mac OSX 10.6 snow leopard

sonic assassin · #1 11-27-2010, 06:23 AM

opinions?

there were a few not so stellar reviews on the mac forum that made me nervous. im still running 10.4 (like a dinosaur) and i think its time to move up. at 30 dollars i can take the hit and upgrade, but i want to know that my computer isnt going to lock up.

concerns: i use an external display 100% of the time, as mine is busted. i run logic (often) and use it to make money. performance there has to be FLAWLESS. also a decent deal of photo and video editing. otherwise pretty standard use.

thanks.

jamswinna · #2 11-27-2010, 06:33 AM

snow leopard is awesome, has great features over tiger.
Just check that the "$30 Upgrade" is not from 10.5 to 10.6

L-A · #3 11-27-2010, 08:06 AM

Are you running the last version of Logic?

Smurf-o-Deth · #4 11-27-2010, 08:45 AM

I run an external monitor with my 10.6 MBP for illustration and have had no problems in that regard. I will say that the increased GPU usage can melt the dick out of your internals (and kick off a wienie roast in your lap) if you don't use something like smcfancontrol to up the minimum rpm during more graphics-intensive applications. I had a couple of kernel panics when I first upgraded, due to the rapid overheating.

skwee · #5 11-27-2010, 09:15 AM

You don't mention what machine you are on. If you are running a G4 machine, don't go higher than Leopard (and even then, I'd be worried about slowdowns). If you've got an Intel mac, you should be fine to upgrade.

EBodious · #6 11-27-2010, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamswinna

snow leopard is awesome, has great features over tiger.
Just check that the "$30 Upgrade" is not from 10.5 to 10.6

yeah, that is what i am wondering. i have a 10.3 laptop and a 10.4 iMac. if i could even upgrade to 10.5 for $30 i would be a happy camper. i am under the impression it costs a lot more and i have to buy a separate upgrade for each machine. grrrr.

L-A · #7 11-27-2010, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EBodious

yeah, that is what i am wondering. i have a 10.3 laptop and a 10.4 iMac. if i could even upgrade to 10.5 for $30 i would be a happy camper. i am under the impression it costs a lot more and i have to buy a separate upgrade for each machine. grrrr.

You can do a clean install with the 30$ Snow Leopard CD.

DUC1098 · #8 11-27-2010, 06:49 PM

The snow leopard cd is a full version and will upgrade any earlier version of Mac OSX, or fresh install to snow leopard, but as was mentioned it is meant for the Intel Macs.

The nice thing about the upgrade disc, it doesn't mess with your files, so you don't have to backup then reinstall everything (though it would be a good idea to backup first just in case).

Also, if you have more than one Mac, there is another version of the snow leopard upgrade that has 5 licenses for $45 (both # of licenses and price could be off, I bought my disc around a year ago so memory a little fuzzy).

All 3 of my computers are running Mac OSX Snow Leopard, only 2 of them are Macs though.

Sterling_Bass · #9 11-27-2010, 10:58 PM

If you're running 10.4 on a PPC machine, you won't be able to install Snow Leopard. The OS only installs on Intel computers.
10.6 is extremely stable and runs flawlessly. We are already on 10.6.5, so any initial bugs you may be concerned about have been resolved. I've been using SL since launch day without any problems.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/specs.html
Here's a link to the required specs on your computer to install it, and a list of features. It's wonderful and you'll enjoy the improvements from Tiger.

sonic assassin · #10 11-28-2010, 03:16 AM

of course.. how could i forget. intel based macbook pro circa mid 2007.

im running logic 8 but will soon upgrade to 9.

ive heard some issues about new OS upgrades rendering logic useless, and for some reason this particular upgrade APPARENTLY doesnt like external displays. as i dont have a REGULAR display, that is a HUGE problem.

sonic assassin · #11 11-28-2010, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smurf-o-Deth

I run an external monitor with my 10.6 MBP for illustration and have had no problems in that regard. I will say that the increased GPU usage can melt the dick out of your internals (and kick off a wienie roast in your lap) if you don't use something like smcfancontrol to up the minimum rpm during more graphics-intensive applications. I had a couple of kernel panics when I first upgraded, due to the rapid overheating.

my MBPro is semi-permanently a small desktop because of the screen, so this shouldnt be an issue (regarding my nads anyway). photoshop and logic DO tend to set off the fans a little bit. if its a problem, id be sure to look into that.

until i get my screen fixed, its desk bound. im not paying 500 dollars because my ex girlfriend decimated my display. im looking into a way to just get the part and install it myself. i imagine it cant get much worse than broken.

Bob Clayton · #12 11-28-2010, 09:33 AM

i upgraded my iMac from 10.5 to 10.6 and have had no problems at all. i do photo/video editing as well.

as far as your screen issue, there are various take-apart guides online and new screens aren't that expensive. i picked up a 14 inch LCD for my iBook G4 and did the switch in about an hour. the only issues i have are: the computer does not recognize a display is connected until the OS boots. (the first thing i see if the login screen even though i hear the chimes of the computer booting up) and i cannot adjust brightness. other than that it was an easy $150 or so fix.

**Bipslapper** · #13 11-28-2010, 09:38 AM

I have 2 Mac's (laptop and desktop), and run Windoze on the laptop via Parallels. Nervous about upgrading to Snow Leopard on the laptop b/c I have had past issues with Parallels (I need the software to run MS Access-based program on it). I don't have any issues so far as is, but curious as to others suggestions / warnings.

Thoughts?

L-A · #14 11-28-2010, 10:15 AM

I wouldn't see the upgrade as a problem, then. I'd be more worried about trying to run Logic 9 on OSX 10.4.x actually.

MIJ-VI · #15 11-28-2010, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonic assassin

opinions?

there were a few not so stellar reviews on the mac forum that made me nervous. im still running 10.4 (like a dinosaur) and i think its time to move up. at 30 dollars i can take the hit and upgrade, but i want to know that my computer isnt going to lock up.

concerns: i use an external display 100% of the time, as mine is busted. i run logic (often) and use it to make money. performance there has to be FLAWLESS. also a decent deal of photo and video editing. otherwise pretty standard use.

thanks.

Have you considered adding another hard drive to your system and then dual-booting 10.4.x with 10.6.x until the newer OS earns your confidence?

Additional hard drive capacity is worth having anyway.

sonic assassin · #16 11-29-2010, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIJ-VI

Have you considered adding another hard drive to your system and then dual-booting 10.4.x with 10.6.x until the newer OS earns your confidence?

Additional hard drive capacity is worth having anyway.

no.. i cant say i have.

sonic assassin · #17 11-29-2010, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L-A

I wouldn't see the upgrade as a problem, then. I'd be more worried about trying to run Logic 9 on OSX 10.4.x actually.

thats about 1/3 the reason i was considering this entire process.

L-A · #18 11-29-2010, 07:20 AM

Ah, if you didn't have a laptop, I would have urged you to add an SSD and install SL clean on it. That would have left you the other drive as is.