Speaking of....
Since we do have to buy a Mac Pro before the end of the year... should I consider getting a used one somewhere for cheap instead of plopping down $3499 on a brand new dual 4 core?
Just get one of the last or current models of the Mac Pro.
Although the Mac Pro looks like a nice machine to have, it still seem crazy to me to drop 4-5k on a machine that will be outperformed by a MacBook Pro or iMac a year or a year and a half later for a fraction of the price.
And that's not even considering the MBP and iMac both come with keyboard, mouse or trackpad, monitor and speakers.
I see it as you're not really paying for the power, but for having that power 1/1.5 year in advance. And it seems like people buying Mac Pros don't upgrade every year, a lot of them plan to keep theirs for like 5 years, so it doesn't make sense to me.
For the same price, you could buy the best iMac every year and resell it, and you would end up:
1) Having a more powerful machine on average
2) Paying less
3) Always having a warranty
4) Getting the cool new stuff first (Thunderbolt, 27" IPS display, FaceTime HD...)
So unless you work requires you to have power that can't be achieved with a high-end iMac/MBP right now, and that you also upgrade/change your Mac Pro every 2 years or less, I see no point in buying it.
Am I missing something?
How does a machine that cannot have its RAM increased to as much as 32GB qualify as being more powerful?