Sorry to derail the thread at all, but I wanted to add that I'm also considering taking the plunge and going Mac. It won't be a complete shift, because I'll certainly be running Boot Camp at the very least, probably Fusion or Parallels.
The key thing to do is to make sure you try to do whatever tasks on OS X first, otherwise you are going to just run Windows on the machine and not bother migrating. If gaming is a concern, use Boot Camp to install Windows, then Fusion or Parallels can just boot the Boot Camp partition. No need for dual installs, and no need to have apps installed twice. I reboot to play games, and do everything else Windows specific in Fusion.
Based on your likely choice of a Mac Pro, I'd recommend Fusion. It offers 2 processor SMP to the guest OS.
Now, if we compare the same computer selling on Amazon and Apple's stores, I can get in on Amazon for about $250 less (I didn't think you could get anything Apple sold for less anywhere). Is that the best I can do? I'm certainly never going to let Apple add RAM to a machine (at what looks like a 500% markup), but is there anywhere else I can shave off the price? I've looked at the refurbs, and it looks like I can either get last year's model, or spend $4100. That's not going to happen.
Refurbs change daily, so check often. They are a good value, but you have to wait for what config you want, and it may not be exact. As for ways to get a discount, check to see if your company gets one. Beyond that, if you are a student somewhere, you can check what your school discount is, or go a step farther and pay $99 to become an Apple student developer. Student developers get a one time discount on hardware, and it will be more then enough to make up for the $99 paid. Developer pricing can be seen
here.
I bought RAM for mine from
OWC. RAM for a Mac Pro is going to be pricy compared to others, since it is server/workstation class RAM with error checking and correction. Also, the Mac Pro is very fussy about RAM heatsinks. Going with something not specifically designed for the Mac Pro can cause it to rev up the fans to an annoying level in an attempt to keep the memory cool. The machine is near silent in most situations, so adding non standard ram will be noticeable.
I have two questions as far as longevity of my purchase (since I've never spent this much on a computer): 1) does anyone see any major advancements coming in say the next 6 months that would suggest holding off for something better or a price drop? 2) How easy is it to overclock the dual 2.8GHz quad-core Mac Pro?
Apple doesn't price drop equipment over time, it simply discontinues it, throws the leftovers on the refurb store, and starts selling the new configs. Looking 6 months ahead puts things right on the edge for Intel's next architecture change, where the memory controller will be moved onto the CPU similar to what AMD did a while back. Odds are this will be more then 6 months out for availability, and Apple would probably push new Mac Pros out with the chips next January.
As for overclocking, I haven't looked deeply, but really have to question why. Doing so will void the warranty, and to me the warranty is a big reason for buying a complete desktop from a vendor like Apple over building it yourself.
Then I have one more question relating to computer use: when it comes to computers, I am a man who lives and dies by his folder structures. That's simply how I have to organize myself. Given that I have almost next to no experience with the Mac OS, do you think it will still be conducive to my computing habits? Here's a good example: will iTunes allow me to organize my files on the Mac just as it does on the PC?
iTunes for OS X is feature for feature identical to the Windows version. Defaults are a little different, but iTunes can be set to not organize your music. As can iPhoto for photos and such. However, I'd question your methods on OS X. The point of manual organization is to make finding information easier for the person who organized it, and to work around limitations of the system. OS X has Spotlight, and it works very well. I haven't bothered keeping my documents folder clean on OS X since Spotlight finds what I want nearly instantly. Same for my mail. It mostly all stays in the inbox, but a series of smart folders makes it easy for me to group messages, and Spotlight works well to find one particular message quickly. As for photos, iPhoto holds them all, and since I can find the events or keywords I want quickly, I could care less how the underlying folder structure is laid out.
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