First wave of Mac Pros begin shipping for Dec. 30 delivery
Apple on Monday began shipments of its newly redesigned Mac Pro to those who ordered the desktop in the first minutes of availability, with a delivery deadline just squeaking by a self-imposed December deadline.
Reports are coming in that Apple has initiated shipments of base configuration Mac Pros for customers who were able to place orders when sales went live last week. Currently, models shipping include the $2,999 quad-core model and $3,999 6-core version.
It is unknown at this time if built-to-order configurations are also shipping, but at launch, those machines were quoted with ship-by dates running well into January. Some versions, especially high-end models with maxed-out specifications, started with February delivery dates from the outset.
Barring any shipment hiccups, Apple will just make a self-imposed December deadline it announced in October, promising the pro-level machine would reach consumers by the end of the year.
Apple is apparently seeing constrained supply of its radically redesigned professional-level computer, as its Online Apple Store now shows February delivery dates even for standard base model configurations. BTO models are also quoted as being available to ship by February, though a specific date is not given, suggesting production has not yet ramped to full capacity.
The limited Mac Pro availability may be attributed to Apple's "Made in USA" efforts, which have the desktop being manufactured at domestic plants in Texas instead of the usual Far East partner factories.
With the machines not yet in the hands of consumers, Apple already issued a Mac Pro EFI update to squash system-level bugs when the units finally do arrive. The company is also rolling out updates to allow its pro apps to take advantage of the Mac Pro's advanced hardware architecture.
Reports are coming in that Apple has initiated shipments of base configuration Mac Pros for customers who were able to place orders when sales went live last week. Currently, models shipping include the $2,999 quad-core model and $3,999 6-core version.
It is unknown at this time if built-to-order configurations are also shipping, but at launch, those machines were quoted with ship-by dates running well into January. Some versions, especially high-end models with maxed-out specifications, started with February delivery dates from the outset.
Barring any shipment hiccups, Apple will just make a self-imposed December deadline it announced in October, promising the pro-level machine would reach consumers by the end of the year.
Apple is apparently seeing constrained supply of its radically redesigned professional-level computer, as its Online Apple Store now shows February delivery dates even for standard base model configurations. BTO models are also quoted as being available to ship by February, though a specific date is not given, suggesting production has not yet ramped to full capacity.
The limited Mac Pro availability may be attributed to Apple's "Made in USA" efforts, which have the desktop being manufactured at domestic plants in Texas instead of the usual Far East partner factories.
With the machines not yet in the hands of consumers, Apple already issued a Mac Pro EFI update to squash system-level bugs when the units finally do arrive. The company is also rolling out updates to allow its pro apps to take advantage of the Mac Pro's advanced hardware architecture.
Comments
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I can beat that! 3 Days ahead of schedule ... that's what getting up to order at 5 a.m. gets you
Lucky you!
Let us know how it performs compared to what you have now.
What configuration did you order again?
I still haven't ordered, yet. Waiting for somebody or the maker to post how this baby works with the 3D apps I use. I know it will work great with FCPX and Compressor but want confirmation that it works great with the others first.
The 6 core. I would have loved an 8 Core but I had to spend the money in 2013. My last Mac Pro was an 8 core but 2008 model and I have an i7 MBPro too so this should be like a rocket from what I have ever had. My 6 TB RAID 0 is waiting to rock
I can beat that! 3 Days ahead of schedule ... that's what getting up to order at 5 a.m. gets you
You don't have it yet so I wouldn't get too excited. Okay...well I'd be excited as hell, but you know what I mean.
I totally trust Apple in this. FedEx and expedited delivery. They were spot on with the delivery date with the monitor, that came yesterday.
I think by 7 am EST they were quoting February. I didn't believe the trash talk about them not selling. Apple must have totally sold all they had in the pipe line in the first few hours. Many are waiting for eight and twelve cores of course so it looks like a pretty good launch.
Do you have any sort of back up for your RAID 0?
I think by 7 am EST they were quoting February. I didn't believe the trash talk about them not selling. Apple must have totally sold all they had in the pipe line in the first few hours. Many are waiting for eight and twelve cores of course so it looks like a pretty good launch.
What display did you get, the 4k one?
I think by 7 am EST they were quoting February. I didn't believe the trash talk about them not selling. Apple must have totally sold all they had in the pipe line in the first few hours. Many are waiting for eight and twelve cores of course so it looks like a pretty good launch.
This is obviously a production line still being fine-tuned and ramped up - releasing a few early builds to keep their promised date target.
And I imagine they're staffing and doing parts procurement differently than with their iDevice lines.
I.e., they have an idea of what the sustained sales rate is going to be once the pent-up first rush settles into ongoing demand. This is a very different proposition than the 10s of Ms of set config $650 iPhones assembled and shipped around the world, where operations like Foxconn can simply throw throngs of low-paid workers and multi-programmable robots to "surge" production on whatever's the hottest product a given plant can make, and then move them to other lines as the dynamics change.
This team is making one multi-thousand dollar, highly configurable product where the mature sales rate is going to be what - maybe 10-20,000 units/month? Or 30-50,000? More? Less? (Seriously, I don't know but I'll bet someone has at least approximate figures on Pro sales over the years.)
Whatever, they may have more stuff now than they will once the plant's "burned in" and the backlog's been worked off, but they're mainly training and evaluating that team and operation to meet projected demand for the long haul.
And they know that bulk of MP customers who've been waiting for years will wait another few months for them to get up to speed.
Plus, as the reviews show, it's going to be months to years before apps other than the precious few available now start taking full advantage of this new powerhouse anyway - particularly until 3rd party pro programs even use (let alone efficiently use) the dual graphics cards.
So anyone not getting their Pro before Feb. or March who doesn't rely on FCP and few other tools isn't going to miss out on the monster potential in this dense little shiny can. The fun's just starting for people who need this class of crunch, plus these machines are going to be in full production use for years longer than the average consumer Mac. And the basic design will likely have a good long run, with numerous upgrades.
And I'm not sure its being released was baked in the cake two years ago. This is a Cook call, and I'm happy to see Apple recognize the value - beyond the immediate bottom line - of sticking with the people who kept Apple associated with power and prestige during their dark years, and giving pro users who grow up on the Mac an upgrade path that doesn't stop when they become pros. So props to Tim.
Another thing I don't know - but would like to just for interest - is what percentage of Mac Pros are sold for the US market - and where they're strongest (or relatively strongest) outside of the country's borders.
Good on you sir! I wonder what a return trip AMS-TPA costs and if you have a viewing day.
Since you are /were in the video/broadcasting business; will you get some special PCI card that needs a TB box? If so, what are you getting?
Mine still says January. *sob*
At this stage I will be playing and learning. So not a concern at first. FCPX was so slow on my MBP I all but gave up HD video editing. I will be seriously re learning for a while. After watching the 4K RAW RED demo with 18 effects in real time, I am hoping HD will be like editing NTSC! Hell I doubt transcoding will be required! :smokey:
When I was editing TV shows for ESPN back in the days of NTSC TV, I had a very expensive DLT back up from my 16 GIG RAID systems (that cost more than $10K each) but these days I will simply buy a dual Thunderbolt dock and stick a couple of 3 TB SATA III bare drives in and use CCC. Total cost $400! It is pretty staggering how inexpensive this stuff all is these days. My home made RAID is more of the same and these HighPoint Dual-Bay Thunderbolt are only TB v1 so 10Gbps. That's another reason to hold off buying more docks until they get the TB 2 models out.
$400 sounds like a great price. I have about $1000 invested in my RAID which doesn't include TB and is not a NAS. It a 5-bay USB 3.0, FW800, FE400, and eSATA. I bought 4x4TB @ 7200RPM drives that I set up as RAID10. That gives me 8TB of usable space which should last me until I'm ready to get a new RAID enclosed and larger drives.
Hi Phil,Merry Christmas
I am now a semi retired hobbyist that does the odd job for money as well as all the marketing material for a busy realtor wife, no more real pressure like the old days.:D So as I was just explaining to Soli, I will be making my own RAID systems and as I am only into HD maximum (No 4K I swear) this will all be like kindergarten for the Mac Pro. I am also excited about Aperture (hopefully new version soon), Photoshop CS6 and Logic Pro X all of which i use extensively and limp along on my MBP. I am soooo excited ... I just wish I could sleep ...
TPA is worth a trip this time of year, it's a lovely part of Florida ... And you could take a trash can back with you at the $ price ... I can send you the delivery address
What sort of readings does BlackmagicDesign give you on that set up, I've never tried 10. I have found USB 3 very iffy in write compared to read on 0.
I have been disappointed with USB 3 running RAID 0 on my 2013 Mac mini. My MBP predates USB 3 so that's my my only way to test. I get around 120 Mb/s.
I have no idea since it's running off a 10 year old PPC iMac. I'm not even using USB 3.0 since this iMac only ha USB 1.0. I bought a FW400 cable off Monoprice and it's been working great as an iTunes Server and, recently, a Time Machine server for the other Macs in the house.
Have you upgraded to 10.1? Supposedly it's noticeable faster on older HW.
DLT, wow, that takes me back. Freaking expensive, and you really had to calculate in all the tapes as they were expensive as well. Has corporate IT moved to HDD backup fully, or are there still many out there backing up to DLT? I know the advantages of DLT (robust) but still, the ease of HDD should've won over by now(?)
Merry Christmas to you sir. To all!
If 'all' you are going to do is HD, or 2k, this will be a breeze on the new MP. All FCP sites tell us so. If you need to pick up on knowledge, many good books to find: http://www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/news/1298-the-top-ten-final-cut-pro-x-books-of-2013
Being this exited makes us kids again! Indeed, who knows if there's a new Aperture around the corner. Perhaps a fresh start in the new year, with lots more of experience due to the photo-taking holidays for their software developers as well, Januari may be a good time for developing v4. Maybe a Februari release?
I've been to Florida before, but that's a long time ago, 1993 I believe. Really great weather all year round!
Ha! Getting an 8-core, coming home with a 6-core no doubt¡ (joking here, you are one straight up person)
Happy holidays