Then I got an SSD harddrive. It's like I'm using a new (much faster) machine. The VM's seem like they're native.
SSD HD's are still pretty expensive but worth every penny IMO (and way cheaper than a new MBP).
Though, I still need an upgrade, the 2GB RAM limit is getting pretty annoying now. If only I had an extra £1650 laying around.
After enough RAM is the best upgrade you could get. Well, technically it's also the only other upgrade you could get to your laptop, but it should make it snappy enough to delay a new laptop purchase for a while.
BTW, what would the £1650 be for ? 4GB of RAM is probably £100 max, an Intel 160GB SSD another £400 max.
The early 2006 MBPs that were Core Duo (rather than Core 2 Duo) could only support 2GB memory max.
If he has one of the later 2006 ones, though, they were sold as supporting 2GB max but can actually take 4GB with 3GB then being usable.
As Peter's already mentioned, the early 2006 MBPs can only support 2GB max, so the £1650 would be for a new MBP (or actually, maybe an iMac.)