Snow Leopard rig for compatibility

[mrmeister]

Hi guys,

I do a lot of audio work, and it's often best for me to have a more up to date and powerful machine, but recently I've had the need to fall back on some software that is no longer supported in current versions of OS X (namely Kontakt 4). There must be a bug in kontakt 5 that stops some features working like they do in 4, but I can't rely on it getting fixed in the future...

I got lucky this time, I was able to borrow an old laptop and get all my kontakt 4 work done in the time I had, but if I need it again I might not be so lucky... That laptop is definitely on its last legs.

I was thinking that I should have my own machine to run snow leopard on, but I'm not sure what to do. Should I source legacy computer parts and put together an "old" hackintosh, or would I better off buying something like a G5 from eBay? The computer wouldn't get much use either way, it's only when I need support from older software, but it could end up being a life saver, or rather project saver.

Let me know what you guys think!

 

[trs96]

One option you have is to run Snow Leopard on an older, circa 2009 HP or Dell biz desktop.

There are a few threads that go into detail on which models to buy. Here are two of them.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/user-buil...-dc7900-100-10-9-4-mavericks-working-vga.html

http://www.tonymacx86.com/buying-advice/97797-dell-optiplex-755-760-easily-convertible.html

There are literally millions of these desktops off-lease that can be bought at very low prices.
Tricky part is to buy the right graphics card that works with Snow Leopard. Research that a
bit before jumping in. You'll also need a USB audio solution, onboard doesn't seem to work
in the HP or Dell desktops. You'd probably be doing that anyway for your work. Try a pro
refurbisher like Arrow direct on Ebay so you get one that has been tested and is likely
to be in working order. They also have 60 day functional returns.

 

[trs96]

From a CNET article dated 9/2009:

Snow Leopard will not run on any PowerPC system, even PowerPC G5 systems that are 64-bit capable. If you have a Mac Mini (G4), iMac G4, iMac G5, or PowerMac G5, do not buy Snow Leopard since you will not be able to install it. Apple has split away from PowerPC, and while there are technical reasons for why the 64-bit architecture in the PowerPC will not work with the latest OS, the fact that Apple has switched architectures is the primary reason for the drop in support.

http://www.cnet.com/news/snow-leopard-system-requirements/

A Dell or Hp system that will run SL can be bought for about 100 USD or less if you do a little
searching. It's also very easy to install and run SL on one of these, perfect for the small amount
of audio work the OP will be doing. These have generally been on lease in an enterprise environment
for 3 years and not been found to have any problems after inspection by the refurbisher. They're
easy to upgrade and should last quite a few more years with moderate use. You get a fast Core 2
Duo or Core 2 Quad cpu and can easily upgrade the ram to 8 or 16 GB of dual channel ram. No way
that you can do that in older Intel based Mac Minis and Macbooks from back in 2009-2010.

 

[belltech123]

Just a word of advice if you go with a corporate machine : the integrated graphics (GMA 4500) do not offer any Open CL/GL acceleration so your resolution options will be stuck at 1024x768. Plan to add a GPU, even from the low end, as Radeon 2400/3500 series or a nvidia one like a Geforce GT 210/220. I have a 8800GT by EVGA and it worked OOB with SL with full acceleration.