Buying a used mac ( first time mac user )


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So I am going to buy a used mac on Ebay nothing powerfull as I have my PC for that but I would like to try out an older mac that I wont have to pay a fortune for as use it for basic things mainly surfing web and watching youtube videos and to learn the mac then if I like it maybe someday buy a new one.

 

My question is.

 

I want to get a mac that will support Mavericks/ Yosemite ( they have same system requirements )

 

I went to Apples support page that list the system requirements. https://www.apple.com/osx/specs/

 

However I am a little confused as macs are different from PCS in this area as you will see below.

 

Basically I see the GENERAL REQUIREMENTS VS SUPPORTED MODELS.

 

I see some mac minis online that have the GENERAL REQUIREMTETS  due to upgrades etc but however NOT in the SUPPORTED MODELS.

 

So Will a Mac mini that meets the GENERAL REQUIREMTENTS run OS X Mavericks even though it does not meet the SUPPORTED MODELS?

 

Thanks for your responses :)

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For Mavericks I think you'll need a 2007 model minimum, but I could be wrong. All I know is that my Mac was really cutting it close, and I got it in '06/'07. Can't talk for Yosemite.

When it comes to Mac, I would always go for the models that they support. It's kind of the joy of Apple, if you can find a device that is a Mac and meets the general requirements, chances are you should be ok.

Remeber, there is a difference between "General requirements" and "supported models." General requirements mean that it should run on the system without a problem. Supported models should mean that if you get a supported model and it doesn't work, you can contact Apple for support.

Maybe I'm way out of the ball park on this, but that is my understanding. (Y)

EDIT: I realise I didn't really help with the second paragraph. Conflicting information and whatnot. Apologies, I'm calling it a night soon.

Read Paragraph 1 and 3, and if you can provide the specs of the machine that you are looking to get we can help further.

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Yea I saw some older Mac Minis on Ebay with duo cores and 2 gigs of ram but they where older than 2009 supported models however all the general requiremtents met. Figured I can learn a mac this way and see if I realy like it .

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Give me a moment and let me check...

My macbook is apparently 64 months old and is able to run Mavericks without an issue. As I said, I thought that was cutting it, which is why I was surprised when my flatmate turned around and asked me why I hadn't upgraded from Snow Leopard. (thinking back, I wish I hadn't, but that's another matter for another time.)

Hmm, my Mac appears to be newer than I thought, but still it works within what you have told me. Your Mac mini should be able to support Mavericks at least if it meets the general requirements.

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True as I could buy the used mac mini only to find out I can not use anything newer than Lion :D and getting the message that my machine is not supported :D  :rofl:

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True as I could buy the used mac mini only to find out I can not use anything newer than Lion :D and getting the message that my machine is not supported :D  :rofl:

As an aside - and just my opinion - if Snow Leopard is the best that the system will run, I would still recommend going for it to try OS X. But that's just my 2 cents. (Y)

EDIT: That said, that's coming from a guy who started on Leopard. The changes from SL to Mavericks were too disorientating for me, I had to install a few things to get the OS X feel back. Maybe you would have a different experience starting at Lion +.

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I am kinda nervous now as another Apple website only shows the supported models and nothing about specs. I will keep searching and also wait for other responses and see if I can find some other stuff online.

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I have an older Mac Mini from 2009 and it STRUGGLED to run 10.7, Lion, smoothly. Absolutely struggled. Sluggish is being kind. And this was on a clean install. 

So they are capable of running the newer OS's yes. Sure. But as an example technically most all Windows computer will always be able to launch a game such as Crysis. But actually running it where it is an enjoyable experience is a whole other story.

The older Mac Mini's are a very similar experience.

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If you just want to try OS X out then run it in a VM or dual-boot it. There are ways of doing so. It's not all it's hyper up to be.

It runs like garbage in a VM.

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as long as it has a Intel core 2 duo, youll be ok, the core duos dont support EM64 and you wont be able to go above snow leopard.

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It runs like garbage in a VM.

 

It also runs like garbage on old cheap macs that are the oldest to support the newest OS.

 

It's enough to get a feel for the OS and you can still dual-boot

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If you just want to try OS X out then run it in a VM or dual-boot it. There are ways of doing so. It's not all it's hyper up to be.

If you have a capable hardware to run os x on your PC, then put it in a separate hard drive and run it that way. OS X it's not all it's hyper up be is the turth to it.

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If you have a capable hardware to run os x on your PC, then put it in a separate hard drive and run it that way. OS X it's not all it's hyper up be is the turth to it.

Yet you use it, have it listed in your profile, and as your avatar.

 

 

There is irony in this comment.

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Yet you use it, have it listed in your profile, and as your avatar.

 

 

There is irony in this comment.

I use it sometimes but right now I am on Windows.

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If you have a capable hardware to run os x on your PC, then put it in a separate hard drive and run it that way. OS X it's not all it's hyper up be is the turth to it.

I tried to run it on my PC. It is very hard to do. I have a Acer ultrabook that is almost Identical in specs to and look to macbook air.

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I have an older Mac Mini from 2009 and it STRUGGLED to run 10.7, Lion, smoothly. Absolutely struggled. Sluggish is being kind. And this was on a clean install. 

So they are capable of running the newer OS's yes. Sure. But as an example technically most all Windows computer will always be able to launch a game such as Crysis. But actually running it where it is an enjoyable experience is a whole other story.

The older Mac Mini's are a very similar experience.

 

Something sounds wrong here. I had a 2006 macbook with a Core 2 Duo and 2 GB Ram that ran the latest it was allowed, 10.7.5, absolutely beautifully. By no means a speed daemon but it never went unresponsive, had a kernel panic, or anything else. When you say one 3 years newer had problems running the same OS version it sounds suspicious. 

I tried to run it on my PC. It is very hard to do. I have a Acer ultrabook that is almost Identical in specs to and look to macbook air.

 

Theres plenty of guides.  http://forum.osxlatitude.com/index.php?/forum/121-acer-systems/  

I did my new dell with about 15 kext patches. Took 45 minutes and except for a few minor problems (all known screen-related issues) its identical and was a contender for a macbook replacement.

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1 thing not mentioned here is that Mavericks and above, as far as I know, require a 64 bit EFI. Machines older than that on the supported list only have a 32 bit EFI and Mavericks/Yosemite won't boot on them (without extensive hacking anyway).

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Any specific reason other than budget that your going for a used Mac? Personally I never buy used or refurbished because of warranty reasons on the used stuff(you might not be able to get Apple Care) and with refurbished your buying a product with a known problem. I would rather have the peace of mind that I can get support when I need it for the next 3 years and you wont have to keep guessing which OS its going to support or not.

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+1 for hackintosh. Now its installed I never really boot Windows. Can be a bit daunting at first but with tools like Unibeast and Multibeast (others too) it makes the install quite simple.

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Any specific reason other than budget that your going for a used Mac? Personally I never buy used or refurbished because of warranty reasons on the used stuff(you might not be able to get Apple Care) and with refurbished your buying a product with a known problem. I would rather have the peace of mind that I can get support when I need it for the next 3 years and you wont have to keep guessing which OS its going to support or not.

Apple's refurbished machines don't have known problem. Apple's refurbs come with the same warranty/ac as a new machine, and are generally considered to be as good as new.

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Yea I saw some older Mac Minis on Ebay with duo cores and 2 gigs of ram but they where older than 2009 supported models however all the general requiremtents met. Figured I can learn a mac this way and see if I realy like it .

 

You can't run Mavericks/Yosemite on an unsupported model even if the requirements are met.

 

You should get one of these, they'll run Mavericks and Yosemite just fine:

 

The models compatible with OS X Yosemite are:

  • iMac (Mid 2007 or later)
  • MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, Late 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later), (15-inch, Mid/Late 2007 or later), (17-inch, Late 2007 or later)
  • MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)
  • Mac Mini (Early 2009 or later)
  • Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)
  • Xserve (Early 2009)

The models that have Bluetooth LE support, and that therefore support Continuity, are:

 

 

Anything older will be completely unable to run Mavericks or Yosemite.

 

And if you ask me, get something from at least the Core i3/i5/i7 series. Core 2 Duo's are fine, but they just lack a little power to make things feel smooth.

 

I had a late 2009 Mac Mini, even with 8GB RAM and an SSD it still felt a bit slow at times. It had difficulty driving my 1920x1200 monitor smoothly (even simple scrolling was choppy) and web browsing sometimes felt unresponsive.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Apple's refurbished machines don't have known problem. Apple's refurbs come with the same warranty/ac as a new machine, and are generally considered to be as good as new.

All refurbished machines have a known problem. Thats the very definition of refurbished. Regardless of whether company claims to fix it or not. If you want piece of mind always buy new. I used to work for gamestop long ago and anything our store sold as refurbished usually got returned again within 2 weeks due to it breaking or some malfunction. Thats why I don't buy refurbish anything.

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