Considering that the Mac Pro 8-core is Intel, they are definitely out! :)  But, as you note, you'll pay for the Xeons and much more so for the 8-core cpus (Xeon or not).  People who have $5000+ to throw at a new computer, all power to 'em.  I usually keep my radar set to between $1500 and $3000 max for a new computer - mainly since I have no upcoming inheritances or haven't won the lottery just yet. ;)

Despite having dual Xeon 2.66GHz cpus with HT enabled (four 'processors' in Cinema), the Core 2 Quad (Q6600 at ~2.4GBH) already readily surpasses those old Xeons in multi-processor rendering.

To add, my new system was built by my computer tech (Pro Computers here in Colorado) for a grand total of $2585 (incl. tax).  For this price, the specs are exquisitely nice:

Intel Core 2 Quad w/GO stepping
Asus P5N32E-SLI (not their top board supporting quad cores): supports 6 SATA II drives and has 7.1 audio hardware support built-in w/optical S/PDIF (my usual connection to speakers)
8GB memory (667 FSB is the current limit on 2GB DIMMs - even the Mac 8-cores use this FSB speed for the same reason).
2x500GB SATA II 7200RPM HDD
GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB (probably the most expensive part of this build!)
20x DVD+/-RW Dual-Layer SATA II (heck, $55 is nice) :)
Full tower case w/front panel LCD temperature monitor (CPU and GPU)
650W PSU

I added existing wireless 802.11G and additional 400GB SATA II HDD.  Windows XP Pro and x64 were already available (so that saved $300).  Monitors, trackball, and mouse also exist already.  Nonetheless, similar builds online regularly cost $3000 or more so I'm a happy customer.

32GB of memory is very nice.  As usual, it will be very expensive to be at the bleeding edge of technology.  Hopefully, in a couple years, 32GB mobos will be at the same price range as this system. :)

C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot. C++ makes it harder, but when you do, you blow your whole leg off.

 -- Bjarne Stroustrup

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