So… ultimately, it’s a fairly priced machine for what it is. Whether you need all of what it has…
Checking again comparing with exact same cpus Dell (T3610) and HP (z420)actually can do the quad core version cheaper - as long as you dont add ssd drives and two graphics cards (in store).
With 6 and 8 core HP is about $200 and $800 more expensive (exact same cpu, with only one gpu, normal sata6 ssd) Dell uses other cpus for those, so I haven't compared prices.
In 12 core configs the mac pro comes in a lot cheaper than hp or boxx equivalents (i cannot find a dell offering for that exact cpu)
That $2999 is for a quad core xeon with 12 gigs of ram
and a 256GB SSD available December 30th and can be pre-ordered now. I
haven't done the research, but really, you can't find a PC with those specs for
significantly less?