These replace the 2.3 GHz i5-powered Early 2011 13-incher with a 320 GB hard drive and the 2.7 GHz i7 model with a 500 GB hard drive.

The Late 2011 13″ MacBook Pro comes in two models: the base 2.4 GHz dual-core i5 with 4 GB of system memory (RAM) and a 500 GB 5400 rpm hard drive, and a more powerful 2.8 GHz dual-core i7 version with a 750 GB hard drive. Not all dealers list all the new models at present, and most do not yet have inventory, but that should change in coming days. Other than processor speed, hard drive capacity, and graphics processors, the hardware appears to be identical to the Early 2011 models, which means they can run Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard if you need to or want to. (Of course, those models are now being discounted, where inventory remains, which may make them a better value – the whole point of this article). Granted, these are not huge speed bumps, ranging from a high of 10% to a bit under 4%, but in every case you are getting more computing power at the same retail price as the Early 2011 models offered. On Monday, Apple updated the MacBook Pro (MBP) line with faster processors (CPUs) across the board, along with higher capacity hard drives and better graphics processors (GPUs) on some models with no change in pricing.

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