However, on Microsoft's page dedicated to Office 365 Personal, it clearly states that you need at least High Sierra (10.13) to run it. Elsewhere I read that it would still work with El Capitan, except that it won't run the features available if I were running it on one of the last three OS Xs. Upgrade your Mac to El Capitan, and run Snow Leopard Server in a virtual machine. It is easy, and it is exactly what I do now to run several different legacy applications. If you are in the USA, you can buy Mac OS X Server v10.6 Snow Leopard from Apple for $19.99. You must call Apple at (800) MY–APPLE (800–692–7753) and place a phone order. All Macintosh computers that can run Mountain Lion, Mavericks, or Yosemite can run El Capitan, although not all of its features will work on older computers. Compress mkv with handbrake. For example, Apple notes that the newly available Metal API is available on 'all Macs since 2012'. These computers can run El Capitan, provided they have at least 2GB of RAM.
- Can I Run El Capitan Drive
- Can I Run El Capitan Os
- Can I Run Ark With A Os X El Capitan
- Can I Run El Capitan Mac
In case you're on the fence about upgrading to macOS Sierra from El Capitan, you've come to the right place. We're dissecting the new macOS in detail, looking closely at how it compares to the previous and if the end justifies the means (of waiting for an hour-long upgrade). However, if you want to upgrade to macOS 10.13 High Sierra, jump straight to this guide.
Before we begin, here's a few most common things you have to know about the latest macOS: the update is free as always, it runs on most Macs later that 2009, and you can only upgrade from El Capitan (you can't skip it and run Sierra from Yosemite directly). There, now let's look at what Sierra has to offer.
Comparing OS X El Capitan 10.11 to macOS Sierra 10.12
We'll run a comparison on the most important things: features, performance, and system requirements. Usually, most of these criteria are enough to make a decision whether you need to upgrade or not. Some of the measurements are approximate and might show different figures in the case of your Mac, like battery life, which depends heavily on its age and intensity of usage.
Features Comparison
| El Capitan | Sierra | |
|---|---|---|
| iCloud cross-device sync | Calendar, Messages, Notes — the usual stuff. | New folders added: Desktop and Documents. |
| Siri | Nope. | Available, still imperfect, but it's there. |
| Apple Pay | Nope. | Available, works well. |
| Space management | Only the one you perform yourself by being neat. | Optimized Storage with cleaning features. |
| Apple Watch Unlock | Nope. | Is there, works mostly fine. |
As you can see, macOS Sierra is pretty packed with new features. Some of the goodies can only be used if you have other Apple devices, like iPhone or Apple Watch. Optimized Storage is a whole separate story on how Apple tried to make a good space cleaning solution and almost succeeded.
Bottom line is, if you want your system running smoothly for longer than a few months after the installation, you'll need third-party Mac cleaners for both El Capitan and Sierra. Despite the fact that you can free a notable chunk of your drive by moving stuff into the iCloud with Optimized Storage, you still get all kinds of system trash (like app cache) that doesn't go anywhere.
Another novelty, an intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator Siri, has been long-expected and we're all glad to have it on Mac. Even though it's still not the future-is-now kind of assistant that really understands you and can hold a conversation. But it will look for files on your Mac or on the web and find you a place to have that anniversary dinner. Which is nice.
Performance Comparison
Can I Run El Capitan Drive
| El Capitan | Sierra | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed test | Works fine when having enough free disk space (~10%) | Appears snappier, but could be just a clean new system. Runs better on new Macs. |
| Battery life | 6-7 hours on a Macbook Air 2013 | 5-6 hours on a MacBook Air 2013. Seems to be a general trend of 1-2-hour shorter battery life after upgrade. |
| Security | Pretty solid OS, but could be better. | 65 security fixes, sounds impressive. |
It's hard to make a sweeping judgement on which OS version is faster or more powerful. Because of the constant sync with your iCloud (and probably something else because when it's turned off the problem is still present) macOS Sierra does drain your battery faster. On average, an upgrade will cost you a few hours of work.
On the other hand, at least a fresh-installed system is really snappy and the response is amazing. It could be because it's a new install and it could get lost in half a year, but hey, half a year is still not bad. Just make sure your Mac supports Sierra, otherwise instead of getting faster it will slow down even more. So getting an app like CleanMyMac or the likes is still advisable even for the latest macOS.
System Requirements
| El Capitan | Sierra | |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Hard Drive space | 8.8 GB of free storage | 8.8 GB of free storage |
| Hardware (Mac models) | Most late 2008 | Some late 2009, but mostly 2010. |
The main difference is with the Mac models, you can see Apple support page for more details on which Macs can upgrade, but the official requirements for RAM and disk space are the same, even though technically the installation file for Sierra is smaller.
To sum it up, if you have a late 2009 Mac, Sierra is a go. It's fast, it has Siri, it can keep your old stuff in iCloud. It's a solid, safe macOS that looks like a good but minor improvement over El Capitan. We hope this guide has been of help. Remember to backup your files and upgrade safely. Cheers.
These might also interest you:
So we received a couple of Mac Pro 1,1′s which were having issues and decided to see what we could make from them. The idea being to make a powerful, modern Mac as cheaply as possible. Rhinoceros versatile 3d modeler v6 19. The Mac Pro 1,1 is a great place to start – it has masses of internal expansion, and can be grabbed cheaply second hand sources, often for less than £ 100. Free call of duty games.
The basic issue with the Mac Pro 1,1 is that as factory setup and running it will not run above Mac OS 10.7.5 – this limits it's usability; especially with Applications like Adobe CC or even modern apps like Photos or iTunes. It also limits some upgrade options; especially with Graphics cards like our R9 – as these earlier OSes do not have the drivers needed.
To start with much of this work has been done by others; I will try and link back to sources as much as possible. That said many people have done similar things in different ways – so I will try and justify my methodology as well (or at least explain the logic behind the decision).
Can I Run El Capitan Os
The short short version:
1) Upgrade the firmware to Mac Pro 2,1 (add support for newer CPUs)
2) Upgrade the CPUs to 2 x Quad Core 3.0Ghz Xeons.
3) Upgrade the RAM to above 16GB (we went to 32GB but anything above 16GB should be fine)
4) Install 4 x HDDs (defiantly Matched in size – preferably matched in brand, model etc) – Setup as a RAID 0 – and Test.
5) Upgrade the Graphics Card (we used our R9) – you need to have at least 512 MB VRAM.
6) Install Mac OS X 10.11.6 onto the RAID and modify the boot.efi and list
7) Boot and enjoy!!
Cod 4 legends. So these steps in detail – with reasons and processes.
1) Upgrade the firmware to Mac Pro 2,1 (add support for newer CPUs)
System Requirements
| El Capitan | Sierra | |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Hard Drive space | 8.8 GB of free storage | 8.8 GB of free storage |
| Hardware (Mac models) | Most late 2008 | Some late 2009, but mostly 2010. |
The main difference is with the Mac models, you can see Apple support page for more details on which Macs can upgrade, but the official requirements for RAM and disk space are the same, even though technically the installation file for Sierra is smaller.
To sum it up, if you have a late 2009 Mac, Sierra is a go. It's fast, it has Siri, it can keep your old stuff in iCloud. It's a solid, safe macOS that looks like a good but minor improvement over El Capitan. We hope this guide has been of help. Remember to backup your files and upgrade safely. Cheers.
These might also interest you:
So we received a couple of Mac Pro 1,1′s which were having issues and decided to see what we could make from them. The idea being to make a powerful, modern Mac as cheaply as possible. Rhinoceros versatile 3d modeler v6 19. The Mac Pro 1,1 is a great place to start – it has masses of internal expansion, and can be grabbed cheaply second hand sources, often for less than £ 100. Free call of duty games.
The basic issue with the Mac Pro 1,1 is that as factory setup and running it will not run above Mac OS 10.7.5 – this limits it's usability; especially with Applications like Adobe CC or even modern apps like Photos or iTunes. It also limits some upgrade options; especially with Graphics cards like our R9 – as these earlier OSes do not have the drivers needed.
To start with much of this work has been done by others; I will try and link back to sources as much as possible. That said many people have done similar things in different ways – so I will try and justify my methodology as well (or at least explain the logic behind the decision).
Can I Run El Capitan Os
The short short version:
1) Upgrade the firmware to Mac Pro 2,1 (add support for newer CPUs)
2) Upgrade the CPUs to 2 x Quad Core 3.0Ghz Xeons.
3) Upgrade the RAM to above 16GB (we went to 32GB but anything above 16GB should be fine)
4) Install 4 x HDDs (defiantly Matched in size – preferably matched in brand, model etc) – Setup as a RAID 0 – and Test.
5) Upgrade the Graphics Card (we used our R9) – you need to have at least 512 MB VRAM.
6) Install Mac OS X 10.11.6 onto the RAID and modify the boot.efi and list
7) Boot and enjoy!!
Cod 4 legends. So these steps in detail – with reasons and processes.
1) Upgrade the firmware to Mac Pro 2,1 (add support for newer CPUs)
There is a useful forum here: which has a utility to do this. I followed the instructions and rebooted with the long tone and off you trot! This is needed to add support for the newer CPUs we had in store.
2) Upgrade the CPUs to 2 x Quad Core 3.0Ghz Xeons.
We had these in store from a failed Mac Pro 2,1 which had logic issues – but they can be purchased from eBay very cheaply – there is a great list here on MacRumors which can help you decide which suit your budget / needs. If you want to run lots at any one time then going from Dual Core to Quad Core can be helpful (I wanted to get virtualization working to support legacy OSes at the same time) – otherwise going for higher clock speed is more helpful for processes such as video encoding.
3) Upgrade the RAM to above 16GB (we went to 32GB but anything above 16GB should be fine)
If you trust the second hand market; you can pick up some real bargains for 667mhz RAM for these Machines (we do see some customers with issues from second hand RAM but would image it is a small number given how much it appears on eBay etc) – we do sell new modules here.
You MUST have above 12 GB RAM to run El Capitan without it falling over at random intervals – when we had it up and running with 8GB (waiting for a stock delivery) it would fall over every 10 mins or so at random times – since the upgrade it is up for days without any bother.
4) Install 4 x HDDs (defiantly Matched in size – preferably matched in brand, model etc) – Setup as a RAID 0 – and Test.
Can I Run Ark With A Os X El Capitan
I had 4 x 3TB HDDs from a previous project which were no longer being used – a bit of a miss match of brands (a pair of Seagate 3TB, and a pair of WD Green 3TB drives). Once these were installed in the Mac Pro I used Target Disk mode via Firewire to a Mac Mini and setup as a RAID 0 using SoftRAID. Using target mode meant that we could install the latest SoftRAID drivers and not have issues later with older versions etc.
This RAID gives over 500MB/s read and write speed (as tested with BlackMagic Disk Speed Test) – and you could expect more with newer and matched drives. Not bad for 12TB of storage!
I used RAID 0 as this Mac will be backed up to a Time Machine server and also be acting as a Media Backup – so failure accounted for.
Can I Run El Capitan Mac
5) Upgrade the Graphics Card (I used our R9) – you need to have at least 512 MB VRAM.
Video Cards with less than 512 MB VRAM cause issues on these early Mac Pros with the later OSes. I replaced the stock GT with a flashed R9 270x 2GB VRAM. Other cards will work; however the 270x is within the Max power draw spec, has nice out of the box driver support in 10.11.6 and full Dual-link DVI.
6) Install Mac OS X 10.11.6 onto the RAID and modify the boot.efi and list
I used the Mac Pro in Target disk mode attached to a 2012 Mac Mini running 10.9 – this allowed me to install 10.11.3, create an account and complete all the usual upgrades to 10.11.6 so that I knew it was a fully working install. – Effectively using the Mac Pro as a big hard drive enclosure!
Once it was all working I booted back into the Mac Mini and followed the instructions here:
This involved replacing the boot.efi and adding a line item to the plist. (I went for grey as I am a traditionalist!).
A tentative reboot with the 'Alt' key and the 10.11.6 RAID appeared – selected and then the login appeared! It lives! Make sure that the hard drive is selected in the startup disk panel to avoid a long delay on boot and it has been up and running ever since!
So now I have a Mac Pro, running El Capitan 10.11.6 with 32GB RAM, 12TB hard drive operating at similar speeds to a modern SSD, the wonderful R9 270X with 2GB VRAM and two displays. Daily it runs four web browsers with approx 10 tabs in each, Parallels with various older OSes from 10.6.8 server upwards, Photos, eMail, Facetime (with a USB webcam), iTunes, iWork and all the usual office tasks and all for less than the cost of a iPad!
