The T-800 represented a breakthrough in both artificial intelligence and hyper alloy battle chassis construction.  Had Sky-Net not been desperate at the time of the production of the units it would never have allowed any of its creations to be so close to possessing free-will, as Sky-Net feared that one of its creations might turn on it, just as Sky-Net had turned on mankind.  The T-800 was the most efficient killing machine that had ever existed in the history of the Earth.  The Earth was nearly cleansed of all human life by this cyborg.

The T-800 Terminator (in its infiltration role) utilizes genetically enhanced tissue grown onto its endoskeleton body that mimics the human body in ever detail.  The musculature is an accurate duplication of human tissue.  It bleeds, sweats, and bruises.  It is more resistant to disease and heals at a metahuman (several times faster than normal) regenerative rate.  Oddly enough, the T-800 can keep its tissue alive by eating as a human does, though much less frequently.   There is a small compartment in its chassis which houses an organic heart and internal organs about the size of a chicken's which keeps the tissue alive.

The Terminator's advanced CPU also aids its camouflage by using its analytical abilities to study and duplicate the gestures and emotional expressions of humans perfectly.  The endoskeleton has a wider range of movement than a human body, which would tear tissue, but the T-800 is designed to maintain parameters in its range of motion while wearing the tissue to prevent the damage of its disguise.

This disguise is not perfect.  Animals kept in human camps as pets were sometimes able to detect these Terminators upon their deployment. It was usually too late for people to react by the time they realized what their pets were reacting to.  There is some question over whether or not dogs can detect the T-800.

Shown below is the 101 epidermal mold for the T-800 / T-850.

The T-800 hydraulic system and power source are revolutions in technology and allow for the compact hyper alloy battle chassis of the T-800 to be physically as strong and durable as any previous Terminator.  It can run as fast as a car at high speed for extended periods with no significant wear on its hydraulic systems or servo-mechanisms. It can dead lift objects as large as a car.  It can punch through metal walls. Where the T-700 was physically rigid and had drastically reduced hydraulics and thus inferior physical abilities, the technology behind the T-800 allows for miniaturization of many of the components stripped from the T-700.  The endurance of the T-800 is remarkable, even difficult to believe.  Only high intensity GE plasma rifles or the weight of tens of tons of direct pressure can damage them.

The T-800 has a nuclear powered iridium power cell which has a life span of 120 years located in roughly the position that a human heart would be in, and a back up cell that its systems power needs can be re-routed too if that unit is damaged.

The T-800s sensory abilities are also amazing.  It can see human bodies behind walls by means of heat detection and has hearing and visual acuity surpassing humans, and the T-800 can even see in the dark. It has the ability to telescopically zoom in on objects over great distances, just as an observer using a telescope would.  The T-800 is color blind, but this does not inhibit its operational capacity.

The T-800 has a Neural Net Processor or "Learning Computer".  This is based on the human mind and a prototype was also used in the T-600, with mixed results.  However the CPU of the T-800 has none of the terrible design flaws of the T-600 series and has improved inertial shock dampers.  As such the T-800 can apply deductive and inductive reasoning flawlessly and is capable of analysis of human behavior, performing complex calculations in its head of relative distance and the path of trajectories.  It can also creatively solve problems.  The T-800 is issued with a huge database of human behavior patterns, languages, and behaviors.  It can even detect when humans lie based on its innate comprehension of human facial expressions and the fluctuations of their voices.

To prevent tampering with the unit it has a small secondary computer called an inner plug installed in its cranium near its CPU that prevents the unit from ever overriding its primary directives assigned to it by Sky-Net.  This secondary system also prevents a T-800 from ever becoming too independent in its thoughts. By being unnaturally single-minded as a result of the inner plug, the T-800 is somewhat inhibited in its creativity.

The T-800 has two modes of operation: hive, and rogue.  In hive mode it and all other T-800 class terminators are linked, together with Sky-Net, into one collective mind.  In rogue mode it is largely autonomous and independent.  The mind of an autonomous T-800 has read-write ability switched on in its CPU enabling it to learn from its contact with humans.

The T-800 is immensely strong and resilient and thus able to utilize high powered GE plasma rifles and other experimental weaponry.  It is typically issued a Westinghouse M-27 Plasma Phase Rifle upon "awakening".  T-850's are typically issued  the General Dynamics RBS-80 Phased Plasma Pulse Gun, an immensely powerful weapon far too heavy to be used by humans. 

If the T-800 was allowed to think entirely independently and to achieve full self awareness it would have no weaknesses.  However, even in rogue mode, the T-800's inner plug acts as a policeman inhibiting its thoughts and preventing its mind from being distracted from its mission objectives or philosophically meandering in such a way that it might begin to question its primary directives such as the extermination of all human life and absolute loyalty to Sky-Net.

Having such a shallow (though superhumanly accurate and efficient) thought process inhibits the T-800s creativity in many ways.  This allows for some extremely resilient and intelligent humans to have a slight intuitive advantage over it, despite its demi-god like qualities.  However, even with the sentience of the T-800 curtailed to a primitive state, it is undeniably very intelligent and would almost seem to have an arrogant certainty to its abilities and to take sadistic pleasure in killing humans.

Some time after 2026, an event took place that Sky-Net did not conceive possible.  The resistance developed the technology, independently of Sky-Net, of decrypting the language utilized in the architecture of the T-800 brain, thus allowing for some T-800s to be reprogrammed.  A method for extracting the inner plug which inhibits true free will in the T-800 was also discovered.

T-800s hijacked by the resistance could have their murderous conditioning and programming erased and then (1) be given entirely free-will or (2) reprogrammed to serve humans unconditionally, just as they had served Sky-Net.  A T-800 with free-will could attain a high genius level of intellect and such units aided humanity (by their own choice) and probably accelerated the demise of Sky-Net by a century.  Thus Sky-Net's worst fear was realized with the assistance of its worst enemy.

The T-800 received an upgrade in the year to 2027 with the introduction of the T-850 which was essentially the same model with a hyper alloy chassis more resistant to high energy plasma phase weapons, and a more efficient power source (twin hydrogen fuel cells).

It should be noted that terminators hijacked by the resistance that are given free-will, tend to be significantly more intelligent than ordinary terminators.

Intelligence: *****
Camouflage: *****
Maneuverability: ****
Endurance: ****
Strength: ****
Weaponry: ****