Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)

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MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008) compared with MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)

	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008)	AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2008	May 2015
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.4″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	2880 × 1800 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Brightness
Brightness	–	300 nits
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 Exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the maker sources read.	Retina display; LED-backlit IPS; millions of colours
Pixel density
Pixel density	–	220 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	–	Standard colour gamut (sRGB)
Display features
Display features	–	Apple specifies a 900:1 contrast ratio; scaled resolutions of 1920 × 1200, 1680 × 1050, 1280 × 800 or 1024 × 640
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 i7-4770HQ, Intel Core i7-4870HQ or Intel Core i7-4980HQ
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)	Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 or AMD Radeon R9 M370X (2 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	2 GB or 4 GB	16 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	200 GB to 300 GB	256 GB to 1 TB (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 with Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz, 2.5 GHz with up to 3.7 GHz, or 2.8 GHz with up to 4 GHz; all with 6 MB shared L3 cache. Exact i7-4770HQ and i7-4870HQ identifiers confirmed by Macworld, and i7-4980HQ by EveryMac.
GPU
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (256 MB GDDR3); NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (512 MB GDDR3). GPU memory varies with processor configuration.	Intel Iris Pro integrated graphics; discrete-graphics configurations add AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2 GB GDDR5 and automatic graphics switching. Upgrading the processor on the integrated-graphics base does not add the Radeon GPU.
Memory type
Memory type	667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots; 2 GB standard, configurable to 4 GB.	16 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory
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.	PCIe-based flash storage; 256 GB integrated-graphics base configurable to 512 GB or 1 TB, and 512 GB discrete-graphics base configurable to 1 TB
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	–	Up to 9 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	–	99.5 Wh
Weight
Weight	–	2.04 kg
Thickness
Thickness	26 mm	18 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	357 × 243 mm	358.9 × 247.1 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.	Lithium-polymer battery; up to 9 hours wireless web or iTunes movie playback and 30 days standby. Apple's battery tests used the 2.2 GHz Core i7, 16 GB memory and 256 GB storage. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter	85 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management system
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure	Aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe	2 × Thunderbolt 2, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, headphone jack, SD card slot, MagSafe 2
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	AirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	4.2
Webcam
Webcam	Built-in iSight camera	720p FaceTime HD
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 Thunderbolt 2 ports up to 20 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort video, two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, HDMI, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 2 power and 3.5 mm headphone jack with digital/analogue line output and iPhone headset support; separate Thunderbolt Ethernet and FireWire adaptors available
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.	Two external displays up to 3840 × 2160 alongside the built-in screen; HDMI supports 1080p at up to 60 Hz, 3840 × 2160 at 30 Hz or 4096 × 2160 at 24 Hz. Mini DisplayPort adaptors provide DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI.
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, inverted-T arrow keys and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad with separate button; scrolling, pinch, rotate and three-finger swipe.	Force Touch trackpad with pressure sensing, Force clicks and Multi-Touch gestures
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille	Dual microphones
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; MagSafe 2 Power Adapter; power cord; AC wall plug