[Dr T]

What are the Mac Hardware Reqirements needed to run Tiger? Which machine will it run on? Do CPU upgrades count?

[iYeat]

Apple has not announced "official" system requirements for tiger..

Generally CPU upgrades are not figured in the minimum requirements, but do work sometimes.

[LaGow]

I wonder if Tiger will be released DVD-only. If that's true, then quite a few systems will be eliminated.

[Mithras]

Originally posted by LaGow:
I wonder if Tiger will be released DVD-only. If that's true, then quite a few systems will be eliminated.

They'll have to release a CD version, I would think. Because it wasn't long ago at all that you had a choice of CD-burner, DVD-ROM, or combo drive... and even now they sell .edu refurbs with plain CD-ROM.

[LaGow]

Hope so. I was not pleased that iWork came DVD only. Seemed like a harbinger of things to come.

[barney ntd]

Originally posted by LaGow:
Hope so. I was not pleased that iWork came DVD only. Seemed like a harbinger of things to come.

iWork is not DVD only. You can order a CD version from the Apple Store.

[Millennium]

So far, system requirements have not been released. However, Apple hasn't implied that anything capable of running Panther wouldn't also be capable of running Tiger. That would mean any Mac which came with built-in USB.

The USB part isn't actually a requirement, in and of itself. The requirement comes from certain internal changes which happened to coincide with the first Macs that had built-in USB. Looking for a USB port is easier than looking at the motherboard (or looking up your model in a long list), so this is what Apple mentions as the requirement. It's just an easier way of telling the supported machines apart from the unsupported ones.

Note that because of this, CPU upgrades do not count, because they aren't the limiting factor anyway. Similarly, adding a USB card to a Mac which didn't come with USB won't help, because USB itself isn't the requirement, it's just another way of telling if your machine is supported. That said, you can try using XPostFacto on older machines and running it there. Apple has not tested these configurations, and they can't help you if something goes wrong, but many people have done it without any trouble.

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by Millennium:
Note that because of this, CPU upgrades do not count, because they aren't the limiting factor anyway. Similarly, adding a USB card to a Mac which didn't come with USB won't help, because USB itself isn't the requirement, it's just another way of telling if your machine is supported. That said, you can try using XPostFacto on older machines and running it there. Apple has not tested these configurations, and they can't help you if something goes wrong, but many people have done it without any trouble.

I'd be pretty surprised if XPostFacto just worked with Tiger without needing some tweaking.

[Busemann]

The box will contain a DVD as well as the four CD's

[Millennium]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
I'd be pretty surprised if XPostFacto just worked with Tiger without needing some tweaking.

You're right, of course, but thus far they've always managed to make it work relatively soon after the release of the OS.

[Superchicken]

I am suspecting my iMac Rev D to be able to run Tiger... if that's the case then I'll be super impressed that an iMac that's getting close to six years old will be able to run a brand new OS.

[Krusty]

As Milennium intimated, I seem to remember reading somewhere a while back that Tiger would encompass the same group of machines as Panther.

One thing that gives me hope: Apple removed its official requirements for Core Image a while back ...here's hoping that they figured out a way for the 32mb 9200 GPU to take full advantage of it. So many Macs in the last few years used this GPU (including current iBooks, eMacs, and Mac Minis). It'd be a shame if they were actively shipping systems that weren't capable of all the goodies of their actively shipping OS.

[JazzCatDRP]

Once upon a time, I had heard that built-in firewire might be a requirement, in the same sense that Panther needed USB (a way of telling which machines are supported).

[OptimusG4]

Originally posted by Krusty:
As Milennium intimated, I seem to remember reading somewhere a while back that Tiger would encompass the same group of machines as Panther.

One thing that gives me hope: Apple removed its official requirements for Core Image a while back ...here's hoping that they figured out a way for the 32mb 9200 GPU to take full advantage of it. So many Macs in the last few years used this GPU (including current iBooks, eMacs, and Mac Minis). It'd be a shame if they were actively shipping systems that weren't capable of all the goodies of their actively shipping OS.

Get ready to be disappointed then, I don't believe the 9200 is supported with core image.

[Krusty]

Originally posted by OptimusG4:
Get ready to be disappointed then, I don't believe the 9200 is supported with core image.

I know .... just hoping.

[real]

But Supported graphics cards only make everything realtime but the feqtures still work.

IS THIS CORRECT

real

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by real:
But Supported graphics cards only make everything realtime but the feqtures still work.

IS THIS CORRECT

real

Yes. The only thing you don't get is the acceleration. 90% of users will neither know nor care about this, which is why the 9200 is in the low-end models. Hell, on the PC side, sub-$1000 users are content with Intel Integrated Graphics for crying out loud.

Sheesh, by the way people talk about this, you'd think Tiger would refuse to run on anything less than a GeForce 6800.

[real]

Yeah As long as I can use the features thats fine with me. Charles thanks for the info

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Originally posted by Superchicken:
I am suspecting my iMac Rev D to be able to run Tiger... if that's the case then I'll be super impressed that an iMac that's getting close to six years old will be able to run a brand new OS.

I am quite sure my 5 year old Cube will run it just fine also.

[Millennium]

Originally posted by real:
But Supported graphics cards only make everything realtime but the feqtures still work.

IS THIS CORRECT

This is correct. In fact, if you've got a G4 chip then you will still get AltiVec acceleration. The only ones who get no acceleration at all are the people with older graphics cards and G3 processors.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Originally posted by real:
But Supported graphics cards only make everything realtime but the feqtures still work.

So will that water ripple still work on a OLD G4 cube?

[ashtoash]

Yes because an IDE dvd drive cost $20.... and because an external firewire case cost $20 more...

People with older computers should spend the $99 towards a new computer not a system upgrade.

Originally posted by LaGow:
I wonder if Tiger will be released DVD-only. If that's true, then quite a few systems will be eliminated.

[LaGow]

Originally posted by ashtoash:
Yes because an IDE dvd drive cost $20.... and because an external firewire case cost $20 more...

People with older computers should spend the $99 towards a new computer not a system upgrade.

Well, I happen to like my DP G4 450. It's still very serviceable.

[Millennium]

Originally posted by Socially Awkward Solo:
So will that water ripple still work on a OLD G4 cube?

The framerate won't be as high as it would be on a newer machine, but it should work aside from that.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by Socially Awkward Solo:
So will that water ripple still work on a OLD G4 cube?

Do you have a QE-supported graphics card? If not, then you won't see it, I suppose.

[LaGow]

Looks like I may be correct about the DVD-only requirement.

[Busemann]

Originally posted by LaGow:
Looks like I may be correct about the DVD-only requirement.

Sucks to be me.

Don't worry, it'll ship with four CD's as well

[LaGow]

Somebody else was also very reassuring about that, but the MacinTouch article makes it seem like that may not be so--otherwise, why all the concern about which specific models don't have DVD capabilities? Should be interesting to see how this plays out.

And what a fast reply! You quoted me before I could edit out the self-pity!

[Don Pickett]

Originally posted by LaGow:
Looks like I may be correct about the DVD-only requirement.

Makes sense: moving the requirement up one model cycle with a new OS release.

[Big Mac]

As much as I want to allow for the possibility, thereby giving hope to those affected, I think it would be a bit strange and unprecedented to see Apple release both CDs and a DVD in one package. Wouldn't that be equivalent to giving out two copies of the OS for the price of one?

[CharlesS]

Doesn't Apple still sell an educational iBook model with only a CD-ROM drive in it? I think that fact would lead me to believe that there ought to be a version of Tiger you can get on CD in some shape or form.

[Big Mac]

I would agree with that, Charles. I just doubt that we will see the CD version in the same retail box as the DVD version.

[LaGow]

This doesn't make any sense to me at all. Why, then, isn't there a choice of which format is desired when pre-ordering OS X Tiger at Amazon? Three responses that I can think of off hand:

1) OS X Tiger requires a DVD drive and will not be shipping on CD;

2) Apple has not been forthcoming to Amazon about a possible CD-DVD choice;

3) I missed something somewhere (I've been known to, believe me).

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
Doesn't Apple still sell an educational iBook model with only a CD-ROM drive in it? I think that fact would lead me to believe that there ought to be a version of Tiger you can get on CD in some shape or form.

Yes they do. In fact, individuals can buy them too. And you don't even have to be an educational customer either if you buy them from the refurb store.

[Sophus]

Originally posted by Socially Awkward Solo:
So will that water ripple still work on a OLD G4 cube?

It probably would work, slow and cpu rendered though and definatly not realtime. I suppose that is why it is disabled. So, it will not work, i.e. you will not see it.

[bradoesch]

Originally posted by Millennium:
This is correct. In fact, if you've got a G4 chip then you will still get AltiVec acceleration. The only ones who get no acceleration at all are the people with older graphics cards and G3 processors.

Such as my iMac DV with fabulous 8 MB Rage 128 VR.

I wonder if Tiger will even be worth it for my iMac. More like time for a new Mac mini or something.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by bradoesch:
Such as my iMac DV with fabulous 8 MB Rage 128 VR.

I wonder if Tiger will even be worth it for my iMac. More like time for a new Mac mini or something.

But then, how old is your machine?
Try running Win XP on a five-year old machine

[jocker]

From the horses mouth..

[taken from the Tiger Read Before You Install]

System requirements
You must have a Macintosh computer with:
specifications that Tiger requires


obvious NDA violation removed by Detrius

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
But then, how old is your machine?
Try running Win XP on a five-year old machine

XP runs fine on a 5 year old machine, as long as you have enough memory. I even run it on a 7 year-old machine, and with enough memory it works fine, especially if you turn off some of the eye candy.

Not that I'd recommend it for most 5 year-old machines though.

Originally posted by jocker:
From the horses mouth..

[taken from the Tiger Read Before You Install]

System requirements
You must have a Macintosh computer with:
specifications that Tiger requires


obvious NDA violation removed by Detrius

Regardless of what that says, I still expect a CD version of Tiger, although it may not be in the retail box.

[betasp]

XP runs fine on a 5 year old machine, as long as you have enough memory. I even run it on a 7 year-old machine, and with enough memory it works fine, especially if you turn off some of the eye candy.

Not that I'd recommend it for most 5 year-old machines though.

Funny thing is the experience on XP on a five year old machine is about the same as OSX on a five year old machine. I don't think some Mac users realize that. I run XP on my P3-500 Thinkpad with no eye candy and 256MB of Ram and can work fine with everything I do. It runs about as well as my Blue Tray loading iMac does with OSX.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
XP runs fine on a 5 year old machine, as long as you have enough memory. I even run it on a 7 year-old machine, and with enough memory it works fine, especially if you turn off some of the eye candy.

Not that I'd recommend it for most 5 year-old machines though.



Regardless of what that says, I still expect a CD version of Tiger, although it may not be in the retail box.

Compare running Win2k on that machine with XP; try the same with -- say -- 10.2 and 10.3. 10.3 will be faster (or at least not slower), provided you have enough memory, whereas XP will definitely be slower.

That said, the rest of my family runs Win2k (except for my brother who switched recently).

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
Compare running Win2k on that machine with XP; try the same with -- say -- 10.2 and 10.3. 10.3 will be faster (or at least not slower), provided you have enough memory, whereas XP will definitely be slower.

That said, the rest of my family runs Win2k (except for my brother who switched recently).

XP (with the Windows 2000 theme) on a PIII 500 feels faster than 10.3 on a G4 450 for a lot of stuff, and about the same for most other stuff.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
XP (with the Windows 2000 theme) on a PIII 500 feels faster than 10.3 on a G4 450 for a lot of stuff, and about the same for most other stuff.

That's not what I meant, sorry, I was in a hurry (I had to catch my bus).

I meant that comparing XP to Win2k, Win2k `feels' faster to me, but comparing 10.3 to 10.2, 10.3 `feels' faster. So even though 10.3 has more bells and whistles, it is an improvement on old machines, especially if you have a QE graphics card. I wasn't comparing XP to 10.3 on an old machine.

[Superchicken]

I imagine we'll see a CD package... I think Steve might still want to support the original iMacs if only for nostalgia. Not to mention I'm very hopeful for a version that will support my iMac. I don't need it to run Tiger but I'd like it to. As well, I don't think they're going to bump up the requirements if this means they might even sell a few to older Mac owners they'll do it I think.

[jocker]

Originally posted by Superchicken:
I imagine we'll see a CD package... I think Steve might still want to support the original iMacs if only for nostalgia. Not to mention I'm very hopeful for a version that will support my iMac. I don't need it to run Tiger but I'd like it to. As well, I don't think they're going to bump up the requirements if this means they might even sell a few to older Mac owners they'll do it I think.

No. We. Won't.

[Detrius]

Originally posted by Superchicken:
I imagine we'll see a CD package... I think Steve might still want to support the original iMacs if only for nostalgia. Not to mention I'm very hopeful for a version that will support my iMac. I don't need it to run Tiger but I'd like it to. As well, I don't think they're going to bump up the requirements if this means they might even sell a few to older Mac owners they'll do it I think.

I already don't recommend these people install Panther without at least 512MB of RAM on an old G3. Why on earth would they want to run Tiger? There is such an incredibly huge difference between the middle of the line G4s and the original iMac. These people should be looking into a Mac mini--not upgrading their iMac so that it will run Tiger bearably.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by Detrius:
I already don't recommend these people install Panther without at least 512MB of RAM on an old G3. Why on earth would they want to run Tiger? There is such an incredibly huge difference between the middle of the line G4s and the original iMac. These people should be looking into a Mac mini--not upgrading their iMac so that it will run Tiger bearably.

I wouldn't want to run an old iMac either. However, some people do, and running a 512 MB G3 Mac with Tiger should be just as fast if not faster than with Panther.

[Big Mac]

Originally posted by Detrius:
I already don't recommend these people install Panther without at least 512MB of RAM on an old G3. Why on earth would they want to run Tiger? There is such an incredibly huge difference between the middle of the line G4s and the original iMac. These people should be looking into a Mac mini--not upgrading their iMac so that it will run Tiger bearably.

One major reason to wish to run Tiger is that certain complementary Apple software will require it, such as Safari 2.

[jock]

Originally posted by Socially Awkward Solo:
So will that water ripple still work on a OLD G4 cube?

I can say nothing specific

Edited by OreoCookie (TM)

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by Big Mac:
One major reason to wish to run Tiger is that certain complementary Apple software will require it, such as Safari 2.

Obviously running the latest version of a software is often desirable, but if you have a really old machine, you shouldn't expect that it is supported indefinitely. Again, if your machine runs Panther just barely, you should start saving for a new machine if you want to run Tiger.