Question : Problem: Dual Xeon vs Core 2 Dual Core

I have some specific questions about the processing power between several types of current processors. I'm trying to compare to systems side by side to see if they are a fair comparison and from my reasearch can not seem to find specific examples. Here is my quandry:

First box:
Dual 3.6 Ghz Xeon (2MB cache each)
2 GB RAM DDR2-400
1x72GB 10k SCSI Ultra 320

Second Box:
Core 2 Dual Core 1.86Ghz 2MB L2 Cache
1GB RAM DDR2-667
1x160GB SATA 150 Drive

From my reasearch the new Core 2 Dual Core extreme chips sets would really smoke the above Xeon box but from what I can find the Core 2 Dual Core box listed seems under powered comparable to the Xeon box.

My questions are as follows:
Which box would offer the best performance for heavy photo work?
Is comparing these 2 boxes even a fair comaprison?
Are there any specific sites which I can reference for this information.

Answer : Problem: Dual Xeon vs Core 2 Dual Core

Unfair comparison ==> You're comparing an older pair of Xeons with the new Core architecture chips.   The Core 2 Duo would indeed "smoke" the dual Xeon CPU's in the above comparison ... although the 10k SCSI Ultra drive would smoke the SATA drive for disk access.

A much more valid comparison would be between a Core-based Xeon system (51xx series dual core or 53xx series quad core).   With one of these CPU's, a Xeon-class system would be a better (but more expensive) choice than a Core 2 based system, as it will most likely support SCSI disks and registered (or FB) memory modules ... thus allowing more installed memory and a more reliable memory subsystem than a Core 2 based desktop.   But EITHER would do very well for heavy photo work.