Review this computer

I've been reading online forums for weeks and my brain has turned to mush. I own an old Dell Dimension Pentium 4 and have been having a tough time trying to decide on a new system. Most of the time I am in Lightroom though I do use Photoshop CS4 and may upgrade to CS5 in the future. I process RAW 12 mp files. I don't game or watch movies etc. just phot editing. I'm not interested in building my own. Also, I have used a mac at work before and have also been contemplating a 27" imac. can anyone help me out with any recomendations regarding the two systems below. The pc is cheaper but I need to also get a new monitor so I need to factor that into the budget.
I don't want to go overboard. I just want something that will run these programs smoothly for a while. Thanks in advance.

HPE480t series
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• HP 3-year Care Pack House Call Service for select HP Pavilion Elite Desktop PC (with 2-year standard warranty)
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-930 quad-core [2.8GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache]
• FREE UPGRADE! 9GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [5 DIMMs] from 8GB
• 1.5TB RAID 1 (2 x 1.5TB SATA HDDs) - data security
• Microsoft(R) Office Home and Student 2010
• Norton Internet Security(TM) 2011 - 15 month
• 1GB ATI Radeon HD 5570 [DVI,HDMI, DP, VGA adapter]
• No speakers
• LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
• Integrated Ethernet port, No wireless LAN
• 15-in-1 memory card reader, 1 USB, 1394, audio
• No TV Tuner
• Integrated sound
• HP USB keyboard and optical mouse
$1,280.98

Imac
2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB
2TB Serial ATA Drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Magic Mouse
Microsoft Office Mac 2011 - Home and Student Edition
$2,668.95

Intel just released a newer range of CPUs, Dell/HP may have systems out already based on it, if not give it a few days to a week and they'll be available. The prices will be much the same, performance between 10% and 40% better for the price.

When comparing the two don't forget to add the cost of a 27'' IPS monitor to the PC for a fair comparison.

Likely we will see the Sandy Bridge CPUs, mobos and other parts available next Monday after CES...and after everyone's Sandy Bridge NDA with Intel expires.

BennyM wrote in post #11585160
• FREE UPGRADE! 9GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [5 DIMMs] from 8GB

I read no further. Immediate fail for two reasons:
1) the i7 930's memory controller can utilize triple-channel memory, which generally requires either three or six physical memory sticks. There are a few exceptions, but usually if you put any other number of sticks in you'll lose triple channel; and
2) mismatching the memory stick capacities (i.e. 4x2GB sticks and 1x1GB stick) will destroy any hopes of your memory controller even utilizing dual-channel mode.
2.5) 1066MHz is slow as balls for DDR3. 1600MHz is typical, and the lowest I'd allow is 1333MHz CAS9.

Also, for the price of that computer you could build one yourself and save some dollars. I know not everyone's interested in that option, but if you're going to shell out for a pre-built system, for God's sake do NOT get this one or any other machine that's been prepared with massive amounts of fail.

PS - Sandy Bridge NDA has lifted. I believe it hits stores on 1/9/11.

SB on LGA1155 is not much of an improvement over current LGA1366 technology, but it is a lower-power component. It may be something worth looking into, but I'd wait on it.

ELItheICEman wrote in post #11586894
PS - Sandy Bridge NDA has lifted. I believe it hits stores on 1/9/11.

SB on LGA1155 is not much of an improvement over current LGA1366 technology, but it is a lower-power component. It may be something worth looking into, but I'd wait on it.

Lol. Faster than the 1000$ LGA1366 hexacore in basically everything for less than the i7-930 (which it's faster than by ~30% at a minimum) plus overclocking to 4.5 on the stock cooler on average isn't an improvement?

Thanks Folks, I'll wait a few weeks.

When will Sandy Bridge be available for Mac?

Sp1207 wrote in post #11587041
Lol. Faster than the 1000$ LGA1366 hexacore in basically everything for less than the i7-930 (which it's faster than by ~30% at a minimum) plus overclocking to 4.5 on the stock cooler on average isn't an improvement?

You'll have to excuse me. I haven't done much research myself due to having more important things going on. But clock-for-clock, the 2600k and 930 don't look much different. SB can indeed overclock higher, but not everyone will be interested in doing such.

It's not comparable to the 980X. But since you brought it up, clock-for-clock they will likely be pretty close in most cases, unless more than eight threads can be utilized - in which case the 980X obviously wins.

Oh, and if you can find a 2600k for cheaper than a 930, go ahead and link it here. I'm curious to see that.

BennyM wrote in post #11587159
When will Sandy Bridge be available for Mac?

Probably not for a while. Mac doesn't typically upgrade their hardware until products have been on the market for a while. I think the i5/7's had been out more than a year for PC's before the iMacs and Macbook Pros received their current-level upgrades.

If you were seriously contemplating an i7 iMac, I would recommend going into an Apple Store (if at all possible) and sampling the operating system (OS) for yourself. In my household, we have 3 Macs (two laptops and one 3+ year Mac Pro) and 2 PC's (one power box running Win 7 and one server running Linux)....and there are pros and cons any way you go. The main reason to switch to Mac is because of the OS -- Windows 7 is a solid OS, but I still like OSX Snow Leopard better on the whole.

And if you are ready to drop the card on an iMac, I wouldn't worry about the lack of Sandy Bridge updates coming anytime soon. The current i7 is a very capable processor that will more than get the job done.

ELItheICEman wrote in post #11587180
You'll have to excuse me. I haven't done much research myself due to having more important things going on. But clock-for-clock, the 2600k and 930 don't look much different. SB can indeed overclock higher, but not everyone will be interested in doing such.

It's not comparable to the 980X. But since you brought it up, clock-for-clock they will likely be pretty close in most cases, unless more than eight threads can be utilized - in which case the 980X obviously wins.

Oh, and if you can find a 2600k for cheaper than a 930, go ahead and link it here. I'm curious to see that.

The i7 2600k beats the 980X in the PS benchmark by about 10%, but also beats the 980X by about $732 and that's hard to beat.

ELItheICEman wrote in post #11587180
You'll have to excuse me. I haven't done much research myself due to having more important things going on. But clock-for-clock, the 2600k and 930 don't look much different. SB can indeed overclock higher, but not everyone will be interested in doing such.

It's not comparable to the 980X. But since you brought it up, clock-for-clock they will likely be pretty close in most cases, unless more than eight threads can be utilized - in which case the 980X obviously wins.

Oh, and if you can find a 2600k for cheaper than a 930, go ahead and link it here. I'm curious to see that.

If you've not done your research then perhaps you shouldn't make broad statements like that then :S. It's about ~20% faster per clock in most heavy compute apps (PS/LR) compared to Westmere. Compared to Nahalem it's closer to 25%. Of course, this depends on your app. If you're heavily HD/memory limited it may only be 10% faster.

SB also comes at higher stock clocks and uses less-expensive motherboards than the 930 does.

In most apps the serial portion is the limiting factor (even in 12+ threaded apps). For example, POV-ray has the 2500K beating the 980X handily. It's only on the trivially parallel tasks the 980 wins (at which point SB offers much better price/perf).

Microcenter for 270$. http://www.xtremesyste​ms.org …/showthread.php​?p=4693438 They can't link it online because the processor doesn't exist yet but I got a call saying they'd have it in for 270 or less on the 9th.