MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009)

Essentials

Family: MacBook Pro

Codename: ?

Gestalt ID: 406

Minimum OS: 10.5.6

Maximum OS: 10.10.4

Introduced: January 2009

Terminated: June 2009

Processor

CPU: Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo (T9xxx)

CPU Speed: 2.66 GHz

CPU Cores: 2

FPU: integrated

Bus Speed: 1066 MHz

Data Bus Width: 64-bit

Address Bus Width: 64-bit

Level 1 Cache: 32 kB data, 32 kB instruction

Level 2 Cache: 6 MB on-processor

ROM: EFI

RAM Type: PC3-8500 SO-DIMM

Minimum RAM Speed: 1066 MHz

Onboard RAM: 0 MB

RAM slots: 2

Maximum RAM: 8 GB

Expansion Slots: 1 ExpressCard/34

Video

Screen: 17" LED-backlit TFT

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

VRAM: 512 MB GDDR3, 256 MB shared (see notes)

Max Resolution: 1920x1200

Video Out: Mini DisplayPort

Camera: iSight

Storage

Hard Drive: 320 GB 5400 RPM

ATA Bus: Serial-ATA

Optical Drive: 24x/24x/10x/8x/8x/4x/4x CD-RW/DVD±RW/DVD±R DL

Input/Output

USB: 3 2.0

Firewire800: 1

Audio Out: stereo 24 bit mini, Optical S/PDIF

Audio In: stereo 24 bit mini, Optical S/PDIF

Speaker: stereo

Microphone: mono

Networking

Ethernet: 10/100/1000BaseT

Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/n

Bluetooth: 2.1+EDR

Miscellaneous

Power: 85 Watts

Battery Life: 8 hours

Dimensions: 0.98" H x 15.47" W x 10.51" D

Weight: 6.6 lbs.

Notes

The MacBook Pro's second graphics chipset used a portion of main memory as VRAM. Though reported as a 256 MB graphics system, the chipset actually used up to 272 MB of RAM.

Announced in January 2009, the MacBook Pro (17-inch, early 2009) adopted the aluminum "Unibody" case design of its smaller sibling, the MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008), along with many of the same architectural improvements. These included the class-covered, clickable multi-touch trackpad, faster bus speed, a Mini DisplayPort, and two fully independent graphics chipsets.

The most notable change to the MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009) was to the battery. Instead of including a replaceable battery, which had been standard on Apple notebooks since the original PowerBook 100, Apple chose to embed a custom-designed, built-in battery, capable of up to 8 hours of use on a single charge. Apple claimed that the integrated battery would retain 80% or more of its original capacity for up 1,000 recharge cycles, making replacement a non-issue for most customers. Depleted batteries could be replaced (and recycled) by Apple for $179.

The MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009) shipped in a single comfiguration, with a 2.66 GHz processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive, for $2,799. Built-to-order options included a faster 2.93 GHz processor, up to 8 GB of RAM, a 320 GB 7200 RPM hard drive, and 128 or 256 GB solid-state drives.

Picture Credits:
Apple, Inc.