Beginning August 28, every new Mac computer comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Program.
Technical Specifications
General requirements
Intel Core 2 Due
* Mac computer with an Intel processor
* 1GB of memory
* 5GB of available disk space
* DVD drive for installation
* Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
* Some features require Apple’s MobileMe service; fees and terms apply.
Feature-specific requirements
Time Machine
Time Machine
requires an additional hard drive or Time Capsule (sold separately).
Photo Booth
requires an iSight camera (built in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder. Backdrop effects when using a DV camcorder require fixed focus, exposure, and white balance.
Boot Camp
requires Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista (sold separately).
Screen sharing
in iChat and the Finder requires a 128-Kbps Internet connection (300 Kbps recommended).
DVD Player
requires a 1.6GHz processor or faster for improved deinterlacing.
iChat
* Audio chats require a microphone and a 56-Kbps Internet connection.
* Video chats require an iSight camera (built in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder; and a 128-Kbps upstream and downstream Internet connection.
* Backdrop effects when using a DV camcorder require fixed focus, exposure, and white balance.
* Some iChat features offer better performance and quality with higher system capabilities. More details
Exchange Support
requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Update Rollup 4. Auto-setup requires enabling the Autodiscovery feature of Microsoft Exchange Server.
QuickTime X movie capture
requires iSight camera (built-in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder.
QuickTime H.264 hardware acceleration
requires a Mac with an NVIDIA 9400M graphics processor.
Developer tools
require 1GB of memory and an additional 3GB of available disk space.
OpenCL
requires one of the following graphics cards or graphics processors:
* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, GeForce 9600M GT, GeForce 8600M GT, GeForce GT 120, GeForce GT 130, GeForce GTX 285, GeForce 8800 GT, GeForce 8800 GS, Quadro FX 4800, Quadro FX5600
* ATI Radeon 4850, Radeon 4870
64-bit support
requires a Mac with a 64-bit processor.
Grand Central Dispatch
requires a Mac with a multicore processor.
How to get Mac OS X
Snow Leopard.
With every new Mac.
Beginning August 28, every new Mac computer comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Program.
If you purchased a qualifying Mac on or after June 8, 2009, that does not include Mac OS X Snow Leopard, you can upgrade for $9.95.
Learn more
Upgrading from Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard.
If your Intel-based Mac is running Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, just purchase Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard and follow the simple installation instructions.
Upgrading from Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger.
If your Intel-based Mac is running Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, purchase the Mac Box Set, which is a single, affordable package that includes Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard; iLife ’09, with the latest versions of iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD; and iWork ’09, Apple’s productivity suite for home and office including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.
