Don't professionals who aren't really rich and schools that use Mac Pros care about the price? Most people have a budget and some minimum hardware specs they need.
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Apple's Mac Pro to Be Assembled by Flextronics in Fort Worth, Texas?
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Don't professionals who aren't really rich and schools that use Mac Pros care about the price? Most people have a budget and some minimum hardware specs they need.
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I believe Cook explained the economic value of domestic assembly. Much of the value had to do with increased costs of shipping and convoluted supply chains.
I recall Tim saying that they used several companies in the US to "make" the components in the MP. Sure the actual discrete electronic components are made offshore, but not necessarily all the parts.
Do you guys realize that the AMD/ATI Fire Pro W9000 that meets the specs on Apple's web site cost $3000 just for that GPU itself. There are supposed to be 2 of these professional level GPUs in the new Mac Pro!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195116
So a price of around $3000 for the new Mac Pro may be a pipe dream!
There is a rumor that AMD/ATI gave Apple an offer it could not refuse, so lets hope that deal makes the price cheaper!
Interesting point. Do we know for sure that it will be the W9000's in the new Mac Pro? At this price point it doesn't seem possible if they are going to keep this machine below 5K!
Yup, the W9000 has the same specs that are specified for the MP. Wondered about that price as well. I venture the MP will not be affordable to the masses. Not to mention that if you need fast storage, it certainly isn't going to go inside. External TB storage is very pricey as well. Can you say $$$$$. That's why they can build it in the US.
No that is not the case. Most pro's, keep in mind there are many trades that call themselves pro's who don't want to fork down 5-8K out the gate for a product that will take some time to re-coop costs. Some will, some will wait. But I think that statement is to broad and shallow.
Even big companies will balk at a product that has a high end price. You don't see to many companies updating their work machines let alone their work stations every cycle.
I have a MP currently for my business. It was in the 2800.00 range when I purchased it. There is no way I will spend 5-8K on machine at this point.
Again, I am waiting along with a lot of other people to hear the price this machine will cost. Let's not forget the additional costs of adding external thunderbolt peripherals is also going to come into factoring in the purchase of this machine.
i wonder how much those assembly line workers will get paid
We know that it has to be at least minimum wage, which is something like 15x more than workers in China.
The AMD GPUs are going to be of the newer 8000 series I would imagine (same arch anyway), so we'll see higher specs at lower prices.
The RAM, VRAM and Flash chips, the PCIe SSD-controller chip, the wireless chips and the GPUs are manufactured outside the US by Samsung's and TSMC's fabs in Korea and Taiwan. All of Intel's stuff are manufactured and designed in the US. I see no reason why manufacturing and packaging of everything else wouldn't be made in the US too, and if they are highly automated then there'd be no more expensive than if it were manufactured outside of the US.
When it comes to price, I think that most estimates are vastly exaggerated. The Xeon Ivy Bridge E5 V2 processor, won't be more expensive than the ones that is in the current model, and the list price of them is around $1500 dollars. The list price of a Radeon HD 7990 is $1000. 32 GB of 1866 GHz DDR3 RAM cost $300. 512 GB of FusionIO-SSDs are $2000. It's be absurd to think that Apple would pay list price for those components so why this computer would cost $6000 I can't understand. A off the shelf PC, built to match the specs would, but I think Apple will undercut the list price by something like a half. The new Mac Pro would, even if it is a "flop" generate volumes AMD and FusionIO would only dream of. So.. $3000. That's my guess.
When it comes to price, I think that most estimates are vastly exaggerated. The Xeon Ivy Bridge E5 V2 processor, won't be more expensive than the ones that is in the current model, and the list price of them is around $1500 dollars. The list price of a Radeon HD 7990 is $1000. 32 GB of 1866 GHz DDR3 RAM cost $300. 512 GB of FusionIO-SSDs are $2000. It's be absurd to think that Apple would pay list price for those components so why this computer would cost $6000 I can't understand. A off the shelf PC, built to match the specs would, but I think Apple will undercut the list price by something like a half. The new Mac Pro would, even if it is a "flop" generate volumes AMD and FusionIO would only dream of. So.. $3000. That's my guess.
This is what peasants should tell you when they take all of your things.
Don't feel oppressed! Re-skill yourself deep in Gobi Desert....
Primarily, it appears to be for job creation [and paying tax obligations], in it's home country. Even though it appears to have chosen the most tax friendly home state. But what's new...?
We are in a recession and the one of the biggest [recession proof] companies in the world, may feel it is starting to look bad and want's to give something back to the USA.
You could say it is for image, or you could say it was for job creation. None of it matters, as we are talking about a corporation who's only interest is to make money to keep it's share value high.
It's not going to be using a Radeon HD7990. They said workstation graphix. It going to be something with the specs of the Fire Pro W9000. Obviously not the exact same model, but something with those specs. They're not going to sell it at or near cost. Have you seen their profit margins?
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But it's not going to be made in America, only assembled. I don't understand what's so amazing about that. Am I missing something? Maybe someone could explain it to me.
I think the political term to what they are doing is refereed to as Grandstanding
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-grandstanding.htm
I doubt they picked Texas for tax reasons.
By the way, most people completely look past the high property tax rates in Texas. When I lived there it was 4%. Here in California it is 1%. The difference is almost equivalent to Income Tax vs no Income Tax because your property is valued quite a bit more than your annual income.
I am guessing they picked Flextronics....which just happened to have facilities with production openings in Texas.
The whole Made In The USA thing is kind of irrelevant to me. It doesnt create thousands of jobs like it used to. If anything, shipping products out of the USA to other countries will make it expensive for them to get it.
Still, not a bad way to diversify its production chain and at the same time sell a few higher priced products to proud americans that might otherwise buy something lower on the chain like an iMac.
By the way, most people completely look past the high property tax rates in Texas. When I lived there it was 4%. Here in California it is 1%. The difference is almost equivalent to Income Tax vs no Income Tax because your property is valued quite a bit more than your annual income.
I am guessing they picked Flextronics....which just happened to have facilities with production openings in Texas.
The whole Made In The USA thing is kind of irrelevant to me. It doesnt create thousands of jobs like it used to. If anything, shipping products out of the USA to other countries will make it expensive for them to get it.
Still, not a bad way to diversify its production chain and at the same time sell a few higher priced products to proud americans that might otherwise buy something lower on the chain like an iMac.
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Not even close, you really think Apple would price this that high after selling the old Mac Pro from $2499 and up? Seriously? It will be well within affordability and not far from the current Mac Pro pricing. They are not dumb...
Also regarding pricing...You can bet its going to be similar to current Mac Pro pricing which after all is not exactly cheap for a computer. $3K for a computer with no monitor or accessories....makes it a lot more expensive than the high end iMac without having to increase prices. The audience for this Pro is more than just true professionals, there are lots of Mac enthusiasts that just want to own one.