New Mac Pro Coming Soon?

[Moody Glasgow]

Thanks Walter. I was beging to think I was crazy…

moody glasgow
smoke/flame

[Walter Soyka]

[Craig Seeman] “Just add RAM or change the CPU. Either will change to 1-3 weeks.
Why would throwing RAM into a computer cause a delay unless those RAM chips are about to be changed? You’re not changing the HD config at all. In other words change RAM alone (or CPU alone) results in a delay.”

No — you’re assuming that they are modifying a standard model for CTO. I think the variations in shipping time here indicate that is not the case.

Changing it from a standard model (which already exists in a warehouse somewhere and is ready to ship today) to a custom order with a 1TB HD (which doesn’t exist yet, and has to be configured before it can be shipped) results in delay.

A custom order with a 1TB drive take weeks; the same custom order without the 1TB drive take days. That suggests that the 1TB drive it the choke point.

If the memory were the critical component causing the delay, why wouldn’t it also affect systems with SDDs?

[Craig Seeman] “Adding an SSD in anything other than Drive Bay 1 causes a 1-3 way delay too.”

Right — because the hard drives are in short supply!

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Walter Soyka]

[moody glasgow] “Thanks Walter. I was beging to think I was crazy…”

Well, you’re no crazier than I am — that may or may not be a good thing!

I agree with you on the moral of the story: there’s nothing about the Mac Pro to read in the build-time tea leaves.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Craig Seeman]

Somehow it doesn’t seem like good supply chain management if MacPro sales are low and they’re not pulling from CTO just to add RAM or an SSD in another drive bay.

[Walter Soyka]

[Craig Seeman] “Somehow it doesn’t seem like good supply chain management if MacPro sales are low and they’re not pulling from CTO just to add RAM or an SSD in another drive bay.”

I enjoy some good armchair-COOing as much as anyone, but I assume it’s a litte more complicated than that at scale.

Presumably the inventory is stored in distribution centers which likely do not have CTO assembly capabilities, meaning the pre-configured systems would need to be picked, then shipped (possibly around the country) in order to be cannibalized for customization, increasing the COGS and thus reducing margin.

To do otherwise would mean Apple would have to build out dedicated shipping and customization infrastructure for Mac Pros, instead of leveraging the same infrastructure they are able to use for their other systems, again increasing the COGS and thus reducing margin — or do nothing but just-in-time manufacturing, which would reduce inventory overhang, but might significantly increase COGS and thus reduce margin.

Then again, this is all wild speculation, and really, I make pretty pictures for a living, so what do I know?

Too bad Apple hasn’t figured out a way to sell hardware on the app store yet. Physical distribution is a bummer.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[David Roth weiss]

[Walter Soyka] “Presumably the inventory is stored in distribution centers which likely do not have CTO assembly capabilities, meaning the pre-configured systems would need to be picked, then shipped (possibly around the country) in order to be cannibalized for customization, increasing the COGS and thus reducing margin.”

I suspect custom Macs are configured in Mexico or in China, thus leading to added shipping time.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.com

Don’t miss my new Creative Cow Podcast: Bringing “The Whale” to the Big Screen:
https://library.creativecow.net/weiss_roth_david/Podcast-Series-2-MikeParfitandSuzanneChisholm/1

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Creative COW contributing editor and a forum host of the Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums.

[Shawn Miller]

“Moody’s right — it’s the hard drives.”

I think you’re both correct. Same thing is happening at Dell and HP. If you configure workstations at each site and select certain hard drives, the ship dates change by a minimum of 6 days. Changing CPU or graphics card doesn’t affect the ship date.

Shawn

[Chris Harlan]

[Walter Soyka] “Then again, this is all wild speculation, and really, I make pretty pictures for a living, so what do I know?

Too bad Apple hasn’t figured out a way to sell hardware on the app store yet. Physical distribution is a bummer.
“

ROTFL

[Jeremy Garchow]

As much as I want it to be a new MacPro, I think it’s hard drives too.

The iMac goes up to 1-3 weeks only when choosing the 2TB hard drive. I learned this over the holiday break when browsing iMac options for my dear mom who’s 4 year old iMac was getting a little long in the tooth.

What’s weird, if I go do the same thing on the MacPro (change 1TB to 2TB) the time goes from 1-3 weeks to 2-4 days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny7uGEPgoXk

[Craig Seeman]

[Jeremy Garchow] “What’s weird, if I go do the same thing on the MacPro (change 1TB to 2TB) the time goes from 1-3 weeks to 2-4 days.”

BTW upon closer inspection the change in MacPro Bay 1 depends on the base model
Quad Core Bay 1 – 2TB HD or SSD 2-4 days
8 Core Bay 1 – 2TB HD or SSD 2-4 days
12 Core Bay 1 – 2TB HD 1-3 weeks SSD 2-4 days but leave it at 1TB HD it’s also 1-3 weeks instead of In Stock with the same 1TB HD in Bay 1 in the other two models.

With Bay 1 with 2TB HD
They show for Bay 2 – 1TB 1-3 weeks, 2TB or SSD 2-4 days

With Bay 1 with 1TB HD
They show for Bay 2 1-3 weeks with all choices

Yet with iMacs choosing 2TB causes the long 1-3 week delay. But that’s not the case if you choose either 1TB HD or 2TB HD with SSD.

So where does this lead one?
It just doesn’t seem like a simple HD shortage. Just shortages in 1TB drives doesn’t explain it given with iMac going to 2TB causes the delay. With MacPro a 2TB in Bay 1 and Bay 2 is only 2-4 days. So it’s 1TB causing delay in MP and 2TB causing delay in iMac?