Will upgrading help much?

[Gregg777]

I have a fairly new Dell laptop 2.4ghz with 500mb of ram.

When I run multiple programs, especially two systems with large databases, my computer lags, over heats, etc.

The high end desk top is only 3.6ghz. Is there enough performance improvement to justify upgrading now?

I know I can add another 500mb of ram, but that's about it.

As far as buying a system, what is the absolute best configuration for running multiple massive programs consecutivley? A dual processor? I would like to stick with Dell, anyone disagree?

Thanks