Mac OS X Netbook Compatibility Chart | Hacker News Reader

Mac OS X Netbook Compatibility Chart

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8 pointssjs3827 comments

And the comments show why I wouldn't base a decision purely on this chart.

Not covered on the chart, but apparently also variable: audio in, power management/fans, OS update success, two finger scrolling...

Run != Run well or with any usable experience. Don't forget how demanding OS X can be on machines.

Is that comment based on first-hand experience? The Macbook Air debuted not too long ago with a 1.6ghz chip. It wasn't an Atom processor inside the Macbook Air, but is the performance that much different?

Yes, the performance difference between a Core 2 Duo and an Atom is significant.

On the other hand, I just recently installed Leopard on my January 2003 model PowerBook, with an 867Mhz processor and I'm entirely pleased (to put it mildly) with the performance, so I can't see these faster systems having any trouble.

My bad... That was poor choice of wording on my part. What I meant to ask was "Is OS X's performance on these netbooks really that bad?"

> ... is the performance that much different?

Yes. The Atom 330 (Dual core, hyperthreaded 1.6GHz atom) I use builds code at about 1/4 the speed of a 2.4GHz Core2 Duo (two cores, no hyperthreading) I previously used.

Irrelevant information: avoid the 330 boards with the 40mm 7200rpm fan on the heatsink. The fans are loud, awful, and will fail causing mayhem. I do not believe there are currently alternatives. I pulled the dead little fan from mine and mounted a 120mm fan over the heat sinks and just flood the board with air. I will buy another, but not until they get rid of the 40mm fan.

The Mhz==Performance state of affairs really ended(+) around the time Intel first hit 3Ghz with the classic P4.

(+)Not that it was ever really true, but it was an accurate enough measure for most normal people talking about x86 processors for a few years. With the glaring exception of the Celeron - same speed, yet cheaper and less performant.

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