Apple · MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009)
A 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro with a built-in battery, high-resolution display and switchable NVIDIA graphics.
Model history · 10 models, 2003–2009
- 2003PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)Compare
- 2003PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.33GHz)Compare
- 2004PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.5GHz)Compare
- 2005PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.67GHz)Compare
- 2005PowerBook G4 (17-inch, Double-Layer SD)Compare
- 2006MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2006)Compare
- 2006MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2006)Compare
- 2007MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2007)Compare
- 2008MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)Compare
- 2009MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009)
- Size
- 17″
- Display
- –
- Processor
- Intel Core 2
- Memory
- 4 GB – 8 GB
- Weight
- 2.99 kg
- Battery
- 8 h
What reviewers say
Reviewers praised the large colourful display, solid unibody construction and much longer battery endurance. They criticised the sealed battery and price; Macworld found the trackpad difficult to press and disliked paying extra for display adapters, while LaptopMag noted the missing card reader and Blu-ray option.
From macworld.com and laptopmag.com
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specDisplay
- Screen size
- 17″
- Resolution
- 1920 × 1200
- Touchscreen
- No
- Display type
- 17-inch LED-backlit widescreen display at 1920 × 1200, glossy or optional antiglare. Exact panel technology, brightness and refresh rate are unpublished in the maker sources read.
Performance
- Processor
- Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2009) or Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2009)
- CPU cores
- 2
- Graphics
- NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M
- Memory
- 4 GB or 8 GB
- Storage
- 128 GB to 320 GB
- CPU
- Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.66 GHz or optional 2.93 GHz, with 6 MB shared L2 cache and a 1066 MHz frontside bus. Maker-clock records avoid unverified Intel SKU assumptions.
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT with 512 MB GDDR3 plus GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared system memory. Switching between the discrete and integrated graphics requires logout, as reported by LaptopMag.
- Memory type
- 4 GB or 8 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots.
- Storage type
- 320 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; optional 320 GB 7200-rpm hard drive or 128 GB or 256 GB SSD with either processor. 8× SuperDrive with double-layer DVD writing.
Battery and size
- Battery life (maker's claim)
- Up to 8 hours
- Battery capacity
- 95 Wh
- Weight
- 2.99 kg
- Thickness
- 25 mm
- Width × depth
- 393 × 267 mm
- Battery life detail
- Built-in lithium-polymer battery. Apple reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
- Charger
- 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter
- Materials
- Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad
- Colours
- Silver
Connections
- Ports
- 3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe
- Wi-Fi
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
- Bluetooth
- 2.1 + EDR
- Webcam
- Built-in iSight camera
- Operating system
- macOS
- Port detail
- Three USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, Mini DisplayPort, ExpressCard/34, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and optical digital audio output/headphone output. No SD card slot.
- External displays
- Supports an external display up to 2560 × 1600 pixels alongside the built-in display. Mini DisplayPort to DVI, dual-link DVI or VGA adapters are sold separately.
- Keyboard
- Backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys.
- Trackpad
- Glass Multi-Touch trackpad supporting two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate and three/four-finger gestures.
- Speakers
- Built-in stereo speakers
- Microphones
- Omnidirectional microphone beneath the left speaker grille; supports an Apple Stereo Headset with microphone.
- In the box
- MacBook Pro, 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with AC wall plug and power cord, display cleaning cloth, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Mac OS X Leopard and iLife ’09; Apple Remote and display adapters sold separately.
Configurations
| Processor | Memory | Storage | Graphics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2009) | 4 GB | 128 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2009) | 4 GB | 256 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2009) | 4 GB | 320 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2009) | 8 GB | 128 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2009) | 8 GB | 256 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2009) | 8 GB | 320 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2009) | 4 GB | 128 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2009) | 4 GB | 256 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2009) | 4 GB | 320 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2009) | 8 GB | 128 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2009) | 8 GB | 256 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
| Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2009) | 8 GB | 320 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M |
Pros and cons
Pros
- 1920 × 1200 display
- Up to 8 GB of replaceable memory
- ExpressCard slot and three USB ports
Cons
- Built-in battery is not user replaceable
- Glossy screen as standard
- Display adapters sold separately
Closest rivals
Model | Size | Display | Processor | Memory | Weight | Battery | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17″ | – | Intel Core 2 | 2 GB – 4 GB | – | – | Feb 2008 | |
| 17″ | – | Intel Core i7 | 4 GB – 8 GB | 2.99 kg | 7 h | Feb 2011 | |
| 17″ | – | Intel Core 2 | 2 GB – 3 GB | – | 5.5 h | Nov 2006 |
Previous model: MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008). Newer model: MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009).
Sources
- support.apple.com/en-gb/112526
- apple.com/uk/newsroom/2009/01/06Apple-Introduces-17-inch-MacBook-Pro-With-Revol…
- macworld.com/article/195056/macbookpro-11.html
- macworld.com/article/195357/17inch_macbook_pro_unibody.html
- laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/apple-macbook-pro-17-inch-unibody
Photo: Apple support image assigned to Early and Mid 2009 models; later wallpaper.
