How late of generation of computer can i put OS X MAVERICKS on?

With regards to MacBooks, it requires a MacBook5,1 or newer; a MacBook4,1 can't be upgraded past Lion 10.7.5.

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Also recgonize while your machine is Lion (10.7 - 10.7.5) compatible, it is not Mountain Lion (10.8 to 10.8.5) compatible either.

Before upgrading, read this tip carefully to make sure you don't leave your other applications incompatible by upgrading:

http://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6271