System requirements
Apple states the following basic Leopard system requirements, although, for some specific applications and features (such as iChat backdrops) an Intel processor is required:
Processor: any Intel processor, or PowerPC G5 or G4 (867 MHz and faster) processor
Optical drive: internal or external DVD drive (for installation of the operating system)
Memory: minimum 512 MB of RAM (additional RAM (1 GB) is recommended for development purposes)
Hard drive capacity: Minimum 9 GB of disk space available.
Leopard’s retail version was not released in separate versions for each type of processor, but instead consisted of one universal release that could run on both PowerPC and Intel processors. However, the install discs that ship with Intel-based Macs only contain Intel binaries.
Processor type and speed are checked during installation and installation halted if insufficient; however, Leopard will run on slower G4 processor machines (e.g., a 733 MHz Quicksilver) if the installation is performed on a supported Mac and its hard drive then moved to a slower/unsupported one (the drive may either be an internal mechanism or a Firewire external).
