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Apple has exchanged a few jibes with Intel over the years, so how has the transition panned-out on the Intel-powered machines?

The new MacBook Pro (MBP from here on in) reveals that the move to the Intel platform has been more than worthwhile and is progressing very well indeed.

The physical design of the MBP (we're reviewing the 15-inch model) is very similar to that of its predecessor, the PowerBook G4.

Close inspection reveals a few significant changes, including a discretely built-in iSight camera, a larger trackpad, an IR receiver port and the new MagSafe power connector, which is designed to easily tug away from the computer should the power cable get snagged.

The dimensions of the casing have changed to accommodate the new features, resulting in a bit more width and a little less vertical depth.

The design and build quality are up to Apple's usual high standards, which are rarely equalled in the PC industry.

Just turning on the MBP causes us to smile – it boots in a fraction of the time taken by a G5 PowerMac.

Although Apple's claim of a four-fold increase in speed over the PowerBook is dubious, benchmarks have shown that the dual-core Core Duo chip is a serious ass-kicker.

Beyond sheer speed, the processor has a few new tricks up its sleeve, including real multi-processing, ultra-fast communication between the two cores and hardware support for running more than one OS at the same time.

Hands on

The display runs at a native resolution of 1440x900 and is quite usable outside, even in bright conditions.

The onboard ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics system has 256MB DDR3 RAM and is capable of driving Apple's monstrous 30-inch Cinema Display through its Dual Link DVI output.

By default the 2GHz MBP ships with a 100GB 5400rpm hard disk, but this can be upgraded to a 120GB model or a 100GB 7200rpm model as a build-to-order option – we'd recommend the latter in view of the mediocre disk benchmark results.

The built-in DVD drive can read and write all common types of media, but lacks dual-layer support.

While this is no big deal in the short term (dual layer media is still ludicrously expensive), it's one area in which the MBP is a little less future-proof.

The light-sensitive illuminated keyboard is responsive and good to type with, while the trackpad's two-finger scrolling feature makes it easy to quickly navigate large arrangements in Logic Pro.

As usual, the built-in audio system provides decent output quality and very low latency under CoreAudio, and even includes optical digital I/O.

Just two USB 2.0 ports and one 6-pin FireWire 400 port are provided for peripheral connectivity.

Apple's AirPort Extreme internal wireless network adaptor is fitted as standard and the reception is much improved over previous models. For wired networking, a Gigabit Ethernet port is also built-in.