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Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) vs Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2019February 2008
Display
Screen size16″17″
Resolution3072 × 19201680 × 1050
PanelIPS LCD–
Refresh rate60 Hz–
Brightness500 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeRetina display; LED-backlit IPS; millions of colours17-inch TFT widescreen display at 1680 × 1050, matte or glossy. Optional 1920 × 1200 LED-backlit display; exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished.
Pixel density226 ppi–
Colour rangeWide colour (P3)–
Display featuresTrue Tone; selectable refresh rates of 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94 and 60 Hz–
Performance
ProcessorIntel Core i7-9750H, Intel Core i9-9880H or Intel Core i9-9980HKIntel Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2008) or Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2008)
CPU cores6 or 82
CPU threads12 or 16–
GraphicsAMD Radeon Pro 5300M (4 GB GDDR6), AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (4 GB GDDR6), AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (8 GB GDDR6) or AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (8 GB HBM2)NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (512 MB GDDR3)
Memory16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB2 GB or 4 GB
Storage512 GB to 8 TB200 GB to 300 GB
CPUNinth-generation Intel Core i7 at 2.6 GHz (six cores, Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz, 12 MB shared L3 cache), Core i9 at 2.3 GHz (eight cores, up to 4.8 GHz, 16 MB cache) or Core i9 at 2.4 GHz (eight cores, up to 5 GHz, 16 MB cache). Exact i7-9750H, i9-9880H and i9-9980HK identifiers confirmed by RTINGS. Apple T2 Security Chip.Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.5 GHz or optional 2.6 GHz, with 6 MB shared L2 cache and an 800 MHz frontside bus.
GPUAutomatic switching between Intel UHD Graphics 630 and Radeon Pro 5300M 4 GB GDDR6, Radeon Pro 5500M 4 GB or 8 GB GDDR6, or Radeon Pro 5600M 8 GB HBM2. The 5600M appears in Apple's updated spec sheet and was not a launch graphics option. The 2.3 GHz Core i9 starts with 5500M 4 GB and 1 TB storage; the 2.4 GHz Core i9 can also upgrade the lower base configuration (RTINGS).NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512 MB GDDR3 video memory
Memory type2666 MHz DDR4 onboard memory; 16 GB standard, configurable to 32 GB or 64 GB2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, configurable to 4 GB, in two SO-DIMM slots.
Storage typeSSD; 512 GB standard with the 2.6 GHz Core i7 or 1 TB with the 2.3 GHz Core i9; configurable to 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB or 8 TB as appropriate250 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; optional 200 GB 7200-rpm or 300 GB 4200-rpm drive with either processor. 8× SuperDrive with double-layer DVD writing.
CoolingRedesigned fans and larger vents; Apple states 28% higher airflow and a 35% larger heat sink than the preceding design–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 11 hours–
Battery capacity99.8 Wh–
Weight2 kg–
Thickness16.2 mm–
Width × depth357.9 × 245.9 mm–
Battery life detailLithium-polymer battery advertised as 100 Wh, with an actual rating of 99.8 Wh in Apple's footnote; up to 11 hours wireless web or Apple TV app movie playback and 30 days standby. Tested with the 2.3 GHz Core i9, 16 GB memory and 1 TB SSD. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.Removable lithium-polymer battery. Capacity, life, metric weight and dimensions are omitted because the surviving maker launch notice and exact manual do not publish them. Macworld describes the model as 6.6 lb; this original unit is retained without conversion.
Charger96 W USB-C Power Adapter85 W MagSafe Power Adapter
MaterialsAluminium enclosureAluminium enclosure
ColoursSilver, Space GreySilver
Connections
Ports4 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe
Wi-FiWi-Fi 5AirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth5.02.1 + EDR
Webcam720p FaceTime HDBuilt-in iSight camera
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailFour Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports supporting charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; 3.5 mm headphone jackThree 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 optical digital audio output/headphone output.
External displaysUp to two displays at 6016 × 3384 and 60 Hz, or four at 4096 × 2304 and 60 Hz, at over a billion colours, alongside the built-in display. Native DisplayPort over USB-C; VGA, HDMI, DVI and Thunderbolt 2 through separate adaptors.Supports an external display up to 2560 × 1600 pixels alongside the built-in display. DVI-to-VGA adapter included; other display adapters optional.
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with scissor mechanism and 1 mm travel; 65 US or 66 ISO keys, inverted-T arrow keys, physical Escape key, Touch Bar and ambient light sensorBacklit keyboard with ambient light sensors and revised function keys; the previous embedded numeric keypad is removed.
TrackpadForce Touch trackpad with pressure sensing and Multi-Touch gesturesMulti-Touch trackpad supports two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate and three-finger swipe.
SpeakersSix-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo sound and Dolby Atmos playbackBuilt-in stereo speakers
MicrophonesThree-microphone array with directional beamformingOmnidirectional microphone beneath the left speaker grille.
BiometricsTouch ID–
In the box16-inch MacBook Pro; 96 W USB-C Power Adapter; USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)MacBook Pro, removable battery, 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with AC wall plug and power cord, DVI-to-VGA adapter, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Mac OS X Leopard and iLife ’08; Apple Remote sold separately. The retired SP4 spec sheet is unavailable, so maker launch notice and exact early-2008 user guide supply core specifications.

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