Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)

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MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008) compared with MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)

	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008)	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2008	February 2011
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.4″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	1440 × 900
Panel
Panel	–	TN LCD
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	LED-backlit widescreen TFT display, matte with optional glossy finish 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 Exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the maker sources read.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 2 Duo 2.4 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2008), Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2008) or Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2008)	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	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (256 MB GDDR3) or NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (512 MB GDDR3)	AMD Radeon HD 6490M or AMD Radeon HD 6750M
Memory
Memory	2 GB or 4 GB	4 GB or 8 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	200 GB to 300 GB	128 GB to 750 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	Dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.4 GHz with 3 MB shared L2 cache, or 2.5 GHz with 6 MB; 2.6 GHz with 6 MB is configurable from the 2.5 GHz base, as confirmed by Macworld. All use an 800 MHz frontside bus. Maker-described clock records avoid unverified Intel SKU assumptions.	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	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (256 MB GDDR3); NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (512 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; 2 GB standard, configurable to 4 GB.	4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3, two 2 GB SO-DIMMs; two slots support up to 8 GB
Storage type
Storage type	200 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA drive at 2.4 GHz or 250 GB 5400-rpm at 2.5 GHz. Maker build-to-order options are 200 GB at 7200 rpm, 250 GB at 5400 rpm or 300 GB at 4200 rpm; 200 GB rows on higher CPUs represent the optional faster drive. 8× SuperDrive with double-layer DVD writing.	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 7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	–	77.5 Wh
Weight
Weight	–	2.54 kg
Thickness
Thickness	26 mm	24.1 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	357 × 243 mm	364 × 249 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Removable lithium-polymer battery; capacity and battery-life hours omitted because the surviving maker sources read do not publish them. Macworld lists 5.4 lb; metric weight omitted. Dimensions 357 × 243 × 26 mm are published by Notebookcheck’s exact-model review.	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 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + 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 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.	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	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys
Trackpad
Trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad with separate button; scrolling, pinch, rotate and three-finger swipe.	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. Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and iLife ’08. Apple Remote sold separately. The former SP4 specification URL is no longer available; surviving maker launch notice and exact user guide provide core specifications.	MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, software DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife ’11