Bare Feats recently released the results of testing it did with the new 13-inch MacBook, finding that itis not a useful machine for users who want to play 3D games or use the Core Image effects found in Tiger. However, it was comparable to the 15-inch MacBook Pro in the iMovie and iDVD tests that they ran.
When it came to 3D games, the 17-inch MacBook Pro was the winner, posting the best frame rates in Quake 4, Doom 3 and Unreal Tournament 2004. It wasnit tested in World of Warcraft, where the 15-inch MacBook Pro came out on top, and it tied with the 15-inch MacBook Pro in the iMaginator 2.4 Core Image test.
The new MacBook also fared poorly compared to a 15-inch G4 PowerBook in all but the World of Warcraft test, where it achieved slightly faster frame rates in the IronForge auction house. Bare Feats uses that location in the game because it is often bustling with activity, which is a good indicator of how well a computer can handle the game.
In the iMovie and iDVD tests, a 2GHz G5 Power Mac was tops in all but the soft focus render test in iMovie, where the 13-inch MacBook barely beat out the 15-inch MacBook Pro. The new MacBook and MacBook Pro were comparable to each other in all the tests, while the G5 beat them by a fairly wide margin. For whatever reason, however, it completely choked on the iMovie soft focus render.