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Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2006)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max)AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2006)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2023May 2006
Display
Screen size14.2″17″
Resolution3024 × 19641680 × 1050
PanelMini-LED–
Refresh rate120 Hz–
Brightness600 nits300 nits
HDR peak brightness1,600 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlightingWidescreen TFT display; matte at launch, with glossy option added later in May 2006 with millions of colours. Exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the maker sources read.
Pixel density254 ppi–
Colour rangeWide colour (P3); 1 billion colours–
Display features1,000,000:1 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
ProcessorApple M3 Pro or Apple M3 MaxIntel Core Duo 2.16 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2006)
CPU cores11, 12, 14 or 162
Graphics14-core GPU, 18-core GPU, 30-core GPU or 40-core GPUATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3)
Memory18 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB or 128 GB1 GB or 2 GB
Storage512 GB to 8 TB100 GB to 120 GB
CPUM3 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 Duo at 2.16 GHz, with 2 MB shared L2 cache and 667 MHz frontside bus. The record retains the maker’s clock and model rather than copying an unverified retail-chip specification.
GPUM3 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 enginesATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3)
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified 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 GB667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots; 1 GB standard, configurable to 2 GB.
Memory bandwidth150 GB/s (M3 Pro); 300 GB/s (14-core M3 Max) or 400 GB/s (16-core M3 Max)–
Storage typeSSD; M3 Pro starts at 512 GB and supports up to 4 TB; M3 Max starts at 1 TB and supports up to 8 TB120 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 100 GB at 7200 rpm. 8× SuperDrive with 2.4× double-layer DVD+R writing.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 18 hoursUp to 5.5 hours
Battery capacity–68 Wh
Weight1.61 kg3.1 kg
Thickness15.5 mm25.9 mm
Width × depth312.6 × 221.2 mm392 × 265 mm
Battery life detailUp 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 conflictRemovable 68 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 5.5 hours in Apple’s test. Maker reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger70 W USB-C adapter with 11-core M3 Pro; 96 W adapter with 12-core M3 Pro or M3 Max, optional on the entry configuration85 W MagSafe Power Adapter
Fast chargingWith 96 W USB-C Power Adapter–
Materials100% recycled aluminium enclosureAluminium enclosure
ColoursSilver, Space BlackSilver
Connections
Ports3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6EAirPort Extreme 802.11g
Bluetooth5.32.0 + EDR
Webcam1080p FaceTime HDBuilt-in iSight camera
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailThree 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 support3 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, dual-link DVI, ExpressCard/34, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and combined optical digital audio output/headphone output, and Kensington lock slot. VGA adapter included; composite/S-video adapter optional.
External displaysM3 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 HzOne external display up to 2560 × 1600 alongside the built-in screen through dual-link DVI; included VGA adapter, optional composite/S-video adapter.
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keysFull-size backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors, 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys; embedded numeric keypad
TrackpadForce Touch trackpadScrolling trackpad with a separate button; two-finger scrolling, tap, double-tap and drag.
SpeakersSix-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby AtmosBuilt-in stereo speakers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamformingBuilt-in omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille
BiometricsTouch ID–
In the box14-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. Apple Remote and DVI-to-VGA adapter included. Mac OS X 10.4.6 Tiger and iLife ’06. Apple’s 24 April 2006 notice states shipping the following week, supporting May month precision without an exact delivery day. The optional glossy screen was introduced later in May and is not treated as an original launch configuration.

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