Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

MacBook Pro 14″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max) compared with MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)
AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max)AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)
Overview
ReleasedMarch 2026October 2008
Display
Screen size14.2″15.4″
Resolution3024 × 1964 (better)1440 × 900
PanelMini-LED–
Refresh rate120 Hz–
Brightness1,000 nits–
HDR peak brightness1,600 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR displayGlossy LED-backlit widescreen LCD 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 Exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the maker sources read.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–
Screen finishStandard, or nano-texture as an option–
Display features1,000,000:1 contrast; 1,000 nits sustained full-screen XDR brightness; ProMotion up to 120 Hz, with fixed 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94 and 60 Hz rates; True Tone–
Performance
ProcessorApple M5 Pro or Apple M5 MaxIntel 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 cores15 or 182
Graphics16-core GPU, 20-core GPU, 32-core GPU or 40-core GPUNVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (256 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M or NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M
Memory24 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB (better)2 GB or 4 GB
Storage1 TB to 8 TB (better)128 GB to 320 GB
CPU15-core CPU with 5 super cores and 10 performance cores (entry M5 Pro), or 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance coresDual-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.
GPU16-core or 20-core (M5 Pro), 32-core or 40-core (M5 Max) GPU with Neural Accelerators and hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode, with two video encode and two ProRes engines on M5 MaxNVIDIA 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 engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified memory1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots, up to 4 GB. Lower base starts with 2 GB; higher has 4 GB.
Memory bandwidth307 GB/s (M5 Pro), 460 GB/s (M5 Max with 32-core GPU) or 614 GB/s (M5 Max with 40-core GPU)–
Storage typeSSD, configurable up to 4 TB (M5 Pro) or 8 TB (M5 Max); Apple quotes up to 14.5 GB/s read and write (tested with a 16-inch M5 Max with 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)Up to 22 hours–
Battery capacity72.4 Wh–
Weight1.6 kg (better)2.49 kg
Thickness15.5 mm–
Width × depth312.6 × 221.2 mm–
Battery life detailM5 Pro up to 22 hours video streaming and 14 hours wireless web; M5 Max up to 20 hours video streaming and 13 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer batteryRemovable 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.
ChargerSold separately in the UK (70 W or 96 W Apple USB-C adapters offered); needs at least 70 W over USB PD85 W MagSafe Power Adapter
Fast chargingWith a 96 W or higher USB PD power source–
Materials100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 45% recycled content overallAluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad
ColoursSpace Black, SilverSilver
Connections
Ports3 × Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe
Wi-FiWi-Fi 7AirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth62.1 + EDR
Webcam12MP Center StageBuilt-in iSight camera
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detail3 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 5 and USB 4 (up to 120 Gb/s); HDMI (up to 8K) with multichannel audio output; SDXC card slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support2 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 displaysM5 Pro up to three at 6K 60 Hz or 4K 144 Hz, or one at 8K 60 Hz, 5K 120 Hz or 4K 240 Hz plus one at 5K 120 Hz or 4K 200 Hz; M5 Max up to four at 6K 60 Hz or 4K 144 Hz, or two at 8K 60 Hz, 5K 120 Hz or 4K 240 Hz; all alongside the built-in displayMini 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.
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) 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
TrackpadForce Touch trackpadGlass Multi-Touch trackpad with integrated button; scrolling, pinch, rotate and three-finger/four-finger swipes.
SpeakersHigh-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; Spatial Audio with Dolby AtmosBuilt-in stereo speakers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modesBuilt-in microphone above the Escape key
BiometricsTouch ID–
In the box14-inch MacBook Pro, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m), polishing cloth (nano-texture display only); power adapter sold separatelyMacBook 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.

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