MacPro...worth the $$$?

So I've had my macbook pro for three years now and I feel like I beat that thing to **** running ProTools, Photoshop/Dreamweaver, and other high intensive programs. I just feel like it's not good for a laptop to be running fans full blast for hours and hours!

So I was thinking about getting a MacPro?
Plenty of room for extra storage, it's a processing beast and has some good features on it.

but for $2500? My car is worth that! After getting my macbook pro, going back to windows is not an option.

I just feel like if I'm going to make a $2500 investment Apple needs to do a better job selling me on it. I could get an iMac 27" terabyte HDD and 4 gig RAM for $700-800 cheaper, but no room for expansion...and the MacPro only comes with a 650gig HDD and 3 gigs ram.

I really want to make sure my $2500 investment isn't going to be obsolete in a few years and I hope I can continue to add to it for upgrades.

Any thoughts?

You've pretty much summarized the reasons for getting a Mac Pro yourself; and there's plenty of debate in these forums about a Pro vs an iMac. The Pro is deliberately named, ie. it's a computer intended for professional use, extreme demand, and so on.

Re obsolescence, there's talk of a new Pro version being announced not too far away, so consider that.

Do you foresee the need for internal storage greater than 650 Gb? If so, wouldn't additional internal hard drives (ie. 4 - Internal 3.5" Serial ATA (SATA) drive bays, 2 - optical drive bays), or an external unit serve your purposes?

The limitations of an iMac you've outlined, so although it has higher specs initially, it may hold you back eventually.

Not sure how much expansion you need, but the 27" iMac i5 or i7, another $120 and you get another 4gb ram for a total of 8gb and a 1tb HDD is plenty big. If not you can replace it with a 2tb HDD for another $120-$150. Or just get a external via firewire and you set. And you get a nice 27" monitor.

Personally, I'd get the 27" and save the money.

I bought a Pro (basic setup, cheapest possible) in early 2007 and as much as it was fantastic when it was new it's lagging behind compared to modern machines now. I've had the sound card and the graphics card both die on me. The latter of which was a nightmare to replace as they've stopped making it and I've only managed to find someone else's old one as a temp fix to the problem.

That said my mac pro is simply the best computer I've ever owned. I'd never go back to a PC for work and everyday use, only for gaming. I just think for me the money was a lot (considering it has had a few problems). If I'd had the range of imacs that are currently available I'd have certainly picked one of those instead. The 27" is a little powerhouse, and stunning at that. However if money isn't an issue the pro can't be beaten.

I think the question is - are you someone that expands and upgrades? If not I'd suggest the imac. I'm currently saving for one!

I used to have a mac pro several years ago when I was having to render 3d animations and motion graphics. The extra cores really helped. I also was able to have much more storage, which I needed. I simply would choke my processor on my macbook pro doing that stuff.

But now that I just do dreamweaver and photoshop and do not need to do the 3d stuff that often, my macbook pro, hooked up to the old cinema display from my old mac pro is more than enough for me. If you are not rendering 3d stuff, then the imac or the macbook pro with the dedicated graphics memory should be more than enough for your needs.