What are the differences between the 15-Inch "Late 2008/Unibody" MacBook Pro models?

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

The 15-Inch "Late 2008/Unibody" MacBook Pro systems -- the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 15" (Unibody) and MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.53 15" (Unibody) -- are quite similar to one another, but are quite a bit different than the earlier MacBook Pro models that they replaced.

On March 3, 2009, Apple quietly replaced the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.53 15" (Unibody) with the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.66 15" (Unibody), which is officially identical apart from a faster 2.66 GHz processor (however it also unofficially supports an additional 2 GB of memory, 8 GB up from 6 GB).

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc.

All "Unibody" MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo (Late 2008/Aluminum) models have an all new Aluminum iMac-esq black and silver case design milled from a single block of aluminum providing greater strength and a superior finish than previous systems.

All models also include backlit keyboards, a new "no button" glass "multi-touch" trackpad with support for new "four finger" gestures and programmable "zones", and have LED-backlit 15.4" widescreen TFT active-matrix "glossy" displays. For the first time, the 15-Inch "Pro" models do not offer "matte" or "anti-glare" displays, even as an option, much to the disappointment of some users (the 17-Inch model does have an "anti-glare" option for an additional US$50).

Connectivity of each includes an ExpressCard/34 slot, AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire "800" port, optical digital/analog audio in/out, and a new "Mini DisplayPort" that supports an external display at 2560x1600.

Internally, the models are quite similar as well, with the same logic board design and 45 nm "Penryn" Intel "Core 2 Duo" processors of different speeds with two independent processor "cores" on a single silicon chip, a 1066 MHz frontside bus, support for 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-8500), support for Serial ATA hard drives, an 8X DL "SuperDrive", and dual graphics processors -- a NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT with dedicated GDDR3 SDRAM and a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256 MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory.

The modest differences between the "Late 2008/Unibody" models -- configuration, capabilities, and price -- are summarized in this handy chart:

MacBook Pro "Unibody"	2.4	2.53†
Intel Processor:	P8600	T9400*†
Processor Speed:	2.4 GHz	2.53 GHz*†
Level 2 Cache:	3 MB	6 MB
Hard Drive Size:	250 GB	320 GB
Standard RAM:	2 GB	4 GB
Dedicated GDDR3 VRAM:	256 MB	512 MB
Optical Capabilities:	8X DL "SuperDrive"	8X DL "SuperDrive"
Apple Part No:	MB470LL/A	MB471LL/A†
Price:	US$1999	US$2499*†

*This model also was available via custom-configuration with a 2.8 GHz "T9600" processor for an extra US$300.

† On March 3, 2009, Apple quietly replaced the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.53 15" (Unibody) with the MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.66 15" (Unibody), which is officially identical apart from a faster 2.66 GHz processor (T9550) and a new order number of MC026LL/A, however it also unofficially supports an additional 2 GB of memory (8 GB up from 6 GB). It additionally could be upgraded to a 2.93 GHz processor (T9800) for an additional US$300.

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