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Mac Pro Shipping Estimates Improve to 3 to 5 Weeks

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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple's Mac Pro is now shipping within three to five weeks in the United States, a slight improvement from its previous shipping estimate of four to five weeks.

Both stock and custom configurations list the same shipping estimates, indicating that Apple is slowly making its way towards achieving supply/demand balance on the professional desktop computers.

macproshippingestimates.jpg
In early April, shipping estimates were as high as five to six weeks and back in early 2014, shipping estimates were as high as eight weeks, with Apple giving estimates of "March" or "April" for computers ordered in January or February.

Apple's Mac Pro has been in short supply since its December launch, selling out of stock configurations in a matter of hours. While some early buyers received their machines as early as December 24, buyers who ordered custom configurations had to wait much longer to receive their machines, as did purchasers who ordered after December 19.

"Demand for the all new Mac Pro is great," said an Apple spokesperson in December. "It will take time before supply catches up with demand."

Article Link: Mac Pro Shipping Estimates Improve to 3 to 5 Weeks
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/24/mac-pro-shipping-3-to-5-weeks/
mrxak

mrxak

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Apr 16, 2004
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Drifting through space in a broken escape pod
3-5 weeks is an improvement? Geez, I was looking at that timeframe yesterday and I couldn't believe they were still shipping so slowly. I can't help but think, this is why nobody manufacturers electronics in the US. If these were made in China I would have figured Apple could just snap their fingers, add new production lines, and hire a thousand new workers overnight.

I have to say, as somebody who is potentially in the market for one of these, it turns me off the thing completely. Hopefully by the second generation they've gotten their acts together. It's been almost a year since these things were announced. It's been much longer than that since people have been clamoring for them. But Apple completely underestimated demand.
 
L

Laptopdog78

macrumors member
Mar 24, 2014
78
81
mrxak said:
3-5 weeks is an improvement? Geez, I was looking at that timeframe yesterday and I couldn't believe they were still shipping so slowly. I can't help but think, this is why nobody manufacturers electronics in the US. If these were made in China I would have figured Apple could just snap their fingers, add new production lines, and hire a thousand new workers overnight.

I have to say, as somebody who is potentially in the market for one of these, it turns me off the thing completely. Hopefully by the second generation they've gotten their acts together. It's been almost a year since these things were announced. It's been much longer than that since people have been clamoring for them. But Apple completely underestimated demand.
Click to expand...

They are slow because they are not a high demand product! Phones, tablets, iPods, MacBooks etc, sell hundreds of thousand, to millions, to billions, so production lines are designed to cope. It's like ordering a ford car, or a high spec super car. You'll get the ford the same day almost, but not the supercar!
 
FuNGi

FuNGi

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Feb 26, 2010
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mrxak said:
3-5 weeks is an improvement? Geez, I was looking at that timeframe yesterday and I couldn't believe they were still shipping so slowly. -snip-
I have to say, as somebody who is potentially in the market for one of these, it turns me off the thing completely. Hopefully by the second generation they've gotten their acts together. It's been almost a year since these things were announced. It's been much longer than that since people have been clamoring for them. But Apple completely underestimated demand.
Click to expand...

Those actually in the market for this device likely can wait much longer than general consumer-based items (iPads etc.) which may be frequently upgraded or there is high back-to school/holiday demands (MacBooks). If your business makes money from the mac pro then your business can likely wait to get a new one. If not then either that was poor planning, bad luck, or an iMac will get you through.
 
mrxak

mrxak

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Apr 16, 2004
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FuNGi said:
Those actually in the market for this device likely can wait much longer than general consumer-based items (iPads etc.) which may be frequently upgraded or there is high back-to school/holiday demands (MacBooks). If your business makes money from the mac pro then your business can likely wait to get a new one. If not then either that was poor planning, bad luck, or an iMac will get you through.
Click to expand...

Its a more a matter of becoming recently in the market for one of these, and recognizing that by the time I get one, they'll be likely bringing out a new one rather soon and hopefully with a faster shipping time and specs good enough to wait.

So you're right, my business can likely wait to get a new one, a second generation one, since by the time I'd get one I ordered today, it'll be WWDC already.
 
N

Naaaaak

macrumors 6502a
Mar 26, 2010
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I feel bad saying this, but if this was produced in China it seems like this would have been resolved months ago.
 
W

wizard

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May 29, 2003
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Radio said:
How exciting

I wonder when these will drop under $2k
Click to expand...

With the current configurations this is highly doubtful. Intel charges so damn much of the chips that price drops are unlikely. In fact knowing Intel a price increase might happen.

What I would really love to see is Apple making a version with a lower End XEON processor that doesn't cost so much. It probably wouldn't support dual cards, in fact the cheeper XEONs can't but for many of us it would make a far better workstation. It would be a single GPU card systems with most likely fewer TB 2 ports. (intels low end XEONs only support 20 PCI Express lines) Most likely it would be an X8 interface to the GPU on such a machine to make sure you have enough PCI Express lanes to cover the rest of the I/O requirements. Apple could do a machine like this for $1500 if they really wanted too.
 
J

Jacquesass

macrumors regular
May 6, 2003
211
40
The delays have always been a little suspect, given that Apple is (arguably) one of the greatest companies ever re: logistics. If it just required another assembly line, that should be no problem (whether US or China or...). If some vital part from a supplier is constrained, THAT makes much more sense.
 
W

wizard

macrumors 68040
May 29, 2003
3,854
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mrxak said:
Its a more a matter of becoming recently in the market for one of these, and recognizing that by the time I get one, they'll be likely bringing out a new one rather soon and hopefully with a faster shipping time and specs good enough to wait.
Click to expand...
Well you can develop good guestimates about shipping times for the next machine rev from Intels documentation. The interesting thing here is that Intel introduced a bunch of Ivy Bridge based XEONs around the February time frame so if Apple really wanted to update they could.
So you're right, my business can likely wait to get a new one, a second generation one, since by the time I'd get one I ordered today, it'll be WWDC already.
Click to expand...

If your business can wait then you rally don't need to be concerned about the backlog. Really people should look upon this backlog positively, it is a sign that Apple underestimated demand and thus indicates that maybe just maybe the Mac Pro will be around for a lot longer than many of us thought.
 
Crosscreek

Crosscreek

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Nov 19, 2013
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wizard said:
With the current configurations this is highly doubtful. Intel charges so damn much of the chips that price drops are unlikely. In fact knowing Intel a price increase might happen.

What I would really love to see is Apple making a version with a lower End XEON processor that doesn't cost so much. It probably wouldn't support dual cards, in fact the cheeper XEONs can't but for many of us it would make a far better workstation. It would be a single GPU card systems with most likely fewer TB 2 ports. (intels low end XEONs only support 20 PCI Express lines) Most likely it would be an X8 interface to the GPU on such a machine to make sure you have enough PCI Express lanes to cover the rest of the I/O requirements. Apple could do a machine like this for $1500 if they really wanted too.
Click to expand...

OK, I would buy that as my Mac Mini Pro.
 
W

wizard

macrumors 68040
May 29, 2003
3,854
571
Jacquesass said:
The delays have always been a little suspect, given that Apple is (arguably) one of the greatest companies ever re: logistics. If it just required another assembly line, that should be no problem (whether US or China or...).
Click to expand...
Actually automated production lines aren't something you can buy from the local screw and nut vendor. These are lines built one at a time with significant lead times to make the next line.
If some vital part from a supplier is constrained, THAT makes much more sense.
Click to expand...

This is a good possibility but I lean towards a production line running at full capacity. Apple may consider another production line but before they do that they need to get a really handle on demand, especially after pent up demand is satisfied. Right now they have no idea what demand will be going forward though they may have a good sense as to how many buyers are returning customers. If a good portion of current sales are to new installations that is a very good sign, if on the other hand they are just feeding pent up demand then that is a bad sign. The last thing you would want to do is to build another production line for work that won't be there in the future.
 
hfuhruhurr

hfuhruhurr

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May 5, 2012
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mrxak said:
I have to say, as somebody who is potentially in the market for one of these, it turns me off the thing completely.
Click to expand...

Waiting a month is a deal breaker for you? Wait, no, it's more than a deal breaker for you...it eradicates all desire for the item. It's as if you never wanted it in the first place. Look at that: Apple just saved you from wasting thousands of dollars on something you didn't want. You're welcome.
 
W

wizard

macrumors 68040
May 29, 2003
3,854
571
Crosscreek said:
OK, I would buy that as my Mac Mini Pro.
Click to expand...

So would I#!!!!!!!

It would be a great little machine if they put a half decent GPU in it and used the same PCI Express storage modules. I'd really like to see four TB-2 ports which is why the GPU would likely end up with only 8 PCI-Express lines. Unless of course Intel pulls a low end XEON out of its behind that has a few extra PCI-Express lines.

More than any thing else though Apple would need to focus on low power. I'd like to keep the machine running all the time without burning up a lot of watt hours. Maybe something in the order of 80-100 watts for the GPU and the CPU each with low power modes well below that.
 
macs4nw

macs4nw

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Sep 21, 2010
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wizard said:
…..What I would really love to see is Apple making a version with a lower End XEON processor that doesn't cost so much. It probably wouldn't support dual cards, in fact the cheeper XEONs can't but for many of us it would make a far better workstation. It would be a single GPU card systems with most likely fewer TB 2 ports. (intels low end XEONs only support 20 PCI Express lines) Most likely it would be an X8 interface to the GPU on such a machine to make sure you have enough PCI Express lanes to cover the rest of the I/O requirements. Apple could do a machine like this for $1500 if they really wanted too.
Click to expand...

Are you dreaming about a real nice, upgraded and slightly expanded (but way more expensive) MacMini? lol
 
P

prowlmedia

Suspended
Jan 26, 2010
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The main issue is it's a brand new production line with complete custom components. In a new factory with all brand new workers. I suspect full scale production may take time. And certainly getting to the quality control apple expects, well most of the time :)

In time I am sure they will have system builds in store ready to go.

And we the last time I ordered a custom build PC from Armari. That took 20 business days. I know what I'd rather have!
 
jayducharme

jayducharme

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Jun 22, 2006
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Radio said:
I wonder when these will drop under $2k
Click to expand...

When they appear on eBay in ten years.

I feel bad saying this, but if this was produced in China it seems like this would have been resolved months ago.
Click to expand...

I can't believe so many people are saying this. Everyone complains about how manufacturing has left the US and how we're giving all our money to China. Then when Apple tries to bring manufacturing back to this country (remember that this is their first go at it), everyone complains that they're not making Mac Pros fast enough. I mean, how many of the people who complain are buying a Mac Pro? The people who really wanted them pre-ordered them and are now using them.

I for one am thrilled that Apple has taken the approach they have. If it means waiting a measly month to get a computer, so be it. It's been less than a half-year; production will eventually ramp up to meet demand. (Heck, maybe it already has!)
 
mrxak

mrxak

macrumors 68000
Apr 16, 2004
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hfuhruhurr said:
Waiting a month is a deal breaker for you? Wait, no, it's more than a deal breaker for you...it eradicates all desire for the item. It's as if you never wanted it in the first place. Look at that: Apple just saved you from wasting thousands of dollars on something you didn't want. You're welcome.
Click to expand...

It's 5 weeks, and it's this late into production. 5 weeks from now, a year ago, they were announcing this thing. The new model probably won't be out in 5 weeks, but we'll probably start hearing about it at WWDC or not too long after. This product is likely halfway through its lifespan already, if not more, due to all the delays. At this point, people are better off just waiting for generation 2. That's what I'm saying. The next version will have Haswell E5s, which means DDR4 and a good bump in speed. Intel's IDF is September 9th this year, where those chips are expected to make their debut. The Haswell and Broadwell Xeons are supposed to be on track this time. So, order a Mac Pro today, wait 5 weeks to get it, and then it's obsolete 3 months later? I'm not saying 4 and a half months is a huge amount of time, either, but it's 50% longer. I know everyone is used to waiting years between Mac Pro models, but that's unlikely to happen this time with Intel's roadmap and the new redesign.
 
F

friedmud

macrumors 65816
Jul 11, 2008
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Good to hear!

I've order 15 of these since January and so far only 5 have shown up!

Some of that could be because these are "special order" machines (12core, 64GB of RAM)... but that's a long time to wait on computers!

We have some new hires waiting on these machines that have been using only their laptops for the last 2 months!

Hopefully this means that the rest will start rolling in...
 
Count Blah

Count Blah

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Jan 6, 2004
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This has to drop below a week before we even sniff an updated mini.

Not a single Mac Pro sale will be lost to a mini - so says apple internally(I'm sure). And before folks go ape-ish crazy about the comparison. I'm talking about folks who buy Mac pros, who could very easily get by with less.
 
Madd the Sane

Madd the Sane

macrumors 6502a
Nov 8, 2010
534
73
Utah
Mac Pros shipping estimates have improved? Oh, finally!

Count Blah said:
This has to drop below a week before we even sniff an updated mini.
Click to expand...

I disagree. They are two different products, targeted at two different group of people. They are also made in different places.
 
E

ECOCIDE

macrumors newbie
Jun 27, 2010
6
0
I got mine on Amazon 3 weeks ago. I ordered on Friday and it was here Monday. They had the two lower end base models. As of right now they have 11 6 cores left in stock.
 
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