What should I upgrade on Dell Vostro 1500 in order to run Virtual Machine?

I have a Dell Vostro 1500 with T5470 @ 1.60GHz, 2GB of RAM, and 80GB 5400rpm hard drive.

I have already ordered 4GB of RAM to upgrade that, and I considered upgrading the hard drive to 7200rpm, but I dont like the idea of the extra heat and extra noise.

The reason I want to upgrade in the first place is because I want to run a virtual machine in the background for work. The virtual machine will do the heavy lifting by running MS Visual Studio, MS Outlook, Crystal Reports, MS SQL Tools, and MS Office applications.

The reason I have this running on the virtual machine is because I connect through VPN at work, and I want my main machine that is supplying the internet connection to be free to use web browser, IM, and RSS feeds.

Im wondering how much of a gain I will actually get by upgrading my hard drive in relation to what I am using my machine for.

If a hard drive would add significant gains what hard drive would be the least noisy, coolest, and most reliable that would work with my machine?

Also would a faster CPU with more cache be of benefit in this scenario considering Im running a virtual machine?

If so where is a good tutorial on installing a new CPU for vostro 1500, and what CPU should I get?

Thanks for your time!

 

To answer your questions:
- the extra RPM offered by a new hard drive is not worth the trouble and cost; however, if you're keen on an upgrade, I would recommend the Western Digital Scorpio Black.

- the RAM upgrade will do nicely for your purposes; make sure that you have a 64-bit OS to address all 4GB. Otherwise, you will only see 3.2-3.5GB in Task Manager

- unfortunately the T5470 doesn't have the Vanderpool Technology (virtualization processor) that higher end Core 2 CPUs have, but it should still do nicely.

- I would recommend using VirtualBox for managing your VMs.

 

Bog, Thanks for the reply!

Do you know what the cheapest processor available is that contains the vanderpool virtualization technology for CPU?

Also, what would you recommend for a cool and reliable upgrade for a 5400rpm drive? 80GB is not much space when I am running two OSes and have many applications installed!

Thanks again!

 

Keep in mind that VT isn't a must for virtualization. It is nice to have, but alone it is not worth the major expense of a new CPU. That said, here is a table that illustrates which Core 2 Duos have it:

http://www.intel.com/products/processor_number/chart/core2duo.htm

Also, I would recommend looking at the Scorpio Black Edition hard drive by Western Digital. Also, consider the Blue Edition of the same model.

More info on the two models here:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4954

 

Thanks Bog! Thats some excellent information!

 

To run a virtual machine fluidly, you need at least 4gb ram, ideally a 7200rpm hard drive and a powerful processor. Hope this helps.