You will definitely get a performance boost by upgrading from the Linux box to the Mac Pro. However, I don't believe that you'll see a huge difference in terms of actual performance between that Mac Pro and, say, an iMac with a 3.6Ghz i5 and 6 or 8 GB RAM.
As long as you're not doing a lot of gaming or other graphics-intensive or math-intensive things, the iMac should seem to the user almost as fast as the Mac Pro.
There's no harm getting the Pro, but I think you may as well save yourself the money...
As for running a VM, that's easy. You can even, with Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion, run Windows apps and Mac apps side-by side.
Other software to look into is Boot Camp (free, supplied by Apple, restart required to switch systems) and Sun/Oracle VirtualBox (free, no restart required, some features missing).
As for the learning curve: It's not too bad. Lots of people make the transition. IIRC, 50% of Mac purchases are first-time Mac users. Apple offers a Switching 101 guide to help you out. Also, if you're used to Linux, you'll catch on quickly. Besides, most of the CL stuff is the same, so you'll always be at home there.
As for SSDs: They're really, really fast. You can see various tests and comparisons run by manufacturer OWC here. For best shock value, watch their video where they race an SSD machine with an HDD one to boot and open apps from CS5. It's pretty amazing...
A cordial welcome to the world of Mac!
What is the second monitor you want to add ?
By reading configuration of your Mac Pro I find this (in the graphic card section) :
It has both a Mini DisplayPort and a dual-link DVI port.
So I think you can connect two display devices on your Mac :
- Your Cinema Display on the mini display port
- Your other display on the DVI port
According to your second monitor, you can connect it directly on the DVI port or you should use a adapter (for example a VGA-to-DVI adpater).
Hope this helps !
Best Answer
The machine itself is quite up to the task.
However, it is limited to El Capitan 10.11, so whilst you could use it for learning, to publish Apple usually require you have the very latest Xcode; which is incapable of being run on an older OS. For instance, Xcode 9 requires macOS 10.13.2 minimum.
If you can find the next model up - the 2009 4,1 can be upgraded by a Firmware hack to become a 5,1* & then be capable of running at least Mojave.
*It can be hard to tell the difference between a true 5,1 & upgraded 4,1 - but this is the giveaway...
A 'true' 5,1 would say 2010 or 2012. A non-upgraded 4,1 couldn't be running even Sierra, so this has to be an upgraded 4,1
I know this for sure - it's my machine ;-)
Additional note: Whichever you decide on, the first thing to do is add an SSD as boot drive. The difference in performance cannot be overstated. Recent versions of macOS expect you to be running from SSD.