Need advice for Mac Pro configuration

I have decided to buy Mac Pro after years with my trusted Mac Pro 1,1 2006. I am not a professional editor. But I shoot and edit very short movies with FCP X after many years with FCP Studio. My movies goes to Vimeo.

I prefer the base model. Could someone give me idea on reasonable configuration that is suitable for shorter movies. ( please do not tell me to buy iMac). I also think about external drive for the media. I know this not a easy question.
Any ideas are welcomed.

Thank you
Makki

Hi Makki,

Even the base model will be a major jump from the original mp.

The advice I have received is if you are going to spend money on any extras, get the best GPU you can afford if FCP X is your main application.

Personally I'm not a fan of the base model at all. But For future proofing I would say regardless of the model, spec out the d700s. Don''t think of them as graphics cards as much as coprocessors. Ever since OSX Apple has been trying to lean more and more on the graphics processor to do things, as evident by the newest FCPX release. 16 is fine if all you do is have FCPX up, but I would say 32 so you have flexibility. Although, with the Mac Pro and its PCIe based system drive along with Mavericks compressed memory, I don't think you will be hurting if you do touch swap space. So my final suggestion based on what you say is base model with d700 and 16 GB RAM, and apple care. TP = $4,348.00

I think the safe bet is to get a 6-core with minimum 32GB RAM and the best GPU.

Media storage are better external anyway so I say 512GB internal should be enough.

I'd also recommend going third party for your RAM. Crucial already has a 32 gig kit (16x2) for $439, which is $70 cheaper than Apple for 32 (who give you 8x4. So you can keep 2 4 gig sticks for a whopping 40 gigs) or you can get 2 of those and save $420 off of Apple's list...

I've dealt with Crucial since my first MP, and they are great. I've only had 1 stick fail, and it was replaced with NO hassle in about 3 days...

Off topic - I can't believe we're in the era of 64 gigs of RAM. Being in the holiday spirit, I must say that I am very thankful to be living in this moment in time. I hope you all have a wonderful year!

Thank you so much all for those good advice. I think I will go for 32 GB RAM, and the best GPU. Amd 512 GB internal drive. I almost only use FCP X.