I've added 2 Mb RAM to my early 2008 Mac, so it now has 3 MB. What's the best OS I can use now? The current version is 10.5.8 with a 2 GHz processor. Intel Core Duo. Model Identifier iMac 7, 1.
iMac (20-inch Mid 2007), Mac OS X (10.5.8), Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
I wouldn't take that iMac, with the memory you have added, any farther than an OS upgrade to OS X 10.6,8 Snow Leopard.
Purchase here.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
To install Snow Leopard for the first time, you must have a Mac with:
An Intel processor
An internal or external DVD drive, or DVD or CD Sharing
At least 1 GB of RAM (additional RAM is recommended)
A built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card supported by your computer
At least 5 GB of disk space available, or 7 GB of disk space if you install the developer tools.
Then use the OS X Software Update feature of OS X 10.6.3, located in the System Preferences Panel to update your iMac to OS X 10.6.8 and to updated all other installed Apple software and security updates.
Before embarking on a major OS upgrade, it would be wise, advisable and very prudent if you have a good,working backup of your current system to an external connected and Mac formatted Flash drive OR externally connected USB, Thunderbolt or FireWire 800, Mac formatted hard drive. Then, use either OS X Time Machine app to backup your entire system to the external drive OR purchase, install and use a data cloning app, like CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper, to make an exact and bootable copy (clone) of your entire Mac's internal hard drive. This step is really needed in case something goes wrong with the install of the new OS or you simply do not like the new OS, you have a very easy way/procedure to return your Mac to its former working state.
FYI,
Your year and model iMac can take a total maximum RAM of 6 GBs.
If, in the future, you wish to upgrade the OS X further, you would need to purchase and install additional RAM, you,have the possibility of running the currently free OS X 10.10 Yosemite or you can purchase a special download code and install and run OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
As your iMac is now, the only reliable and viable OS X version you can reliably run on that iMac year and model is OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
Good Luck!
I've added 2 Mb to a early 2008 iMac. What's the latest OS I can use with good speed?
