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

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

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

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

	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008)	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2008	October 2011
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.4″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	1440 × 900
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 Exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the maker sources read.	15.4-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1440 × 900 native resolution and millions of colours. Optional 1680 × 1050 high-resolution glossy or antiglare display. Panel technologies, refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple; higher-resolution screens remain in details rather than unverified panel variants.
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 i7-2675QM, Intel Core i7-2760QM or Intel Core i7-2860QM
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 6750M (512 MB) or AMD Radeon HD 6770M (1 GB)
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 at 2.2 GHz or 2.4 GHz with 6 MB L3 cache; optional 2.5 GHz with 8 MB L3 cache. Exact i7-2675QM and i7-2860QM identities confirmed by EveryMac; i7-2760QM by Notebookcheck’s tested upper model. Optional 2.5 GHz rows retain the upper AMD graphics combination; unproven lower-GPU pairings omitted.
GPU
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (256 MB GDDR3); NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (512 MB GDDR3). GPU memory varies with processor configuration.	Lower model: AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512 MB GDDR5. Upper model: AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 1 GB GDDR5. Both also use Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384 MB DDR3 shared memory and automatic graphics switching.
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 in two SO-DIMM slots; configurable 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.	Lower base: 500 GB 5400-rpm hard drive; upper base: 750 GB 5400-rpm hard drive. Maker CTO options: 750 GB at 5400 or 7200 rpm, or 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. Configuration rows distinguish capacities and CPUs/GPUs; both 750 GB speeds share one capacity row. 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 in Apple’s test. 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, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet, Thunderbolt
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	FaceTime HD camera
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.	One Thunderbolt port up to 10 Gb/s, two USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, one FireWire 800 port up to 800 Mb/s, Gigabit Ethernet, SDXC card slot, MagSafe, separate audio line-in and headphone/audio line-out ports, and Kensington lock slot. Thunderbolt provides native Mini DisplayPort output; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI require 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 display plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both at 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.	Multi-Touch trackpad supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three- and 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, 85 W MagSafe power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord and documentation; OS X Lion and iLife.