Apple MacBook Pro

Screen Size: 15.4, 17 inches
Weight: 6 lbs
Processor Options: Core Duo, Core 2 Duo
Graphics Options: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (Dedicated)
The MacBook Pro may give Apple bragging rights to the prettiest and most powerful laptop on the planet. Featuring the new Intel Core Duo and an ATI X1600 graphics card along with the Tiger Mac OS X this laptop boasts both power and style.

The MacBook Pro 15-inch arrived all tricked out, with the fastest Core 2 Duo available—the 2.33-GHz T7600. To put that in context, the MacBook Pro 15-inch carries the same processor as some of the most powerful, built-for-speed gaming laptops on the market today; it's the same one found in both the Alienware Area-51 m5550 and the Editors' Choice for gaming laptops, the Dell XPS M1710 (Core 2 Duo). The system also carries 2GB of RAM, for those planning to load Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Parallels Desktop virtualization software—two key applications that rely heavily on system memory—and the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card. If you have Microsoft Windows loaded, you'll see some performance gains in 3D gaming because of the improved processor..

Mac OS 10 still has some catching up to do with application support. Not only do games perform optimally when running Windows, but Photoshop CS2 still runs in emulation within the Mac OS, so you'll notice slower speeds until the universal binary version of Photoshop comes out in 2007. But that doesn't mean you can't run Photoshop in Windows. Thanks to the MacBook Pro 15-inch's 2GB of RAM and fast processor, my Photoshop scripts finished in 1 minute 25 seconds in Windows OS. Video editors will get the most out of the new Core 2 Duos, which show improvements of up to 25 percent over the previous Intel Core Duo processors. In the case of the MacBook Pro 15-inch, my video-encoding tests ran their course in 5 minutes 35 seconds, edging out the Alienware m5550 (5:43).

The MacBook Pro 15-inch's new features aren't as dramatic as the performance gains, but Apple has added a FireWire 800 port—and this is across the MacBook Pro line, not just on the 15-inch. What's more, the DVD drive now supports dual-layer burning capabilities, so you can burn up to 8.5GB of data using dual-layer discs. And what would an update be without an increase in hard drive space? My review unit came with a 120GB hard drive, but you can upgrade to a 200GB drive for $200 more. You'll also notice that the iSight camera has a perforation next to it that turns green when the camera is activated; that and the FireWire 800 port are about the only aesthetic changes made to the MacBook Pro 15-inch. As usual, you don't have to worry about viruses and spyware with the OS 10 operating system, and you get some of the best bundled software out there with the iLife '06 suite. The familiar Front Row interface and remote, the magnetic MagSafe power adapter, and your choice of a glossy o r matte screen are all still there.

Now that the Intel Core 2 Duo has arrived in the MacBook Pro 15-inch, I don't anticipate another processor upgrade for a long while—which is a relief, because now you can go out and buy the new laptop without worrying that you'll get shafted by another processor update. With the improvement of Boot Camp Beta and third-party software such as Parallels Desktop, you have the option to run Windows more efficiently than ever before. And the MacBook Pro's heat issues aren't any worse than those of Windows-based laptops, so why not go with the sexiest design out there? The Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Core 2 Duo) offers the performance and features of the best laptops on the market