Which OS X version should give me the best performance on my old HP 4530s?

[titooo]

Hi all,

I have an HP 4530s (the most basic Core i3, and 4gb ram) and I will install OS X to run it from an external hard drive that I have around.

Last time I installed OS X in this laptop only Lion was available but it has been a while since then so I'm lost about which OS X version I should install now.
I'm just looking after the best performance and compatibility not the newest features. Which one would you guys recommend me to install? Lion, Mountain Lion or Maverick ?

Thanks in advance

 

[RehabMan]

Hi all,

I have an HP 4530s (the most basic Core i3, and 4gb ram) and I will install OS X to run it from an external hard drive that I have around.

Last time I installed OS X in this laptop only Lion was available but it has been a while since then so I'm lost about which OS X version I should install now.
I'm just looking after the best performance and compatibility not the newest features. Which one would you guys recommend me to install? Lion, Mountain Lion or Maverick ?

Thanks in advance

For "best performance" (your words), don't install to an external drive (I assume this is USB). Install to internal SATA. Performance will suffer greatly using the USB interface for your system drive.

The 4530s supports all: Snow Leopard, Lion, ML, and Mavericks.

See the various stuck guides near the top of each of the ProBook forums.

 

[titooo]

Thanks but I guess from all those OS X version some are more resource hungry than others. And as my laptop isn't the most powerful one at all I would like to know which one eats less resources.

Thank you in advance

 

[RehabMan]

Thanks but I guess from all those OS X version some are more resource hungry than others. And as my laptop isn't the most powerful one at all I would like to know which one eats less resources.

Thank you in advance

All will run with acceptable performance on your machine.