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You see, it all depends on what you want to do with your laptop. The most obvious difference between the MacBook and its Pro stablemate is its graphics circuitry. Like the Mac mini, all the models in the MacBook range feature so-called shared memory. Unlike the Pros, you don't get dedicated space to perform display calculations; instead, the display system borrows 64MB of RAM from the system as a working space. This sounds bad, but the GMA 950 chipset that powers the MacBook's graphics is capable of handling OS X 10.4's Core Graphics effects, such as like the ripple you get in Dashboard when you place a Widget, and will prove sufficient for most day-to-day tasks.

However, given that this Mac is targeted at consumers and students, it's ironic that its one big failing is its poor performance with games. Our tests with Quake 4 running below the MacBook's native resolution at 1024 x 768 pixels managed only around 3.5 frames per second (fps), which is quite unplayable for most people. You could, of course, drop the resolution further or turn down the detail settings a bit - and, naturally, it won't struggle with less complex games such as the included board-games compendium - but it's a real shame that the very people who'd usually be drawn to a company's cheaper laptops are offered a machine so weak in the games department.

Then again, that's really the only reason to plump for a MacBook Pro. OK, so the MacBook doesn't sport the Pro's nifty backlit keyboard or offer a dual-layer DVD burner as an option, but most people won't think these are good enough reasons to spend the extra cash.

The MacBook's 13.3in

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screen is smaller than the Pro's 15in or 17in displays, but it's very good. It's widescreen, and at 1280 x 800 pixels, it offers almost a third more screen real estate than the iBooks or 12in PowerBook. Colours are rich and crisp, and the 79% brightness increase Apple quotes over the iBook is particularly apparent when you sit the two side by side.

The widescreen format suits movie playback well, and Apple has included the media-friendly Front Row software and the Remote Control with the MacBook. Hook it up to your TV with an optional mini-DVI-to-S-Video/Composite adaptor (£15) and you have a competent media centre. The Core Duo processor means it will happily play back the highest-resolution, 1080p HD content, and even if the screen doesn't quite have the pixels to show this in all its glory, it can even scale down such demanding media on the fly without breaking sweat.

Alternatively, you could hook it up to an external monitor. Yes, the MacBooks can span your desktop across to a second monitor - up to 1920 x 1200 pixels, big enough to drive one of Apple's 23in Cinema Displays - over a crystal-clear DVI connection. Apple has stopped including the adaptor to convert the mini-DVI port to a full-sized one (they're available for DVI and VGA output for £15 each), but since we suspect that most people didn't use them when they were included, we can't really take Apple to task too much on this.

This is big news indeed, and many people will think it's a good reason not to have to go for one of the MacBook Pros: you have a compact, portable laptop for use on the move, but that can power a pretty huge desktop monitor when you get to your desk. It can even drive external displays rotated through 90 increments.

The MacBook's own display is glossy, and while this does bring wonderfully deep blacks and saturated colours, reflections can be distracting. It depends on your working environment; we found it particularly frustrating when using the laptop on our knees, as the screen was angled in such a way as to catch overhead lights. Apple offers the choice of glossy or matt on the Pros, and we wish it had done the same here. Microphone and headphone ports provide both analogue and optical I/O.