The latest generation of processors from U.S. chip giant Intel are performing as expected, especially in providing laptops with longer battery life, tests show.

The fourth-generation of chips, dubbed Haswell, have been found to prolong battery life even in power-hungry gaming systems, Consumer Reports said Tuesday.

The organization tested a number of laptops with the new Core processors, including models from Apple and Sony.

The 11-inch MacBook Air got 12 hours of battery life while the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air achieved the most of all Haswell models tested at 15 hours, Consumer Reports said.

Sony laptops were only a little behind those numbers; the 11-inch Vaio Pro Ultrabook squeezed 9.25 hours out of its battery, while its its 13-inch counterpart managed 10 hours.

A high-powered gaming laptop was also put to the test: Lenovo's 15.6-inch IdeaPad Y510p equipped with a fourth-generation Core i7 chip, two graphics chips, and 2GB of video memory -- all requiring massive amounts of battery power -- managed 3 hours of intense game playing, Consumer reports said, calling that a respectable outcome for a pure gaming rig.