OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) Won't Support Some 64-bit Macs With Older GPUs

MojoKid writes "Apple is pitching Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) as the cat's meow, with over 200 new features 'that add up to an amazing Mac experience' — but that only applies if you're rocking a compatible system. Some older Mac models, including ones that are 64-bit capable, aren't invited to the Mountain Lion party, and it's likely because of the GPU. It's being reported (unofficially) that an updated graphics architecture intended to smooth out performance in OS X's graphics subsystem is the underlying issue. It's no coincidence, then, that the unsupported GPUs happen to be ones that were fairly common back before 64-bit support became mainstream."

Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[jlv]

10.7 dropped support my 1st gen $2000 MacBook Pro, which otherwise still runs perfectly (but with only 10.6).

Apple's hardware isn't just pricey, but they like you to buy new hardware on a regular basis.

_PROD_ _VER_ won't support _OLD_HW_

[Anonymous Coward]

_YAWN_

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[Anonymous Coward]

With a first gen macbook pro I think your due for a new laptop......3-5 years is my max of keeping them around.

More of a reason to laugh

[Billly Gates]

At watching all those experiencing nerd rage that Microsoft is ending XP support after a mere 14 years, and how they are so angry at Microsoft they are going to buy a Mac next rather than upgrade to Windows 7. Then we read stuff like this.

Only a little nerd rage here on slashdot from XP loyalists, but wired.com and CIO magazine's website was filled with them and they were somewhat serious about using a Mac next to avoid planned obscelence in their minds.

Looks like my $6000 3 year old Mac Pro barely...

[Assmasher]

...scrapes by.

That's reedonkulous.

Unmitigated success for Apple has been bad for us.

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[blahbooboo]

I've always been baffled at people buying Mac, hardware to me it's a bit like console gaming, which also baffles me these days, as it's got all the hassles PC gaming has these days with none of the flexibility.

Really? Last I heard console gaming had no configuration issues, drivers, etc which a PC does..

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[Psyborgue]

Maybe you won't be able to run the OS, but it'll still be a long time before apps require 10.8. My 5 year old MBP (late 07) is supported. 5 Years isn't exactly bad. Had the 8600m GPU not burned itself out just after the warranty period, i'd probably still be using the thing.

Use that cash, hire driver writers

[Sponge Bath]

Mountain Lion apparently doesn't play nice with 32-bit GPU drivers, and while Apple could spend time and resources bringing older models up to par, the Cupertino company decided it was better off dropping support altogether.

If this were a true hardware limitation, it would still be bad. But not wanting to update drivers? While you are sitting on $100 billion cash? How many driver writers do you need for the limited selection of tightly controlled hardware?

Ugh.

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[Missing.Matter]

Not anymore. A 6 year old machine might not be able to run the latest games, but it can run the latest Windows or Linux OS, the latest work processing and productivity software, and the latest browsers. I have a 2006 Core 2 machine with 4 GB RAM and a nice big harddrive in it. It runs Ubuntu 12.04, Windows 7, and Windows 8, runs Office 2010, runs Google Chrome and Opera 12.... this is a machine that does what most people need it to. This is very different from say 1996, where a computer from 1990 was laughable.

But we're not even talking about 6 year old machines here; where talking about machines you might have bought in 2008/2009. That's 3-4 years old! I have a quad core machine that old that can even run some of the latest games at decent resolution and FPS, and of course runs the latest Windows and Linux OS. It's unacceptable that a 3 year old mac could not run the latest Mac OS.

Remember Vista?

[rogueippacket]

In before the haters, just think back to the release of Vista and signed vs. unsigned drivers. In this case, we're talking about drawing a very clear line between four year old Mac hardware which will not be supported, and everything else, which will be fully supported. There is no gray area.
Now think back to the debut of mandatory driver signing with Windows Vista - where individual components in your computer would cease to function after an upgrade for no reason other than Microsoft wanted your manufacturer to pay extra for the privilege. Even worse, there really was no way to know before the upgrade if your system would function entirely. At least Apple's upgrade paths are clearly defined, and always have been - from Classic to OS X, PowerPC to Intel, and now Lion to Mountain Lion. You knew what you were getting into when you bought the Mac, and that's a very rigid upgrade cycle of roughly three years (right after your warranty expires) if you want to remain on the bleeding edge.

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[DragonWriter]

Apple's hardware isn't just pricey, but they like you to buy new hardware on a regular basis.

Is there any company that doesn't like you to buy their product as frequently as possible?

Re:AGAIN?

[0x000000]

You have clients ... charge a little more and absorb the cost of new hardware. What's so hard about that?

An interesting dichotomy

[davidbrit2]

As a software company, it's in Microsoft's best interest to prevent "new hardware" from being a barrier to entry for buying their software. (Remember the "Vista Capable" mess?)

As a hardware company, Apple mostly uses their software to try to entice you into buying new hardware.

Re:Use that cash, hire driver writers

[Sponge Bath]

We are talking about individual device drivers, not upgrading IRS computers. The interfaces are already well defined. The hardware is already well understood. There is an existing code base to work from. There might be half a dozen GPUs in question, which could be handled by half a dozen driver writers working alone for a couple of months.

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[beelsebob]

Really? You're complaining that a 6 year old computer isn't up to running modern stuff? Really?

Seriously, if you're that concerned about having to buy new machines, sell it after 3 years. Pour $2000 MacBook Pro would almost certainly have fetched $16-1800, and you'd have got a new one, capable of running more modern OSes for effectively $2-400.

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[TheRaven64]

Depends on what you use it for. The current generation is more than twice as fast. If you get work done on it and the speed makes you more productive, it's beyond the time when an upgrade will likely pay for itself. If it isn't, then you'd probably be better off with something cheaper in the first place.

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[Anonymous Coward]

Windows 8 compatible yes, capable of running Windows 8 at a usable speed? Not f**king likely.

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[MBCook]

And his 6 year old computer could run both the OS it came with (would that be 10.4?) and the version of Mac OS X available when Windows 7 was released in 2009 (10.6, Snow Leopard).

Plus, it runs last year's OS X, 10.7, Lion.

In other words, it's roughly the same.

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[jbolden]

Just to support that. The people who bought PPC computers in 06 were doing so to run legacy software, not infrequently 10.4 with the classic box or to take advantage of the G5s (the switch to Intel really was a downgrade for desktops).

Re:Just buy new hardware! (NOT)

[stewbacca]

I've always been baffled at people buying Mac, hardware to me it's a bit like console gaming, which also baffles me these days, as it's got all the hassles PC gaming has these days with none of the flexibility.

Even more baffling is your grammar and choice of punctuation.