So it isn’t necessary except for niche workflows unneeded by most people, including semi-pro musicians and even pros. Agreed!
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Don’t forget about off site backups. Anyone using BackBlaze may be a bit snookered.
This has gotten pretty off topic from @bocciaman’s original question.
The issue of not whether you can or cannot do certain things on one platform vs another. You can render a video on a 2011 Mac mini. It will take forever, but if you don’t need it for 2 weeks you are fine. I hope we can all agree that the points to be taken home are you upgrade if/when you want to need something that your current system cannot do, whether it is internal expandability, speed or memory or storage to meet a need you have, etc, OR if your current system just isn’t meeting your need to have something fancier. Nothing wrong with just wanted it either, if you can afford it.
There’s little to be gained from arguing if you can complete a given task on a given machine. If I were rendering video or running weather simulations for a living, of course I’d go Mac Pro. If I needed a machine to carry every day, every where I go, I’d go laptop, choosing MacBookAir vs Pro based on my need for performance on the go and tolerance for how much weight I can carry. Sure, I could carry a MacPro with me, but I really don’t want to! 
Back to @bocciaman’s original query. Yes, some people do seem to keep their Macs for 10 years or more. Case in point: you have already done so, as you are running your 2009 iMac in 2020! Yes, the MacPro will give you more upgradability than an iMac, as you can add more RAM, new video card, PCI peripherals, internal HD modules yourself. There is some speculation that the processor is upgradable (although of course if Apple does make the rumored transition to ARM, that won’t be an option for the Intel based MacPro). The only thing I don’t think you can readily upgrade in the MacPro is the internal boot SSD, as it is my understanding that a) a proprietary connector is used (I don’t know that for sure) and b) the SSD is tied to the T2 chip and I believe you need an apple-specific solution to make a new SSD work. I am sure you can get that done by Apple but it will be pricey!
So, yes, you can keep your MacPro for 10 years, and I will speculate (without real knowledge) that MacOS will support the new MacPro over the timespan. Possibly as you near the other end of that timeframe, you will find that you may no longer be able it upgrade MacOS, but whatever you are using at the time will still work, and if you don’t need anything more, you can keep on using your machine.
I will say that it has not been my approach, overall, to go with the highest end machine at any given time. As others have pointed out, it can be more economical to buy a lower end machine with the plans to replace it in 3-5 years instead, so if I were purchasing a MacPro today I would probably go with a few less cores and save some money, but that is based on my own pattern, which is that I usually replace my machines around the time that AppleCare ends, so I tend to keep my Macs around 3 years. Therefore, for me, it is cheaper to buy a bit less each time knowing I am replacing sooner. If, however, you are doling some work for which 18 cores will significantly impact productivity over less cores, then you need to purchase what you need for your work. (Heck, if cash were not any issue and I didn’t have any reason to budget at all, I’d go 18 or more cores and at least 4TB of SSD).
So I say, if you feel the need for it and it will make you happy, and you have the cash, go for it.
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Another risk factor to buying Mac Pro today (which I would like to do satisfy my aspirational necessities… cough… cough), is the new Xeon processors which Intel is releasing. I read a news article about Xeon’s which seem to be another 30% faster than previous Xeon. Then I did research, and found Xeon Gold series (but I’m not sure that’s the same xeon). In other words, Intel is responding to market pressure (AMD) with some serious upgrades, even to Xeon.
Unfortunately, despite researching these new Xeon upgrades, I can not tell whether these are real options for Mac Pro. Why?
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Sometimes Apple gets chips ahead of market (since single vendor demand is smaller, no big deal to Intel). Perhaps Apple already uses these chips?
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Perhaps these chips are too power hungry for Apple to use? Perhaps Intel changed the heat profile, so these chips can not substitute in Mac Pro?
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Maybe Apple is not interested in tweaking Mac Pro, even if it means leaving 30% performance boost? (I hope not, but who knows?)
I am sure there are many other marketing/engineering/commercial concerns which impact Mac Pro design.
Anyone have any idea whether the current Mac Pro already uses or could use the new Xeon chips? Is there any point waiting for a rev of the current Mac Pro to next gen Xeon?
From what I gathered (do not take my word as definitive, but that’s what I read), Apple can upgrade the internal SSD (but only them) because it’s tied to the security features of the T2 chip.
Of course only Apple could say for sure.
Yep. In my own case, a Synology is just a back up; important files are directly attached and as such backed up to Backblaze (but given the size of the back up, recovery from Backblaze is … problematic.)
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May I ask where you got you icon from for the MacPro please ?
If it’s not included as an OS option in his Mac Pro he could have copied/pasted the image from any image on any website - here’s Apple.com (although Apple’s pic doesn’t have a shadow beneath the unit).
I am using a 2009 Mac Pro with 3 monitors. I love that I can easily upgrade the RAM and hard drive as needed. I am running Mojave, but find it mostly fine for my needs: web browsing, email, document processing, etc. I am not a programmer nor do I edit audio or video. So for me, adding RAM, SSD, and a video card fixed all my performance issues.
One downside is that upgrading to Catalina is not as straightforward as upgrading to Mojave was. But that is a tradeoff I am willing to make given the cost. My plan is to eventually buy a used 2019 Mac Pro that I can use for as long as possible by upgrading components as needed.
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Some things are hard to justify. They don’t make economic sense. But it’s OK to treat yourself every now and then to the best toys.
I did, I love my Mac Pro and I’m not looking back. I spend more time with my computer than I do my wife (not comparing the two, but you get my point…). I didn’t want to spend the next several years with my souped-up iMac wishing I had the Mac Pro. I know it’s a “tool” but computers are also a passion for me. When I’m not doing “work” stuff I’m doing video, photo, programming, or automation stuff because I enjoy it.
I get low priced cars and drive them into the ground - my previous one lasted 18 years. But I don’t care about cars. I have friends who do and they get new cars, costing twice mine, every 2 or 3 years. Yet our travel needs are the same. Good for them.
Life is short - if it’s something you really want and you can afford it, just get it.
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Amen, my strategy for the last decade exactly, let someone with deeper pockets take the depreciation hit on a brand new mac pro. Buy preowned all day long and upgrade as needed, in my view a sound strategy. cheers
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Where can I find a pre-owned 2019 Mac Pro? eBay?
For used macs, I search: Facebook marketplace, OfferUp, Nextdoor, eBay, Craigslist, and 2-3 online vendors that specialize in selling used macs.