That depends. Some of the best recipes call for baking cheesecake in a custard bath, in which case you would skip the springform and go for a regular high-sided pan, greased and lined with strips of parchment. See Alton Brown's sour cream cheesecake recipe on the Food Network site for example.
I use a springform, even with a water bath. I just tightly wrap the outside in a big piece of foil - as long as the water bath only comes about half way up the pan, it works fine.
A spring formpan has a clamp on the outside to release the contents. An idea I stole from one of my chef friends is to use a springform when making a Spanish tortilla. When it's cooked through you can release the tortilla and slice it into wedges.
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