No Build to Order Options Yet?

[haravikk]

Anyone know why there aren't any build-to-order options on the Apple stores for the new Mac Pro yet?

It seems a bit weird to be showing two Mac Pro variations without the ability to even pre-order them yet, let alone see what different configurations will cost.

While it's mostly a pipe-dream for me, I'm sure others are interested to see what 12-cores are going to cost you.

 

[jetjaguar]

yea it does suck .. people are guessing that the 12 core will be like 3k more

 

[chabig]

Anyone know why there aren't any build-to-order options on the Apple stores for the new Mac Pro yet?

It's because you can't order a Mac Pro yet. They aren't for sale until December.

 

[deconstruct60]

Anyone know why there aren't any build-to-order options on the Apple stores for the new Mac Pro yet?

On the Apple store site? No. On Apple's web site? Yes. The 'Tech Specs' page is far more a description of the BTO options than of detailed tech specs.

It seems a bit weird to be showing two Mac Pro variations without the ability to even pre-order them yet,

If the shipping date is still up in the air then there is no reason to do pre-orders.

While it's mostly a pipe-dream for me, I'm sure others are interested to see what 12-cores are going to cost you.

That is seriously not all that hard to figure out. E5 2697 v2 prices are listed by Intel.

http://ark.intel.com/products/75283/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E5-2697-v2-30M-Cache-2_70-GHz

Apple tacks on another 30-35%. [ Just go to other BTO options and price the processor , offset on what replacing , and priced charged if think that it is lower. The mark-ups that Apple uses for specific components tend to be highly regular. ] For this 12 core option, it is over $3K.

If talking standard components that Apple is buying from other vendors ... just go look up those prices. There is nothing mysterious or opaque about that at all.

 

[haravikk]

It's because you can't order a Mac Pro yet. They aren't for sale until December.

That shouldn't affect their ability to take pre-orders, the pro community has been waiting for new Mac Pros for so long it seems weird to force them all to make rush orders on the day that Mac Pros start appearing in (physical) Apple stores.

 

[Gav Mack]

On the Apple store site? No. On Apple's web site? Yes. The 'Tech Specs' page is far more a description of the BTO options than of detailed tech specs.



If the shipping date is still up in the air then there is no reason to do pre-orders.



That is seriously not all that hard to figure out. E5 2697 v2 prices are listed by Intel.

http://ark.intel.com/products/75283/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E5-2697-v2-30M-Cache-2_70-GHz

Apple tacks on another 30-35%. [ Just go to other BTO options and price the processor , offset on what replacing , and priced charged if think that it is lower. The mark-ups that Apple uses for specific components tend to be highly regular. ] For this 12 core option, it is over $3K.

If talking standard components that Apple is buying from other vendors ... just go look up those prices. There is nothing mysterious or opaque about that at all.

Intel usually set their prices to OEM's for the following quarter at the end of this month like most other manufacturers. Expect to see some firm figures and BTO options within the next 2-3 weeks I guess.

 

[deconstruct60]

Intel usually set their prices to OEM's for the following quarter at the end of this month like most other manufacturers.

Apple's prices generally don't change per quarter or even semi annually. If the wrangle something lower than Intel's initial costs later they will just pocket that. That has little to do with projecting what the consumer end BTO prices will be.

Most likely Apple already has a relatively ( with respect to quarters) long term contract in hand for Xeon E5 parts.

 

[deconstruct60]

That shouldn't affect their ability to take pre-orders,

Yes it can. Depends upon how tightly coupled the inventory management systems is to the ordering system. Likewise there are limits to how far in advance you can actually charge before you can ship ( Mail Order Fraud).

Apple keeps some of the lowest inventory rates in the industry. Their whole set-up is heavily geared not to buy what they can sell. Annual iPhone and iPad are exceptional corner cases far more than the normal. Apple practically never meets demand one those. There is a preorder phases far more so to measure just how ridiculously off they are to what they have actually ordered up so far.

Similarly holding credit card info in limbo for high priced purchases for over a month runs counter to normal practices. Did they go out and buy something else in the mean time?

the pro community has been waiting for new Mac Pros for so long it seems weird to force them all to make rush orders on the day that Mac Pros start appearing in (physical) Apple stores.

Who says that has to happen? The target date is "December". They could start pre-orders on November 28 and it still could be WEEKS before shipping before Fall, December, and 2013 are over

Apple announced before store arrival for SNAFU iMac release last year:

https://www.macrumors.com/2012/11/27/new-imacs-go-on-sale-friday-november-30/

Frankly, the reoccurring moaning and groaning from the "Pro" community has often been Apple didn't give them enough advanced notice because procurement was a protracted exercise. That is actually asking for delays between talking about something and actually doing it.

The other factor you are ignoring is that Apple keeps track of how fast the older Mac Pros were selling. If they saw a sizable bubble of folks opting for the 2012 Mac Pros then they know demand isn't going to be "lines wrapped around block" on release.

It is beyond being simply being just "late" at this point. Folks who had time sensitive needs that required systems are already gone.

 

[Gav Mack]

Apple's prices generally don't change per quarter or even semi annually. If the wrangle something lower than Intel's initial costs later they will just pocket that. That has little to do with projecting what the consumer end BTO prices will be.

Most likely Apple already has a relatively ( with respect to quarters) long term contract in hand for Xeon E5 parts.

I agree Intel willl have a long term deal. However There's Hynix, Micron, Samsung to name a few for memory and the DDR3-1866 are top end parts. The same top end issue applies for the PCIe storage with NAND suppliers such as Micron Sandisk & Samsung. I doubt that Samsung as the largest supplier of both will be bending over to accommodate Apple as much as perhaps Intel does.

 

[deconstruct60]

I agree Intel willl have a long term deal. However There's Hynix, Micron, Samsung to name a few for memory and the DDR3-1866 are top end parts.

Apple's memory BTO prices have crack-head high mark-ups. Those mark-ups make the more general 30-40% mark-up look tame. If buying large quantity if RAM from Apple, pragmatically means just don't really care much about price points. Anyone is doing careful budgeting on a system just isn't going to buy from Apple. Crucial/Micron , etc may not announce their Mac Pro specific/certified DIMMs until the Mac Pro launches, but for general ballpark pricing can just look at what they have now for similar systems that are shipping.

The same top end issue applies for the PCIe storage with NAND suppliers such as Micron Sandisk & Samsung.

Similar issue with Apple's mark-ups SSD storage. Take more normal stuff and slap even higher margins on them. We'll see if 3rd parties step in and try to offer solutions. Depends upon how well these systems sell. That's probably going to be a "wait and see" window before any vendor steps in to try to cover this. [ probably going to be an initial bubble of sales for these things but long term..... ]

Apple has PCIe SSD blades in the shipping 2013 Macs. The Mac Pro's versions are probably a bit higher due to the faster controller but the NAND aspect (plus Apple's mark-up on that ) driving their pricing is going to be already reflected in those. The 1TB PCIe blade for the MBP 15" is decent starting base point for a Mac Pro BTO option ( +10-15% for better controller should be decent conservative ballpark).

 

[haravikk]

The other factor you are ignoring is that Apple keeps track of how fast the older Mac Pros were selling. If they saw a sizable bubble of folks opting for the 2012 Mac Pros then they know demand isn't going to be "lines wrapped around block" on release.

The older Mac Pros haven't even been available in the UK for some time now, possibly the whole EU, due to that weird unprotected fan restriction (though I've tried and can't get me finger anywhere close to hurting it on a Mac Pro's fans.

Even in places where the Mac Pro has been continuously on sale, the new Mac Pro has been pretty polarising; some people love it, others hate it, so post sales aren't going to be the best indicator. People who've waited a long time for a new Mac Pro and don't really like what they got are more likely to jump ship if they're made to wait even longer, especially since the price hasn't helped any either; not that the price is unexpected, but a lot of people were hoping the entry level machine would still cost the same as before.