Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) vs Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010)

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MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) compared with MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010)

	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)	AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2011	April 2010
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.4″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	1920 × 1200 (better)
Panel
Panel	TN LCD	TN LCD
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	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.	Glossy LED-backlit display; an antiglare option is available. TN technology is named by the exact-model Notebookcheck review. Glossy and antiglare options retain 1920 × 1200 resolution.
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 i7-2635QM, Intel Core i7-2720QM or Intel Core i7-2820QM	Intel Core i5 2.53 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2010) or Intel Core i7 2.66 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2010)
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	2
CPU threads
CPU threads	8	–
Graphics
Graphics	AMD Radeon HD 6490M or AMD Radeon HD 6750M	NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M (512 MB GDDR3) + Intel HD Graphics
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	4 GB or 8 GB
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 750 GB (better)	128 GB to 512 GB
CPU
CPU	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.	Dual-core Intel Core i5 at 2.53 GHz with 3 MB shared L3 cache, or optional Core i7 at 2.66 GHz with 4 MB. Maker-clock records avoid unverified Intel SKU assumptions; unpublished peak clock fields are omitted.
GPU
GPU	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	Automatic switching between Intel HD Graphics (256 MB shared system memory) and GeForce GT 330M. All 17-inch configurations have 512 MB GDDR3.
Memory type
Memory type	4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3, two 2 GB SO-DIMMs; two slots support up to 8 GB	4 GB or 8 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots.
Storage type
Storage type	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.	500 GB Serial ATA hard drive at 5400 or optional 7200 rpm; optional 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. All storage choices are available with either processor. 8× SuperDrive with double-layer DVD writing.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 7 hours	Up to 9 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	77.5 Wh	95 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	2.54 kg (better)	2.99 kg
Thickness
Thickness	24.1 mm (better)	25 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	364 × 249 mm	393 × 267 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	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.	Built-in lithium-polymer battery; Apple claims 8–9 hours of wireless productivity. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter
Materials
Materials	Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad	Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad
Colours
Colours	Silver	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	AirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	2.1 + EDR
Webcam
Webcam	720p FaceTime HD (Macworld)	Built-in iSight camera
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	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.	3 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, Mini DisplayPort, ExpressCard/34 slot, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and optical digital audio output/headphone output.
External displays
External displays	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring	Supports an external display up to 2560 × 1600 pixels alongside the built-in screen. DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and third-party HDMI adapters are sold separately; HDMI carries audio.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys	Backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys.
Trackpad
Trackpad	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate and three/four-finger gestures.
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers with subwoofers	Built-in stereo speakers with subwoofers
Microphones
Microphones	Omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille	Omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille; supports an iPhone headset microphone.
In the box
In the box	MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, software DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife ’11	MacBook Pro, 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with AC wall plug and power cord, display cleaning cloth, software DVDs and documentation. Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife; Apple Remote and display adapters sold separately.