“At the time of writing, Apple has not announced any pricing information. [for OS X 10.9 Mavericks],” Johnny Winter writes for Mactuts+. “Over the years, subsequent versions of OS X have been offered at ever increasingly value-for-money prices… OS X 10.8 was only available as an upgrade through the Mac App Store and cost £13.99 in the UK. Compare this to £99.99 for Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system, and any upgrade to OS X is an absolute steal!”
“In order to run OS X 10.9 Mavericks, your Mac must have at least 2 GB of memory,” Winter writes. “From my own experience of running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, on a Mac mini, my recommendation would be to look at 4GB being an absolute minimum for Mavericks, otherwise it you run very slowly indeed.”
Winter writes, “Better still, I’d recommend at least 8GB or more if you can afford it.”
Much more in the full article here.
16G! Go for it!
1. Optimize directory
2. Check and repair permissions
3. Time machine and or CCC clone current OSX
4. Buy Mavricks
5. Install it
6. Enjoy it
What do you mean by 1. Optimize directory?
You need special software like Disk warrior. Your directory over time can get fragmented, causing all sorts of problems. Think of this as an equivalent to windows file allocation table. Disk warrior will scan, repair and optimize the directory. Most of the time it makes your Mac snappier.
No, you don’t. Fragmentation is a non-issue on OS X.
-jcr
More than that, it’s totally unnecessary if you have a solid state drive, because of how data is retrieved from them. Defragging an SSD can actually reduce its lifespan thanks to un-necessary writes (in practice the impact is probably minimal, but even then, why waste minutes or hours defragging when you don’t need to).
It is for the files.
This isn’t about hard drive fragmentation. That isn’t what he is talking about doing with Disk Warrior (correct me if I’m wrong trondude). The OS uses a file that keeps track of where everything is located on the hard drive. This file over time gets a little ‘messed up’ and straightening it out can help performance. I’m about due for this. I’m no expert so someone correct me if I’m wrong.
Yes, you are correct. I am not talking about defragmenting the physical drive and the files, but correcting errors in the directory. Think of repairing permissions, not defraging the files on the hard drive.
Will OS X automatically defragment data on a SATA type of HDD? This Macbook Pro I have has the platter/read head type of hard drive. I would agree defragmenting is not necessary on SSD’s, based on what I’ve read, but as I have stated earlier in this post I have a platter/read head type of hard drive in my Macbook Pro.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5862
“You don’t need to defragment or optimize your disk when you use Mac OS X. When writing files, Mac OS X optimizes your disk space and avoids fragmenting large files into smaller segments.
If your hard disk seems to be slower than it used to be, you may need to repair your disk.”
#1 hasn’t been an issue since Mac OS 9.
#2 is not necessary since 10.7
#3 YES!
#4 I’d recommend Mavericks (Mavricks is the Chinese knock-off) 😛
#5 that’s the point of all this, right?
#6 totally subjective
Why is repairing permissions no longer an issue as of 10.7 (if it was ever an issue at all)?
# 1 response is not true. Your directory still becomes fragmented over time. You do not know what you are talking about.
Disk Warrior has saved my butt many times. Even now on 10.x.
Not the same as disk fragmentation.
Isn’t Mavericks supposed to be much better at memory management?
Still doesn’t mean you should be running 2 GB of ram. My guess is that if you’re only running 2 GB of ram, you probably don’t care a lot about performance anyway.
If one doesn’t work with large files, like audio or video, then it might not be necessary to max out RAM — and certainly not for an OS to require it.
Many people seem to over-rely on RAM as a crutch to cover up architecture & maintenance issues.
Actually “memory management” is very misunderstood…
And
more free memory≠better memory management.
“retention” is (one of) the applicable concepts here (though memory management is a highly complex environment dependent thing) Just because a OS “retains” resources (and therefore shows less “free” memory) isn’t a bad thing. Unloading retained resources (to free memory) is quick and easy (ram only) event, however swap-outs are’t (and are what causes the “system busy” beach ball in most cases)
From everything I have seen Mavericks functions as well or better in constrained memory situations. (and significantly better in ample memory situations)
Did that answer your question?
it is, and also gives a boost to the GPU in terms of gaming and graphic rendering. I have an iMac 3.06 core 2 duo with graphics of only 256 meg Radeon hd 4670, 12 gigs RAM. I’m certain this 4 1/2 year old mac will be enhanced by the Mavericks OS just by my RAM.
No one will ever need more than 640K!
Hi !
Optimize Directory is different from Disk Fragmentation
Optimize Directory with a Utility like Disk Warrior re-organize, fix Directory (like number of total files on the Disk) and optimize the Directory structure to have the fastest access possible
In the Case of Disk Fragmentation is true since many years that Mac OS X manage this very well itself for small file size. This optimization is not necessary these days (except in rare case with Large and big Type of File (like video))
I just installed 16g of RAM purchased from Other World Computing. I paid $167 and will get a $18 rebate on the 4g 2 x 2 I send back. It’s a great deal for my late 2011 MBP. Snappiest!
Has anyone tried using Mavericks with the Adobe CC suite? With Evernote? If you have encountered any issues with key apps and Mavericks, do share them there. Thanks!
PS Czech out http://www.roaringapps.com – their Mavericks app compatibility checker is the best I have found so far.
Best of luck. And happy surfing the big waves of Mavericks – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mavericks_(location) . Around Super Bowl Sunday, the real Mavericks gets huge – intense big-wave surfing. Unlike the turquoise waters of Oahu’s North Shore, Mavericks in January is like the frigid gates of Hell. But if you can handle tow-in surfing, it’s an adventure of a lifetime.