New Faster Sandy Bridge MacBook Pros Next Week?

With supplies only becoming more constrained, and with shipments already touching down in select countries, we think a launch next week is likely (between Tuesday and Thursday). That is, of course, if there are no unforeseen circumstances.

The new machines are said to stay at the exact same prices as current MacBook Pro models. Word of possible new MacBook Pros in late 2011 was first reported back in September. At the time, it was believed that the new MacBook Pros would take advantage of new Sandy Bridge processors released by Intel late this year. Based on the part numbers, the new machines are expected to be only a minor update.

The newly released processors from Intel include Quad Core i7 processors with speeds of 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz and 2.7GHz, as well as a Dual Core i7 at 2.8GHz models. Here's the list of new mobile CPUs adapted from CPU World:

Given the heat constraints of the MacBook Pro design, Apple will be unable to use the 2.7GHz Quad Core (Core i7-2960XM) in their notebooks. Apple also won't use the mobile Celeron listed at the end. The top 3 listed, however, remain candidates for upgrades in the new MacBook Pros.