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8800GT will most likely be available Tue Jan 29

ErikAndre

ErikAndre

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 14, 2007
719
0
Florida
The new nVidia 8800GT will likely come out on or around Jan 29th. If nothing else, that very week. If you take all the dates and line them up with each other, they all point to one date: Tuesday, Jan 29th.

Not really a coincidence (still a theory), but let's break it down...

Tue, Jan 8th
The Mac Pro was released, with the 8800GT graphics delaying the order by "3-5 weeks". If anyone bought the Mac Pro package with the 8800GT, the bot would automatically giving a 5-week lead time from the date of the order. All of us know that Apple (and most every other computer manufacturer) is notorious for under promising and over delivering. Now, anyone in IT will tell you (myself included), if you tell a client their computer will be ready in 3-5 days, he/she will be calling on the third day. So to avoid the headache, we instead tell the client 5-7 days, but surprise them on day 3 to bring a return customer and avoid the phone calls. This is essentially what Apple is doing. If you calculate the 3-5 weeks from Jan 9th, you get a period between Jan 29th and Feb 12. Apple won't give clients the Jan 29th date (they are smart), so they instead give the Feb 12th date as the minimum.

Tue, Jan 15th
Steve Jobs keynote. Products such as the new Apple TV software, MacBookAir are given a "two week" availability time frame. What date is this? Jan 29th. Of course, they say the SDK and the Time Capsule will be available in some mysterious date, but the Apple TV, MBA and even the 8800GT all have hard dates: Jan 29.

Tue, Jan 29th
This seems to be the big date in the air from the keynote and the original MP (w/ 8800GT), as this will be exactly the three week mark from the MP release and the two week mark from the keynote. This is also the day that possibly even the speculated 10.5.2 will debut. The 10.5.2 (if nothing else) will most likely carry the drivers for the 2600XT and the 8600GT. Sure Apple has already hidden these drivers on the new MacPro, but the 10.5.2 will carry drivers for all compatible Mac Pros (as we know (1) Steve is working on this, nVidia PR Director confirms and (2) they currently do not work with prior Mac Pros [here], [here] and [here]). Sure, Apple doesn't need the 10.5.2 to include the drivers, but they most likely will.

The breakdown...
Of course, this is speculation, but it seems this Jan 29th date is a big goal for Apple since they couldn't meet the keynote in time. If they hit this date, they satisfy the "3-5" week turn-around for the original MP release date (w/ 8800GT) and can avoid any February release (since that's sort of reserved for Time Capsule and SDK).

Just a thought. :D
 
I ordered my 'old' Mac Pro on the day they were announced. The delay for ordering a BTO with an ATI 1900XT card was 4-6 weeks.

It took almost exactly 6 weeks.

I wouldn't get your hopes up.
 
tyr2 said:
I ordered my 'old' Mac Pro on the day they were announced. The delay for ordering a BTO with an ATI 1900XT card was 4-6 weeks.

It took almost exactly 6 weeks.

I wouldn't get your hopes up.
Click to expand...

I remember that... lets hope that ain't true this go around. :rolleyes:
 
Don't think it is going to happen.

This is not in Apples hands but in the one who produces them. Probably Flextronic and there is an industry-wide lack of G92 chips to pass around.

Everyone wants a piece of the cake that the G92 chip is.
 
Well, I just configured (I´m curious) a Mac Pro in Applestore and it now shows 2-4 weeks shipping time. It was 3-5 weeks before, so this 29th day could mean something ;)
 
Interesting hypothesis ErikAndre--thanks for sharing this.

viltsu said:
Well, I just configured (I´m curious) a Mac Pro in Applestore and it now shows 2-4 weeks shipping time. It was 3-5 weeks before, so this 29th day could mean something ;)
Click to expand...

Yes, you're right. This seems to confirm the idea of hard dates for card deliveries. I assume Apple will be getting some large batches of these around the end of the month as opposed to some number of them every day. Then it will depend on how fast Apple can drop in the new BTO cards.

I won't complain if I get my system earlier.
 
Pressure said:
Probably Flextronic and there is an industry-wide lack of G92 chips to pass around.
Click to expand...

I've seen 'shortage of chips' given as a reason many times for the delay in shipping the 8800. Some of these threads also indicate that the 8800's are in short supply for the PC world.

However, I just checked my local PC hardware store (MemoryExpress) and find that they carry 8800's for the PC from 4 different manufacturers (Asus, BFG, eVGA, and XFX) with a total of 10 different models to choose from. Of those 10 models, 3 are out of stock, 4 are in limited supply, and 3 they have in stock. They count 'limited supply' as less than 10 units on hand.

So I could walk into their store this morning and have my choice of seven different types of 8800. This doesn't seem like short supply of cards or a shortage of chips in the industry.

Do I happen to be sitting on a location with a 'glut' of 8800's, or is this shortage of chips just an excuse? If the latter, then we're back to what's the real reason Apple isn't shipping 8800's?
 
Wild-Bill said:
Ok, if you're right ErickAndre, you get to buy my 4 gigs of memory for me. ;)
Click to expand...

Right... I'm saving up for the 8GB package there on OWC... one thing is for sure, these Mac's won't stay in hiding for long.

mrcandy said:
If the latter, then we're back to what's the real reason Apple isn't shipping 8800's?
Click to expand...

Take a breather there, buddy... they'll be out soon enough. Besides, I have a buddy at NVidia who tells me this chip is available but that Apple is working on SW issues. Doesn't matter if you believe that is true or not, but combine that with the Steve Jobs email and it looks to me it indeed is just a SW issue and less on the supply.
 
I don't know about that, when i got my mac pro it was a 3-5 week promised wait but i ended up waiting 8.5 weeks. With the whole 1900 fiasco.
 
knome said:
I don't know about that, when i got my mac pro it was a 3-5 week promised wait but i ended up waiting 8.5 weeks. With the whole 1900 fiasco.
Click to expand...

Also, when 10.5.2 finally comes out, Apple would want to test those drivers with the card... and if something goes wrong? You folks will be waiting longer. lol Let's hope that's not the case.
 
mrcandy said:
I've seen 'shortage of chips' given as a reason many times for the delay in shipping the 8800. Some of these threads also indicate that the 8800's are in short supply for the PC world.

However, I just checked my local PC hardware store (MemoryExpress) and find that they carry 8800's for the PC from 4 different manufacturers (Asus, BFG, eVGA, and XFX) with a total of 10 different models to choose from. Of those 10 models, 3 are out of stock, 4 are in limited supply, and 3 they have in stock. They count 'limited supply' as less than 10 units on hand.

So I could walk into their store this morning and have my choice of seven different types of 8800. This doesn't seem like short supply of cards or a shortage of chips in the industry.

Do I happen to be sitting on a location with a 'glut' of 8800's, or is this shortage of chips just an excuse? If the latter, then we're back to what's the real reason Apple isn't shipping 8800's?
Click to expand...

I feel the same way you do. A windows using friend of mine had an 8800GT that was taking to long to ship (it was from the cheapest priced site on the internet he could find) so he ordered one from someplace else (after I had ordered my Mac Pro) and he already has it in his hands. Also, when calling Apple trying to figure out the cause for delay saying htat I may want to reconfigure all I could get out of them is "they are PROBABLY back-ordered"--whatever that means. If you feel like being an optimist you can take the lack of knowledge for the delay by salessupport staff to mean it isn't a chip shortage, or not who knows, but I'd like to think they our Mac Pros will come early since that was the case when I orered a recently released 2x500MHz G4 and the 500MHz G4 TiBook.
 
thevibesman said:
I feel the same way you do. A windows using friend of mine had an 8800GT that was taking to long to ship (it was from the cheapest priced site on the internet he could find) so he ordered one from someplace else (after I had ordered my Mac Pro) and he already has it in his hands. Also, when calling Apple trying to figure out the cause for delay saying htat I may want to reconfigure all I could get out of them is "they are PROBABLY back-ordered"--whatever that means. If you feel like being an optimist you can take the lack of knowledge for the delay by salessupport staff to mean it isn't a chip shortage, or not who knows, but I'd like to think they our Mac Pros will come early since that was the case when I orered a recently released 2x500MHz G4 and the 500MHz G4 TiBook.
Click to expand...

From all the sources I've seen/heard/read, the delay is not due to inventory shortages. Read around.
 
darthraige said:
Also, when 10.5.2 finally comes out, Apple would want to test those drivers with the card... and if something goes wrong? You folks will be waiting longer. lol Let's hope that's not the case.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's really hilarious.

As far as I know the drivers were in the latest build of 10.5.2 so they are probably complete. Just waiting for 10.5.2 to ship..
 
Another reason why it probably isn't due to a shortage of the 8800GT specifically - ordering the NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 increases the wait time by exactly the same amount.

Kind of obvious thing to check, I guess, but it only occured to me just now.
 
Will G. said:
Another reason why it probably isn't due to a shortage of the 8800GT specifically - ordering the NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 increases the wait time by exactly the same amount.

Kind of obvious thing to check, I guess, but it only occured to me just now.
Click to expand...

Good observation, Will G!
 
update:

10.5.2 expected to come out Friday!?!... And nVidia has publicly stated they would make a driver for the entire MacPro line. If Apple were to include such a driver upgrade, where do you think they would tuck it in... And it would take a few days for Apple to deploy all the macs in line waiting for the 8800GT plus 10.5.2. Someone also found an update in 10.5.2 for the 8800GT.

Think about it. I say the 8800GT is likely to come out right on time (next week). :D

(fingers crossed)
 
Why are there so many threads about this all linking to each other?

It seems pretty unnecessary and confusing.
 
matthews said:
Why are there so many threads about this all linking to each other?

It seems pretty unnecessary and confusing.
Click to expand...

Um... check the dates on all of them. I was the first to post this thread (even before MacRumors posted on the home page about any of it, before anyone else collaborated it, etc..).

But yes... i agree.
 
I'm not discrediting you, because it's obvious you've been following this heavily.

I just feel like I keep clicking around in circles with all of these links to other threads on the same page
 
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