Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)

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MacBook Pro 14″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max) compared with MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)

	AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max)	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2023	October 2008
Display
Screen size
Screen size	14.2″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	3024 × 1964 (better)	1440 × 900
Panel
Panel	Mini-LED	–
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	120 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	600 nits	–
HDR peak brightness
HDR peak brightness	1,600 nits	–
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting	Glossy LED-backlit widescreen LCD with millions of colours. Exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the maker sources read.
Pixel density
Pixel density	254 ppi	–
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours	–
Display features
Display features	1,000,000:1 contrast; 1,000 nits sustained full-screen HDR brightness; ProMotion adaptive refresh up to 120 Hz; fixed 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94 and 60 Hz rates; True Tone	–
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M3 Pro or Apple M3 Max	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz (MacBook Pro Late 2008), Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53 GHz (MacBook Pro Late 2008) or Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz (MacBook Pro Late 2008)
CPU cores
CPU cores	11, 12, 14 or 16	2
Graphics
Graphics	14-core GPU, 18-core GPU, 30-core GPU or 40-core GPU	NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (256 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M or NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M
Memory
Memory	18 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB or 128 GB (better)	2 GB or 4 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 8 TB (better)	128 GB to 320 GB
CPU
CPU	M3 Pro: 11-core CPU (5 performance, 6 efficiency) or 12-core CPU (6 performance, 6 efficiency); M3 Max: 14-core CPU (10 performance, 4 efficiency) or 16-core CPU (12 performance, 4 efficiency)	Dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.4 GHz with 3 MB shared L2 cache or 2.53 GHz with 6 MB; 2.8 GHz with 6 MB is configurable only from the upper base, as confirmed by Ars Technica and SlashGear. 1066 MHz frontside bus; clock records avoid unverified Intel SKU assumptions.
GPU
GPU	M3 Pro: 14-core or 18-core GPU; M3 Max: 30-core or 40-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW media engine with AV1 decode; M3 Max has two video encode and two ProRes encode/decode engines	NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (256 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M; NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M. GPU memory varies with processor configuration. The integrated GeForce 9400M and discrete GeForce 9600M GT are selectable alternatives; changing GPU requires logout, as confirmed by Ars Technica and SlashGear.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory; M3 Pro supports 18 GB or 36 GB; 14-core M3 Max supports 36 GB or 96 GB; 16-core M3 Max supports 48 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB	1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots, up to 4 GB. Lower base starts with 2 GB; higher has 4 GB.
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	150 GB/s (M3 Pro); 300 GB/s (14-core M3 Max) or 400 GB/s (16-core M3 Max)	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD; M3 Pro starts at 512 GB and supports up to 4 TB; M3 Max starts at 1 TB and supports up to 8 TB	Lower base has a 250 GB and higher a 320 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA drive. Maker configurable options include 250 GB or 320 GB 7200-rpm drives, or a 128 GB SSD. All 128 GB rows are SSD configurations; higher-base 250 GB rows represent the faster configurable hard drive. 8× SuperDrive with double-layer DVD writing.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	–
Weight
Weight	1.61 kg (better)	2.49 kg
Thickness
Thickness	15.5 mm	–
Width × depth
Width × depth	312.6 × 221.2 mm	–
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 12 hours wireless web; Apple’s main specification states 72.4 Wh, but the generic footnote gives 69.6 Wh for the 14-inch model; capacity omitted from the main comparison because these figures conflict	Removable lithium-polymer battery; capacity and battery-life hours omitted because the surviving maker sources read do not publish them. Apple lists 5.5 lb; the main 2.49 kg reference weight is explicitly published by Ars Technica. Ars lists enclosure dimensions 14.35 × 9.82 × 0.95 inches; metric dimensions omitted.
Charger
Charger	70 W USB-C adapter with 11-core M3 Pro; 96 W adapter with 12-core M3 Pro or M3 Max, optional on the entry configuration	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter
Fast charging
Fast charging	With 96 W USB-C Power Adapter	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad
Colours
Colours	Silver, Space Black	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	AirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	2.1 + EDR
Webcam
Webcam	1080p FaceTime HD	Built-in iSight camera
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Three Thunderbolt 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s; HDMI; SDXC slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm jack with high-impedance headphone support	2 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, Mini DisplayPort, ExpressCard/34, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and combined optical digital audio output/headphone output, and Kensington lock slot. Display adapters sold separately.
External displays
External displays	M3 Pro supports two at 6K 60 Hz over Thunderbolt or one at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 4K 144 Hz over HDMI; M3 Max supports three at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 4K 144 Hz, or two at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz; HDMI alone supports 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz	Mini DisplayPort supports an external display up to 30 inches; separate DVI, VGA or dual-link DVI adapters required. A numeric external resolution is omitted because it is not stated in the surviving maker sources read.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keys	Full-size backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors, 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with integrated button; scrolling, pinch, rotate and three-finger/four-finger swipes.
Speakers
Speakers	Six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby Atmos	Built-in stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming	Built-in microphone above the Escape key
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	–
In the box
In the box	14-inch MacBook Pro, 70 W or 96 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m)	MacBook Pro, removable battery, 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with AC wall plug and power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and iLife ’08; Apple Remote and display adapters sold separately. The former SP499 specification URL is no longer available; maker launch notice and exact user guide supply core facts.