We also compared the new models to a 2GHz MacBook Pro introduced in February of 2006. Looking at that older model versus the new low-end MacBook, we see a 48 percent improvement in Speedmark scores, a 32 percent improvement in Photoshop, and Quake frame rates almost two-and-a-half times as fast in the new system.

We've also completed battery life testing for the new laptops introduced last week; we'll post that information soon. And we're waiting for the November release of the to test those ultra-portable machines.

[James Galbraith is Macworld Lab director.]