What are the differences between the "Late 2008/Unibody" MacBook models and the "Early 2008/Penryn" MacBook notebooks that they replaced?

Please note that all Macs mentioned in this Q&A have been discontinued. The "Late 2008/Unibody" MacBook was replaced by the "Mid-2009" 13-Inch MacBook Pro on June 8, 2009.

Externally and internally, the "Late 2008/Unibody" MacBook models -- the MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.0 13" (Unibody) and MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 13" (Unibody) -- are substantially different from the "Early 2008/Penryn" MacBook notebooks that they replaced.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc.

Externally, the "Late 2008/Unibody" MacBook Core 2 Duo models have an all new Aluminum iMac-esq black and silver case design milled from a single block of aluminum providing greater strength, reduced weight -- 4.5 pounds compared to 5.0 pounds -- and a superior finish than the "Early 2008/Penryn" systems which have either white or black polycarbonate cases.

The "Late 2008/Unibody" MacBook Core 2 Duo models also introduce a new "no button" glass "multi-touch" trackpad with support for new "four finger" gestures and programmable "zones" -- compared to a "scrolling Trackpad" with "two-finger click" capability on the replaced models -- and an LED-backlit display, compared to the earlier models which are not LED-backlit. The higher-end "Late 2008/Unibody" model -- the MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 13" (Unibody) -- also has a backlit keyboard as well, the first "non-Pro" MacBook to offer such a feature.

Disappointingly for many -- with the exception of external display capability -- connectivity is actually inferior on the "Late 2008/Unibody" models compared to the earlier line -- as it drops the previously available Firewire "400" port. The "Late 2008/Unibody" models also swap the mini-DVI port for a new "Mini DisplayPort" which supports an external display at 2560x1600 -- compared to 1920x1200 for the previous line -- and have Bluetooth 2.1+EDR compared to 2.0+EDR. Otherwise -- connectivity is the same on each line -- with AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n), Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports, and optical digital/analog audio in/out.

Internally, the "Late 2008/Unibody" models use a faster architecture with a faster system bus -- 1066 MHz up from 800 MHz -- faster memory -- 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 compared to 667 MHz PC2-5300 DDR2 -- and a faster graphics processor -- a 256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9400M compared to a 144 MB Intel GMA X3100, although both share video memory with the main system memory.

Previously, Apple generally has discontinued previous lines entirely, but this time, the company kept the low-end "white" system from the previous line -- but swapped the "Combo" drive for a "SuperDrive" and lowered the price:

MacBook:	"Early 08" 2.1 13"	"White/Late 08" 2.1 13"
Processor:	2.1 GHz "Core 2 Duo" (T8100)	2.1 GHz "Core 2 Duo" (T8100)
System Bus:	800 MHz	800 MHz
L2 Cache:	3 MB	3 MB
Standard RAM:	1 GB	1 GB
Int. Graphics:	Intel GMA X3100	Intel GMA X3100
Hard Drive:	120 GB	120 GB
Optical Drive:	8X "Combo"	8X DL "SuperDrive"
Apple Part No:	MB402LL/A	MB402LL/B
Original Price:	US$1099	US$999

The mid-level configuration is an entirely new system:

MacBook:	"Early 08" 2.4 13" (White)	"Late 08" 2.0 13" (Unibody)
Processor:	2.4 GHz "Core 2 Duo" (T8300)	2.0 GHz "Core 2 Duo" (P7350)
System Bus:	800 MHz	1066 MHz
L2 Cache:	3 MB	3 MB
Standard RAM:	2 GB	2 GB
RAM Type:	PC2-5300 DDR2	PC3-8500 DDR3
Int. Graphics:	144 MB Intel GMA X3100	256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
Ext. Display:	1920x1200	2560x1600
Hard Drive:	160 GB	160 GB
Optical Drive:	8X DL Write "SuperDrive"	8X DL Write "SuperDrive"
Firewire 400:	Yes	No
Display Port:	mini-DVI	Mini DisplayPort
LED Display:	No	Yes
Backlit KB:	No	No
Apple Part No:	MB403LL/A	MB466LL/A
Original Price:	US$1299	US$1299

The high-end configuration, likewise, is an entirely new system:

MacBook:	"Early 08" 2.4 13" (Black)	"Late 08" 2.4 13" (Unibody)
Processor:	2.4 GHz "Core 2 Duo" (T8300)	2.4 GHz "Core 2 Duo" (P8600)
System Bus:	800 MHz	1066 MHz
L2 Cache:	3 MB	3 MB
Standard RAM:	2 GB	2 GB
RAM Type:	PC2-5300 DDR2	PC3-8500 DDR3
Int. Graphics:	144 MB Intel GMA X3100	256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
Ext. Display:	1920x1200	2560x1600
Hard Drive:	250 GB	250 GB
Optical Drive:	8X DL Write "SuperDrive"	8X DL Write "SuperDrive"
Firewire 400:	Yes	No
Display Port:	mini-DVI	Mini DisplayPort
LED Display:	No	Yes
Backlit KB:	No	Yes
Apple Part No:	MB404LL/A	MB467LL/A
Original Price:	US$1499	US$1599

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