Best OS for Mac Pro 2006 vintage

Question

Level 1

2 points

Best OS for Mac Pro 2006 vintage

I have restored a lost and found Mac Pro with replaced HDDs and RAM. It currectly runs OS 10.6.8 and starts up on a cloned new HDD from a cloned backup drive. I woudl like to improve its seemingly very slow startup and make more reliable as I am using this for the kids to learn how to use Aperture to organise and learn from their photography exploits. Questions I have and would like any advise on:

1) Is the fact that I am using a cloned drive a possible problem and should I do anything than backup to the setup?

2) What OS system could I best upgrade to to allow system to work well and provide upgrade benefits? ( we have of course bought an iMac running latest OS and would like to be able to share over network and do Airplay type things. )

3) Is it worth installing a Solid State Drive as startup to protect against accidental switchoff by the kids (8 & 9 years old)?

4) Can full HD iMovie projects be transferred between Mac Pro and iMac and visa versa? (if I can not upgrade to 10.7 OS)

Many thanks for any help on this in advance!

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 2x2.66GHz 2GB RAM 250GB HDD

Posted on Oct 27, 2013 5:00 AM

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Answer 1

Studio K

Level 2

359 points

Oct 27, 2013 7:03 AM in response to IraTexas

For a 2006 Mac Pro, the most recent OS X version that you can upgrade to is Lion 10.7.5.

So if your other Macs run the newest OS X, the Mac Pro will never be there with them.

With regards to file sharing, I suppose you could just try to do whatever you need to do, and see if it works.

SSDs always provide speed improvements.

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Answer 2

Studio K

Level 2

359 points

Oct 27, 2013 7:24 AM in response to Studio K

What you can do is experiment with OS versions.

Clone your 10.6.8 installation to another drive (mabye the SSD?) and upgrade that one to 10.7.5. Then you can experiment with some of the tasks you wish to do.

If things work well for you in 10.7, then you can use that as your main startup volume.

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Answer 3

IraTexas Author

Level 1

2 points

Oct 27, 2013 7:41 AM in response to Studio K

Great information and ideas. Thanks. I am going to try your experiment idea though no SSD just yet as I only found 2.5" versions... can I fit these any way?

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Answer 4

Oct 27, 2013 8:02 AM in response to IraTexas

There essentially only are 2.5" versions.

These have no moving parts, so some users of 2008 and previous place them, unsupported, at the bottom of the Optical drive enclosure with an extension SATA cable to the hidden Optical Data Drive (ODD) ports on the motherboard below.

Many Users buy an adapter. The cheapest is likely the one from OWC (Macsales.com) to allow them to fit on a standard drive sled.

Some users prefer the IcyDock adapter that does the same job.

Trans International sells a duplex sled that will accept either size drive (be sure to order the correct size, as 2008 and previous use a different sled from the later ones).

Some cheapos like me remove the standard screws on a sled on one side and affix the drive to the sled with one DVD-Mounting screw with a washer and some double-stick tape. Then the drive can be juggled into position (but it takes some fiddling to get the connector to mate).

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