If you’re serious about it -and I’m not so sure you are, I’d go with Server 2008 R2 on a RAID 10 for all your main apps then virtualize everything else via Hypervisor. Seriously, you have to have a valid requirement to virtualize. Unless you’re running server suites, using multi-platform apps or doing training virtualization likely isn’t for you.
I’m serious about learning about virtualization on a desktop PC. I don’t have a server. I’m also serious about disaster recovery and I’m thinking a mirrored drive might be the best form of RAID for my purposes.
I think my valid requirement to do virtualization is my desire to have on one PC multiple installations including:
Windows XP Pro with Office 2003
Windows XP Pro with Office 2007
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 with Office 2007
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 with Office 2010 (eventually)
Ubuntu with OpenOffice
I also do Microsft Office training both at a college and at a computer center. At the center I could potentially teach Office 2003 or 2007 so I would like to have access to both on my home PC since I use it to make and modify curriculum.