How much of an improvement going from MBP to Mac Pro?

[NewSc2]

First off, I know I don't *need* a Mac Pro. I haven't really pushed my MBP to its limits yet -- I write mainly minimal techno and house pieces and I use my MBP for DJing too.

But I just bought Native Instrument's Komplete 5 (which takes up a crazy amount of space), and an external OWC Mercury-on-the-Go hard drive, and I realized I'd probably be buying another hdd in the near future just to deal with all of the samples and project folders I have. I've also been looking to build a gaming PC ($800-900), so I thought I might kill two birds with one stone.

I've kind of subconsciously stayed away from processor-intensive apps (I barely use Space Designer/Sculpture) and I haven't ever used NI's Massive (one hit and it took up a chunk of my CPU). Oh and the MBP seems to be pushing its limits driving this 30" ACD.

So to those of you that have upgraded from a MBP to a Mac Pro, or downgraded from a Mac Pro/Powermac to a MBP -- was it worth it? Is there a big difference between the Quad and Octo models (in music programs)?

 

[synth3tik]

Massive is rather processor friendly considering what it does. I have not really had any issues running on my MBP 2.16. Although I did open up Predator today to do some sound designing and noticed that it was taking up about 75% of one core. Have not noticed any real push on my MP though, If you plan on running a lot of Kontact insistence then you may want more power. I would play around and see what you get with the MBP as you just made a rather costly purchase with Komplete.

 

[NewSc2]

You have a Mac Pro too? Do you use it for audio?

as you just made a rather costly purchase with Komplete.

Well, I didn't just purchase it ... I've had it for a few months, but I'm still learning it. I haven't delved into Reaktor or Kontakt yet. I've used Battery pretty extensively, and some of Absynth and Akoustic Piano.

I got it Komplete because I've wanted to migrate my productions from Logic to Ableton. I use Ableton to DJ (just for fun), and I've gotten somewhat used to the flow, but I've also gotten used to Logic's plugins, especially the ES2.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts. Anybody else who's been in this position, feel free to chime in.

EDIT: I'm not looking to buy a new Mac Pro. Some of the used prices on eBay have been within my budget, (~$2k), and if I see a good deal on an 8-core Mac, I think I might bite. But with new Mac Pros coming in the next few months, I might just wait and see...