I have a Pentium D 3.0 GHz server from 2006. Is it worth spending extra 120 dollars to upgrade the processor to an E6600 Xeon? I am planning to make this server into a Domain Controller and run Terminal Server in a VM. This is a Visionman Server with a Gigabyte Motherboard. EDIT: I changed my mind and decided to run Exchange Server on top of the Domain Controller using VMware or Virtual Server. Terminal Server will be running on another Box.

Well for starters what's the motherboard model. We can't tell you anything until you display the model number of that motherboard so we know if it can even support a Core 2 Duo or not. Iron Sharpens Iron.

LOL the server is not with me at this point of time, so I cannot tell you any details. I know most old motherboards from mid-2006 would support Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad (My P5B-E Supports Core 2 Quad). All I know is that the server has a gigabyte motherboard. Lets say it does support a XEON E6600 or maybe all the way up to a XEON Quad core like the P5B-E does. Right now, the server has a Pentium D 3.0 GHz Processor in it. It is worth upgrading this for the Server? I am thinking of running both Active Directory and Exchange Server on it. The Exchange Server is going to be in a Virtual Machine. The Host is also going to be a file server and the guest is also going to be the web server (unless I can get outlook web access to work outside the exchange server).

You mean a Core 2 Duo E6600. Yeah it's worth it if you can get a good deal on it. Check the cpu charts here to compare the two processors. http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/... Iron Sharpens Iron.