Q: I have a MAC OSX version 10.6.8.  I want to upgrade, but only have 1 GB of memory.  Can I add more memory or do I need to buy a new computer? This was my first MAC and wasn't sure I would like it.  Stupid me.

First, determine if you can upgrade. Then provide the Model ID for your computer per the following information:

Upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion or Mavericks

To upgrade to Mavericks you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8, Lion, or Mountain Lion installed. Purchase and download Mavericks (Free) from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.

     OS X Mavericks- System Requirements

       Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mavericks

         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) — Model Identifier 7,1 or later

         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) —

             Model Identifier 5,1 or later

         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) — Model Identifier 3,1 or later

         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) — Model Identifier 2,1 or later

         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) — Model Identifier 3,1 or later

         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) — Model Identifier 3,1 or later

         7. Xserve (Early 2009) — Model Identifier 3,1 or later

To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.

Are my applications compatible?

         See App Compatibility Table — RoaringApps.

Upgrading to Lion

If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mavericks, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.

You can purchase Lion at the Online Apple Store. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax.  It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.

     Lion System Requirements

       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,

           or Xeon processor

       2. 2GB of memory

       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)

       4. 7GB of available space

       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.

Nothing stupid about it.   Everyone has to learn.  Before you consider up grading, you should increase your memory to 4GB and see how it runs for a month or two, then look into the need to upgrade.  10.6.8 Snow Leopard is a very good system.

If you would look at your System details ... Apple logo (top left) > about this Mac > info > where the screen will change to Hardware overview.   And copy the first eight lines ONLY and post it back.   Then I can tell you what the limitations are although Kappy has already covered much of it.   Snow leopard will probably not get much in the way of support from now on, but as I said, it is an excellent OS and with care will be good for some time yet.

Thank you for the star; another one is currently over the castle.

I wanted to reinforce what the others said:  Snow Leopard is a really good OS

the main advantage of Mavericks is that it is much more similar to iOS, and makes it easier to share Pages and Numbers documents with an iPad.  This comes at the price of a huge loss of features in Pages and Numbers, and also in the OS.  If you want your computer to function like an iPad, go for it.  But if you prefer your computer to have the greater abilities and features that are possible on a computer, then stick with Snow Leopard.

If you do decide to go to Mavericks, make a bootable backup first in case you want to revert afterward.  Some sources advise you to make 2 backups.

Fine.   Your machine will comfortably accept 4, even 6GB of memory.   You will need 4GB for anything higher than 10.6.8.  Indeed, try to get 4GB anyway.  Once you feel comfortable about upgrading your machine should be good to go direct to Mavericks (which is free) and avoid having to pay for Lion and Mountain lion.

Be sure to read up about upgrading to this higher level.  You could lose the benefit of apps you currently use.  See Kappy's reference to Roaring Apps.

Good luck

You may want to consider this advice I just posted for another similar question:

Partition your hard drive for a new 2nd partition of about 80% of the remaining capacity.  Install [Lion or ]Mavericks into the new partition.

 

That way you have a Snow Leopard partition to work with by "dual-booting" (Startup Disk in System Preferences).  If you discover that some of your software will not work in [Lion/]Mavericks, you have the Snow Leopard option to work with them.

 

Reinstalling Snow Leopard after a complete wipe/install [Lion or ]Mavericks will be very difficult and time consuming.

 

BACK UP BEFORE DOING ANYTHING!

 

And my favorite quote from BIll Gates:

You can never have too much money or too much RAM!

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Crucial

Other World Computing