What does a fresh install usually involve ?

I want to do a fresh install of a retail win 7 I got a while back. The thing though I don't know if I should use Dell drivers or get the non dell version ones.

What I was thinking of doing is installing win 7 retail disc then only installing the chipset driver from Dell and when I update the OS see then what drivers will be optional for my laptop through the MS update. Maybe I won't even need to install the chipset from dell either maybe win 7 will give me the drivers I need to be able to get online.

I read people here say doing a fresh install and only installing programs they want what do they mean ? Reinstalling their backup disc they made when they got their laptop ? When I first got my laptop I did a backup disc on a Dual layer DVD so if I were to reinstall the OS thats on the DVD it would install all the programs so I don't understand what they mean when they say I'll install only the programs they want.

Will I see noticeable performance gains running a clean copy of win7 is it worth it ?

thanks

 

I use all official laptop manufacturer's drivers except graphic card's drivers which I use from Nvidia url because official are better.
Usually internal preinstalled Windows comes with bundled software decreasing performance.