The Apple MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.5 17-Inch (Early 2008/Penryn) is powered by a 45 nm "Penryn" 2.5 GHz "Core 2 Duo" processor (T9300) with two independent cores and a 6 MB shared on-chip level 2 cache. It features an 800 MHz frontside bus, 2 GB of 667 MHz PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (upgraded to 4 GB from Oct 14, 2008), and a 250 GB (5400 RPM) hard drive with "Sudden Motion Sensor" technology (upgraded to 320 GB from Oct 14, 2008), plus an 8X dual-layer SuperDrive. Graphics are driven by an NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM and dual-link DVI, displayed on an antiglare CCFL-backlit 17-inch widescreen 1680x1050 active-matrix screen. A glossy display was a no-cost build-to-order option, and a higher-res 1920x1200 LED-backlit display was available for an extra US$100.
Externally, this 17-Inch model is nearly identical to its predecessor, the "MacBook Pro 'Core 2 Duo' 2.4 17-Inch (Mid-2007/Santa Rosa)," with key changes to the keyboard and trackpad. The keyboard keeps its ambient lighting but removes the embedded numeric keypad, replaces the right-side enter key with a second option key, and alters function key mapping. The trackpad gains "multi-touch gesturing" capabilities. The "MagSafe" power connector and iSight camera remain, though the Apple Remote became a US$19 option.
Connectivity is also consistent, with an ExpressCard/34 slot, AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n), Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire "400" and "800" ports, three USB 2.0 ports, and optical digital audio in/out with DVI out. Bluetooth was upgraded to the 2.1+EDR standard.
Internally, the "Early 2008/Penryn" models utilize slightly faster and more energy-efficient 45 nm "Penryn" processors over the 65 nm "Merom" chips of their predecessors. They also feature larger 6 MB L2 caches (on 2.5 GHz+ models), more video memory (256/512 MB vs. 128/256 MB), and larger standard hard drives.
Apple also offered a custom configuration with a 2.6 GHz "Core 2 Duo" (T9500) processor for an additional US$250.