Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2006) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)

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MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2006) compared with MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)

	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2006)	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2006	February 2011
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.4″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	1440 × 900
Panel
Panel	–	TN LCD
Brightness
Brightness	300 nits	–
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Widescreen TFT display with millions of colours. Exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the maker sources read.	LED-backlit glossy widescreen LCD, millions of colours; TN panel explicitly confirmed by Notebookcheck's exact Early 2011 2.0 GHz glossy review. Apple does not publish refresh rate or brightness.
Screen finish
Screen finish	–	Base glossy 1440 × 900; optional 1680 × 1050 high-resolution glossy or antiglare displays. Higher-resolution options are described here rather than assigned an unverified panel type in the configuration rows.
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core Duo 1.83 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2006), Intel Core Duo 2 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2006) or Intel Core Duo 2.16 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2006)	Intel Core i7-2635QM, Intel Core i7-2720QM or Intel Core i7-2820QM
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	8
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (128 MB GDDR3) or ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3)	AMD Radeon HD 6490M or AMD Radeon HD 6750M
Memory
Memory	512 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB	4 GB or 8 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	80 GB to 120 GB	128 GB to 750 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	Dual-core Intel Core Duo at 1.83 GHz or 2.0 GHz, with a 2.16 GHz build-to-order option restricted to the 2.0 GHz base. Each has 2 MB shared L2 cache and a 667 MHz frontside bus. The January-announced 1.67 GHz configuration was replaced before shipping and is excluded.	Quad-core Intel Core i7-2635QM at 2.0 GHz or Core i7-2720QM at 2.2 GHz, with 6 MB shared L3 cache. The 2.2 GHz base is configurable to Core i7-2820QM at 2.3 GHz with 8 MB cache. Exact identities are confirmed by Notebookcheck; Macworld confirms the faster processor is an upgrade of the higher base.
GPU
GPU	ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (128 MB GDDR3); ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3). GPU memory varies with processor configuration.	Automatic switching between Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384 MB shared main memory and AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256 MB GDDR5 on the 2.0 GHz base, or Radeon HD 6750M with 1 GB GDDR5 on the 2.2 GHz base and its 2.3 GHz upgrade
Memory type
Memory type	667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots, up to 2 GB. Lower base has 512 MB; higher base has 1 GB.	4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3, two 2 GB SO-DIMMs; two slots support up to 8 GB
Storage type
Storage type	Lower base has an 80 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA drive, configurable to 100 GB or 120 GB. Higher base has 100 GB and supports 120 GB; 100 GB was available at 5400 or 7200 rpm. Slot-loading 4× SuperDrive writes DVDs but does not write double-layer DVDs.	Core i7-2635QM base has a 500 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; Core i7-2720QM base has a 750 GB 5400-rpm drive. Both bases support 750 GB 5400-rpm or 500 GB 7200-rpm hard drive, or 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. The 500 GB row on the lower base includes its standard 5400-rpm and optional 7200-rpm drives; on the higher base and its processor upgrade it represents the 7200-rpm option. Memory and storage upgrades apply to either base. 8× slot-loading SuperDrive supports DVD±R DL, DVD±RW and CD-RW.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 4.5 hours	Up to 7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	60 Wh	77.5 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	2.54 kg	2.54 kg
Thickness
Thickness	25.9 mm	24.1 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	357 × 243 mm	364 × 249 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Removable 60 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 4.5 hours in Apple’s test. Maker reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.	Built-in 77.5 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 7 hours wireless web under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure	Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad
Colours
Colours	Silver	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	AirPort Extreme 802.11g	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.0 + EDR	2.1 + EDR
Webcam
Webcam	Built-in iSight camera	720p FaceTime HD (Macworld)
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	2 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400, 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.	Two USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s, FireWire 800 up to 800 Mb/s, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet, SDXC card slot, MagSafe, separate digital/analogue audio line input and line output/headphone minijacks, and Kensington lock slot. Native Mini DisplayPort output; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI audio/video through separate adapters.
External displays
External displays	One external display up to 2560 × 1600 alongside the built-in screen through dual-link DVI; included VGA adapter, optional composite/S-video adapter.	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors, 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys; embedded numeric keypad	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys
Trackpad
Trackpad	Scrolling trackpad with a separate button; two-finger scrolling, tap, double-tap and drag.	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers	Stereo speakers with subwoofers
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille	Omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille
In the box
In the box	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 Tiger and iLife ’06. Higher base began shipping during the week of 14 February 2006 and lower base the following week; exact first-sale day is unestablished.	MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, software DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife ’11