New build mainly for Virtual Machines

[paul_31]

Hi Guys,

I haven't really kept up to date with PC/CPU tech over the last year or 2 so have been reading over a lot of posts and reviews to try and pick things up.

I am planning a new build in a month or so which will mainly be used for running VM's. I want to run Linux and Windows VM's but more importantly my primary use will be for running GNS3/Dynamips for multiple virtual Cisco router labs (I'm a Cisco engineer and studying for CCNP at the mo)

So....when it comes to my build, I don't have a huge budget, ~£100 for CPU maybe up to £150 max. When running VM's will I see a big performance gain from running a quad-core over dual-core? Or will it depend on o/s and virtualization software as to if it makes use of the cores?

Are there major difference's between Intel Core 2 or AMD Phenom II? I have had both AMD and Intel in the past so happy to go with whatever gives the best "bang for buck"!

Thanks in advance

Paul.

 

[paul_31]

Thanks for the replies guys, i was thinking of going quad-core and just throwing in as much memory as I can afford (6 or 8GB probably)

Would I see any difference between a Q6700 such as -
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 LGA775 "Kentsfield" 2.66GHz (1066FSB)

and a Phenom such as -
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 940 Black Edition 3.0GHz (Socket AM2+)

both are around the same price but would either be more suitable for the job or is there not much in it?

Software wise I mainly use VirtualBox at home but do use VMWare at work, haven't decided what to use on the new build...will either of these make better use of the quad-core for running VM's?

Thanks.

 

[paul_31]

Thanks StevenRaith. I know of ESXi but haven't personally used it before. I may give this a try. I was planning on having a dual-monitor set up and having a different VM machine on each monitor for normal use.

I'm not sure if I would be able to run Dynamips directly on ESXi or whether this would have to be ran inside one of the VM's. I've only ever played about with it a couple of times before running inside an Ubuntu VM....I'll have to have a read up on it!

Thanks.