Apple's new 15" MacBook Pro, based on Intel's latest Penryn processor, earned high marks from PC Magazine. In a recently published review, Editor Cisco Cheng took the new model for a test drive, benchmarking performance and feature enhancements. His conclusion - MacBook Pro is a winner. Cheng called it "one of the fastest laptops I've tested". That's high praise indeed, coming from a publication devoted to Windows PCs.

Intel's Penryn processor offers a number of significant advances to performance and battery life, as the review indicates. Battery life has improved by as much as 15%, and application performance has increased, making this MacBook a plausible upgrade option for new or first generation MacBook Pro users.

MacBook Pro didn't walk away unscathed in this review, unfortunately. Chang aptly points out that its design is beginning to show its age and is due for a refresh, though he does add that Apple still holds the crown for overall best mainstream laptop design.