Apple's Leopard Will Exclude 800MHz G4 Processors

goombah99 writes "According to AppleInsider, Apple is about to announce that Leopard will not support 800 MHz G4 PowerPC processors. Previously developers had been told that it would require at least an 800 MHz G4. But AppleInsider alleges only 867 MHz G4s and higher will now be supported because of speed issues, and testers have been told that the new OS 'cannot be installed' on lesser machines. This cutoff in minimum requirements means that all those original iMac flat screens and Titanium PowerBooks are now forked to the Tiger (10.4) Update Path."

Comments

Bad Summary! Article doesn't say G5-only!

[Kelson]

The article is specifically about 800MHz and slower G4s being excluded:

Instead, Leopard will now require Macs with "an Intel processor or a PowerPC G4 (867 MHz or faster) or G5 processor." Other system requirements include a DVD drive, built-in FireWire, at least 512MB of RAM (additional recommended), and at least 9GB of hard disk space.

Though seemingly mild, the 67MHz increase will exclude a handful of Mac system, namely the 800MHz PowerBook G4 (Titanium), 800MHz PowerMac G4 (Quicksilver), 800MHz iMac G4, 800MHz iBook G4, and 800MHz eMac.

Nowhere does the article claim that Leopard will be G5 & Intel only.

Incorrect Summary

[SpottedKuh]

Actually, AppleInsider said that 800 MHz G4 processors may not be supported. 867 MHz or greater G4 processors would still be usable. From TFA:

Instead, Leopard will now require Macs with "an Intel processor or a PowerPC G4 (867 MHz or faster) or G5 processor."

OS 10.6, it is speculated, may not support PPC processors (so, we're talking 2009 here?)

Theory Versus Practice

[Dekortage]

There's a difference between stated requirements and what you can actually get to work. Users of the open-source XPostFacto have known this for years. Can't run OS 10.3 on that old beige G3 tower? Sure you can! Maybe even 10.4.

Nonetheless, even 10.4.x is supported on the 400mhz PowerBook G3 (the version with a bronze keyboard and FireWire). It is not the speediest thing ever, but for email, Word/PowerPoint, and most web browsing, it's just fine. My main reason to consider replacing it: after seven years of use, the backlighting is starting to fade. But those dual battery bays are hard to give up.

800MHz G4 IS SUPPORTED

[Manfesto]

I can confirm that an 800MHz G4 is all that is required to install Leopard (the developer preview). A staff member in my department did it with an 800MHz Windtunnel PowerMac - and more interestingly, he used target disk to install Leopard on his unsupported 667MHz TiBook (on which the installer refused to run because it didn't meet the minimum requirements). Here is his entire story. http://forum.oscr.arizona.edu/showthread.php?t=4557

Re:Apple: RECONSIDER

[MojoStan]

I am fairly sure the Pre 800mhz Macs are not QuartzExtreme-compatible. I'm assuming you meant to include 800MHz Macs in the "not QuartzExtreme-compatible" group, but there are many "800MHz and under" Macs that are QE-compatible:

• iBooks: April 2003 until (discontinued) April 2004 (2 revisions)
• eMacs: April 2002 to April 2004 (2 revisions)
• iMac "Luxos": January 2002 to September 2003 (2 revisions)
• PowerBook G4s: October 2001 to November 2002 (2 revisions)
• Power Mac G4s: January 2001 to August 2002 (3 revisions)

4 years is a good run for a PC. And you are not forced to upgrade to the New OS. Software will be available for the old OS for years. That's three and a half years for some iBooks and eMacs, but I agree with your point (it will be a good run). However, although software will be available for years, OS X Tiger will stop receiving security updates when OS X 10.6 is released (if Apple continues its undefined OS lifecycle).