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Shipping Estimates on iMacs with 2 TB Hard Drives Slip to 5-7 Weeks Amid Shortages

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Apr 12, 2001
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As noted by AppleInsider, shipping estimates for build-to-order iMac models equipped with 2 TB hard drives have slipped to a significant 5-7 week timeframe, suggesting that hard drive shortages caused by massive flooding in Thailand over the past several months may be catching up with Apple.

imac_bto_2tb_5_7_weeks.jpg



Curiously, Mac Pro models configured with 2 TB drives do not show the same delays, with those build-to-order configurations shipping in just 3-5 business days. The 2 TB drive on the iMac is the only drive affected, as the standard 1 TB drive and configurable 256 GB solid state drive do not significantly boost build times. That 2 TB drive is available as a build-to-order option on the high-end 21.5-inch iMac and on both base models of the 27-inch iMac.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about the potential impact of the Thailand flooding on Apple's business during the company's October earnings conference call. Cook noted that there would undoubtedly be an industry-wide shortage of hard disk drives that would primarily affect Apple in its Mac business, but that there had yet to be a full assessment of the impact or an estimated timeline for recovery. He also declined to offer any specific information on the expected impact to Apple, noting only that any such impact was figured into the company's blockbuster revenue guidance of $37 billion for the holiday quarter.

Article Link: Shipping Estimates on iMacs with 2 TB Hard Drives Slip to 5-7 Weeks Amid Shortages
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/12/02/shipping-estimates-on-imacs-with-2-tb-hard-drives-slip-to-5-7-weeks-amid-shortages/
I was looking on the Apple website and playing around with some custom iMac builds and realised:

On the US site if I choose a 2TB HD of any of the iMac models that can have it, the shipping time is 5-7 weeks. The Mac Pro with a 2TB HD is 3-5 days

But on the Apple Australia site if I do the same the shipping time for a 2TB iMac is still 2-4 days. The same for the Mac Pro (2-4 days).

The UK store is iMac 2TB HD is 5-7 weeks. Though a 2TB HD on a Mac Pro is 1-3 days.

So this is puzzling. Maybe there is a shortage on the specific 2TB HD used on the BTO iMac (with 2TB HD). It is rather plausable.
 
Curiously? I thought the iMac's HDD had some weird temperature sensor thing built in, which is why folks were having so much trouble swapping it with an aftermarket SSD. I believe it's not just a standard 2TB SATA drive like in the Mac Pros
 
Does the iMac use 3 1/2" hard drives ?


[edit]

Figured it out :
From iFixIt :

The WD Caviar Blue drive is a non-standard SATA drive. The power connector features 7 pins, rather than the standard 4. The drive also has non-standard firmware. This means you can only use Apple's own hard drives and not any standard after-market SATA drive.

Must be shortages of the 2TB Blue 7-Pin HD

[/edit]
 
Last edited:
To be fair, if you're at the point of ripping your iMac apart to add a HDD (which is a pain), you might as well simply sell it and buy the latest generation. Sorry but they're less friendly to get in to than a MBA with pentalobes..
 
Peace said:
Does the iMac use 3 1/2" hard drives ?


[edit]

Figured it out :
From iFixIt :

The WD Caviar Blue drive is a non-standard SATA drive. The power connector features 7 pins, rather than the standard 4. The drive also has non-standard firmware. This means you can only use Apple's own hard drives and not any standard after-market SATA drive.

Must be shortages of the 2TB Blue 7-Pin HD

[/edit]
Click to expand...

If this is true. Why does the Apple Australia site still say 2-4 days?
 
iRCL said:
To be fair, if you're at the point of ripping your iMac apart to add a HDD (which is a pain), you might as well simply sell it and buy the latest generation. Sorry but they're less friendly to get in to than a MBA with pentalobes..
Click to expand...

Pentalobes suck.
 
This would be a great opportunity for SSD manufacturers to go into overdrive and start bringing down the cost of SSDs so that they can be included in all future Apple computers.

I know the next modification my iMac is getting involves moving the 2TB HDD to where the superdrive is now and installing a 320GB SSD drive to realize the full speed potential of the machine.

My MacBook Pro just blazes ahead of the iMac because of the SSD, for normal tasks anyway.
 
the8thark said:
I was looking on the Apple website and playing around with some custom iMac builds and realised:

On the US site if I choose a 2TB HD of any of the iMac models that can have it, the shipping time is 5-7 weeks. The Mac Pro with a 2TB HD is 3-5 days

But on the Apple Australia site if I do the same the shipping time for a 2TB iMac is still 2-4 days. The same for the Mac Pro (2-4 days).

The UK store is iMac 2TB HD is 5-7 weeks. Though a 2TB HD on a Mac Pro is 1-3 days.

So this is puzzling. Maybe there is a shortage on the specific 2TB HD used on the BTO iMac (with 2TB HD). It is rather plausable.
Click to expand...

If Apple Australia has 3 iMacs with 2TB left in stock and isn't expecting any new 2TB hard drives to come in within 5-7 weeks, then the shipping time will be 2-4 days until those 3 iMacs are sold, and then it jumps up to 5-7 weeks. And they are not going to remove a 2TB drive from a Mac Pro to put it into an iMac, so the shipping time for MacPros will stay low until all MacPros with 2TB drive are sold.
 
Apple needs to design a Mac that allows easy access to the Hard Drive. The current design is insane. The Mac Pro is done right. I also liked the door in the Powermac G3. Next, they probably will solder the drive onto the motherboard with a 3 inch unique enclosure.
 
Xtremehkr said:
This would be a great opportunity for SSD manufacturers to go into overdrive and start bringing down the cost of SSDs so that they can be included in all future Apple computers.

I know the next modification my iMac is getting involves moving the 2TB HDD to where the superdrive is now and installing a 320GB SSD drive to realize the full speed potential of the machine.

My MacBook Pro just blazes ahead of the iMac because of the SSD, for normal tasks anyway.
Click to expand...


i'm sure Samsung is going to give a discount to everyone but apple for flash from their new factory
 
gnasher729 said:
If Apple Australia has 3 iMacs with 2TB left in stock and isn't expecting any new 2TB hard drives to come in within 5-7 weeks, then the shipping time will be 2-4 days until those 3 iMacs are sold, and then it jumps up to 5-7 weeks. And they are not going to remove a 2TB drive from a Mac Pro to put it into an iMac, so the shipping time for MacPros will stay low until all MacPros with 2TB drive are sold.
Click to expand...
If what you say is true then that's plausable . . .
But I thought all BTO Macs came direct from Asia. And shipped here when ordered. My BTO iMac I ordered came direct from Asia -> Australia.
 
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