade to Mavericks. It looks tempting, but I'd rather first know if my computer can handle this OS before I try to install it.
Processor: 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
(I guess that covers the most relevant hardware, if something else is important I'll add it.)
Solution 1:
According to Apple, the iMac5,1 was released in 2006, and is thus not on the list of models that are supported by Mavericks. Whether Mavericks can be hacked to run on your machine is a different question.
Solution 2:
System requirements can be found at Apple - Upgrade your Mac to OS X Mavericks. Click the View compatible Mac models link under the Check your Mac hardware step to view the supported models. Currently:
Mac models compatible with OS X Mavericks
- iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
- MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
- Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
- Xserve (Early 2009)
From the Apple menu select "About This Mac" and then click the "More Info…" button to determine exactly what model you have.
According to the information at How to identify iMac models, the iMac5,1 is the Late 2006 model, which is not compatible with OS X Mavericks.
Solution 3:
You have the same iMac as me, which is the last white plastic iMac model before transitioning to the more rational aluminum body. That's a mid-2006 for future, and unless someone knows of a script to trick the OS into thinking it's an older model, 10.6.8 is as far as we can go.
Bummer, right?