Does my Mac have an Intel or PowerPC processor?

  • Last Modified: April 23, 2009
  • Article: HT1531
  • Old Article: 303056

Summary

Not sure if your Mac is using Intel or PowerPC processors? Here are two easy ways to find out without opening your computer's case.

Products Affected

Mac OS X 10.4, Mac OS X 10.3, Mac OS X 10.2, Mac OS X 10.1, Mac OS X 10.5

Visit the About This Mac window

This is the quickest way to determine the type of processor in your Mac:

  1. In the Finder, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu.
  2. Look at the Processor line to see which kind of processor is in your Mac.


 

Use System Profiler

You can also use System Profiler:

  1. Open System Profiler.
  2. In the Hardware Overview pane, the type of processor is displayed on the CPU Type line.
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