[LOGO: Courtesy of Microsoft]

With Windows 7’s release just a week away, here’s an advance look at how some of the new Windows 7 laptops and desktops perform. We’re testing several press samples that we purchased from manufacturers.

First up is Sony’s VAIO VGN-NW270F/T, a 15.5-inch laptop with 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. It replaces the Vista-based VAIO VGN-NW125J/T that we tested, which was similarly equipped. One notable difference: The Windows 7 model uses a slightly faster 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, compared to the 2.1GHz processor used in the older VAIO.

Here’s what we found:

Very good performance. As with the Vista-based VGN-NW125J/T, performance on the Windows 7 system was very good. In fact, the new model scored about 10% higher in our application benchmark. It also performed marginally better in our gaming benchmark, but you can still expect choppy motion in 3D games. Start-up was slightly faster at 63 seconds (compared to 74 seconds); shutdown took an average of 15 seconds on both the Vista and Windows 7 laptops. On both systems, standby time was about 4 seconds and resume was about 3 seconds.

Battery life. The NW270F/T had about 3 hours in our tests. That’s 30 minutes less than on the Vista model, but on par with many other 15-inch laptops we’ve tested.

More features. The VGN-NW270F/T adds a Blu-ray drive, a nice extra for those looking to use their laptop for entertainment.

We’ll be posting full Ratings of Windows 7 computers next month, plus more first looks over the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned. You can find our current laptop Ratings and recommendations here. —Donna Tapellini