Mac OS X El Capitan Required System Requirements and Supported Mac Models

Diana Joan

Aug 06, 2015 08:11 am / Posted by Diana Joan

The OS X El Capitan is the successor to Mac OS X Yosemite. With great improvements on performance, stability and security, it is expected to be a great system software update for Mac users.

Mac OS X El Capitan

Basic hardware system requirements for new version updating

Before updating to the next version of Mac OS X, the first issue you should take into consideration is that whether your Mac hardware supports the new version. The good news is that the hardware system requirements are quite easily to be satisfied. If you Mac can run OS X Yosemite or OS X Mavericks, it will be almost certainly be able to run OS X El Capitan as well. Besides that, your Mac must have a 64-bit CPU, which is typically an Intel Core 2 Duo or newer processor. You’ll also need a few GB of available disk space to install the final version on your Mac, which is typical for updating any system software.

Optimal system requirements for Mac OS X El Capitan

Above are the minimal system requirements, if you want to experience superior performance, there will be some optimal requirements you should comply with. Generally the newer the Mac the better the software will run. Beyond that, much available RAM is more preferable. What’s more, a super fast SSD disk will also dramatically boost performance of any computer.

Supported Mac model list that satisfy above hardware

To run Mac OS X El Capitan, you don’t need a brand new computer, all Mac computers that released over the last 5 years will be supported. Have a reference at the supported minimum Mac model list as below:
iMac (from 2007 upwards)
The 13 inch Aluminum 2008 edition MacBook, or 2009 edition and older
The 13 inch 2009 MacBook Pro
The 15-inch or 17-inch, 2007 MacBook Pro or newer versions
The 2008 Macbook Air or newer version
The 2009 Mac Mini or newer version
The 2009 early edition Xserve

And the models that doesn’t meet with the minimum hardware system requirements including: iMac 4.1 to 6.1, MacBook 1.1 to 4.1, MacBook Pro 1.1 to 2.1, MacBook Air 1.1, Mac Mini 1.1 to 2.1, Mac Pro 1.1 to 2.1 and Xserver 1.1 to 2.1.

You can download the beta of Mac OS X El Capitan now and the final version will be available this fall as a free download for all eligible Mac users.