Apple just upped the ante of its MacBook Pro line with the release of upgraded models that feature the new Intel Core 2 Duo processors. With this boost Apple promises a 39% speed bump from the previous models (including the one I just got a week ago, sob) and 7x faster than the G4 PowerBooks.

“The new MacBook Pro delivers unprecedented performance and mobility in an incredibly thin and light design,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “We are thrilled that our notebook sales are growing twice as fast as the overall notebook market, and we hope these new MacBook Pro models continue that success.”

The 15" Mac Book Pro now comes in 2.16GHz and 2.33GHz models priced at $1,999 and $2499 respectively and a 17" model aptly priced at $2799. The US Apple stores says the 15" models will ship in 2-4 days while the 17" a little later at 7-10 business days.

These new monster machines also offer twice the amount of memory than their predecessors and can now accommodate up to 3GB of RAM. Hard Drive space has also been increased to 120GB and 160GB.

The 15-inch models will now support, much desired pro features including dual layer DVD writers and FireWire 800 ports.

These new laptops are definitely hot and fast and come with everything except seat-belts.