good time to move on?

My HD recently crashed on me and im in the position of needing to get a new copy of windows.
I previously ran XP, and I am wondering if windows 7 is worth moving on to?

ANY input would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know. Was there anything in the other 300 and some topics in the Windows 7 section of the forums that you needed clarified? Perhaps you want to dig around a little bit and see what others have already said.

No need to be cheeky.

from what i see it looks to be a good enough system to make the switch.

Now for the version.

I see the home and pro versions arent all that different in prices, so I will probably go with pro.
I have a Dell Xps 420 with dcpu 2.8GHz, 64bit capable with EM64T, and 2G 533MHz DDR2 RAM.

Since the price seems to be the same for the 32 and 64bit versions (they are on newegg at any rate) which is the one I should get?

How exactly is suggesting that you search the rest of the forums before asking a question that has been asked multiple times being 'cheeky?' Perhaps I simply assumed that you hadn't noticed that the question had been asked before, or that there is a search feature to help our users find the information that they seek.

To answer your question, unless your Dell can take more than 2 gigs of ram, then there is little reason at all to run the 64 bit OS.

I have a very high level of reading skill and intuitive reasoning so sometimes i read more out of what people type than they intend, to me it's the tone you take with your wording. Your wording suggests you think I'm lazy or stupid, I am neither. Just impatient and possessed of a preference for to-the-point answers which I rarely find when looking at other people questions.
Regardless.

it can handle up to 4G, but I have no plans on adding more at this time, i will eventually so
will the 64bit slow me down alot only running 2G, or should I get it for when I do add RAM?

Further, my system is either an xps 410 or 420, the tower says 400 but it has the V//V sticker which means it has to be at least a 410.
Will it even run windows 7 without a hassle? Dell support is about as helpful as a heart attack with it's older machines as far as solid documentation goes.
I need to know because I have no fallback option, my old HD wont load windows, so I ordered new ones to replace the old one, and im hoping i can get my data off the old one.

My conundrum at this time is Can I / should I go to Win7 with my machine as it is, or do I have to get a copy of XP, which will cost me just as much as 7 or i will have to wait till the end of the week to get a copy from a friend, I have already been restricted to a slow laptop for a week so waiting does not appeal.
I do know i need to update bios, but will Win7 work without updating them?
According to the system requirements it should work fine, but my machines around 3 years old so I still worry.

I have Windows 7 Ultimate running on a box put together from scraps and spare parts; none of the hardware is newer than 4 years old, and I am only using 778Megs of mismatched ram. It runs fine. Of course, I am not expecting to run more than a few apps at once on that system, but as long as I limit my activity, it works just fine. One of the strengths of Windows 7 is the ability to locate the proper drivers for legacy hardware and make it work. There are a couple of different paths for making old hardware work, one of which is the Virtual XP mode.

Performance wise, there should be no discernible difference in performance between 32 bit and 64 bit. The only real reason to run a 64 bit OS is to take advantage of the ability to address RAM space above 4 gigs. Generally, a 64 bit system is more responsive when switching between tasks. Here are some faqs regarding 32 bit vs 64 bit, but it may be a bit elementary for you. Still, it may help you decide.

cool, thanks.

I do audio, photo, video editing and website design/implementation, so I do work with several apps at once fairly often, so the 64bit might speed things up a little even on 2Gs which would be nice. If it will also handle 4Gs better for down the road, more the better.

Until I started looking up win7 today I had never even come across 32/64bit before, so that info was plenty helpful. My philosophy with OS is utilitarian, as long as it's easy to use, works and doesn't interfere with my computer work/play, i'm happy.
Programs I am willing to learn, the OS should be two things. Ignorable, and stable. Looks like Win7 will give me what I want, even with the expected "new program bugs".

I have had zero issues with stability on any of the systems that I have installed Windows 7 on, which at this point is about 2 dozen systems. I have had some minor glitches here and there figuring out the proper compatibility mode to get things to run, but I can't think of anything that I would consider a deal breaker as far as upgrades go. Of course, anything can happen; I know there are some users who have complained of installation errors that result in continuous rebooting of the system, but I have never seen any definitive proof that it was anything other than the inability of the user to troubleshoot their systems.

EDIT: and hey, welcome to BC, in case nobody else had welcomed you yet.

thanks for the welcome.

I ordered the program from newegg, had to read up on oem, but ive never used MS support so no big deal there.
Went ahead and ordered 4 new sticks of 1G ram to max my machine out, figured if its worth doing its worth doing right. Now all i need is a singapore sling, an alcopolco shirt, pure gonzo system upgrade
wish me luck