i5-650 Processor Support

[MissFugg]

Hi there,

I am planning on purchasing a new system for my certification studies, but I'm on a rather low budget and want to get value for money. Unfortunately, I'm not up to speed with Intel's new processor range and its compatibility with VM products, so I would be grateful if someone can offer me advice.

System-wise I'm looking at HP, which offer Intel Core i5-650 Processor (3.20 GHz) with 16GB of RAM. Would these specs work with ESX/ESXi/VM Workstation? If so, how well it would perform? Please forgive these newbish questions, I'm still pretty new when it comes to virtualization.

Thanks,

J

[DSTAVERT]

It is possible but there is guarantee unless the hardware is on the HCL. http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php

Another option is to use the HP workstation and install an OS, Windows or Linux and install VMware workstation. VMware workstation supports installing ESX(i) as a guest OS and add guests to them. Using workstation would allow you to create a complete environment, multiple ESX(i) hosts, shared storage, vCenter etc all on a single platform. With your 16GB ram and the i5processor you would have plenty of performance. The only downside to ESX(i) as a guest is that you would be limited to 32bit guests within ESXi. Works very well.

[AntonVZhbankov]

Yes, this machine would be good. Workstation will work without any questions, but for ESX/ESXi you should also check if there is compatible NIC and RAID controller.

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MCSA, MCTS Hyper-V, VCP 3/4, VMware vExpert

http://blog.vadmin.ru

[MissFugg]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies guys. I will check the Compatibility Guide for the hardware mentioned.

On another note, if my only option is to use VM Workstation, am I correct in thinking I will be able to run 64-bit guests in this environment?

Thanks,

J

[AntonVZhbankov]

>On another note, if my only option is to use VM Workstation, am I correct in thinking I will be able to run 64-bit guests in this environment?

Nope. 64 bit guests require VT, but VT will be eaten by Workstation, so virtual ESX will see 64bit CPU without VT and will not be able to run 64bit guests itself.

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MCSA, MCTS Hyper-V, VCP 3/4, VMware vExpert

http://blog.vadmin.ru

[MissFugg]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, I'm confused here. I noticed the processor in this system supports (VT-x), so are you telling me that 64-bit guests are supported in Workstation, it's just that they won't perform very well, or are they not supported at all? I understand what you're saying in regards to ESXi, but I need clarification on the Workstation side of things.

Appreciate your help,

J

[AntonVZhbankov]

Workstation fully supports 64-bit guests.

But if you want to run ESX in Workstation, then this virtual ESX won't be able to run 64bit guests, because VT is already eaten by Workstation to run ESX.

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MCSA, MCTS Hyper-V, VCP 3/4, VMware vExpert

http://blog.vadmin.ru

[MissFugg]

I understand, thanks for clarifying.

I certainly want to try ESX and I will, but I will try that on a separate machine. I'm doing Microsoft certification and I plan to run my Microsoft lab environment, which will include Windows Server 2008 R2, Exchange 2010, and some workstations, using Workstation alone (no ESX running). So there will be some 64-bit guests running here. Are the previously mentioned HP specs good enough to handle this environment?

Kind regards,

J

[DSTAVERT]

You should have no problem running those virtual machines in VMware Workstation. There is enough CPU and RAM for multiple VMs running together. As Anton said make sure that the disk controller and NICs are on the HCL.

[MissFugg]

Thanks guys, really appreciate your help.

[DSTAVERT]

Very welcome.

[AntonVZhbankov]

If you consider any comment as helpful please award points :smileyhappy:

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MCSA, MCTS Hyper-V, VCP 3/4, VMware vExpert

http://blog.vadmin.ru

[MissFugg]

Done :smileyhappy: