MCE, XP pro or x64??

I just got my Dell today, and I'm looking at nuking the OS on it and starting from scratch like a lot of threads suggest..... there is a lot of junk on here!

Should I wipe it or try to clean off the junk?

If I wipe, which OS should I put back on? I've got the MCE that came with the Dell as well as XP Pro or Xp Pro x 64. Does MCE have any nice additions that would make it worth keeping? Do enough drivers exist for x64 yet?

This will primarily be used for basic office functions (MS Office), games (Battlefield 2), and DVDs.

Thanks for any help!!

Dell 1705
Intel dual core
1 gig Ram
7900 gs

 

You don't want X-64 if you have a dual core processor - C'mon!!!

There's and MCE vs. Pro thread here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=65600 - Basically, if you have to connect as part of a domain you want Pro, otherwise MCE has some cool things.

 

Thanks for the info- guess I'm still confused about the dual core/64 bit thing

 

Right now, I don't think Intel chips support 64 bit OS only AMD (such as Athlon 64). Dual Core is pretty self explanatory, it has 2 cores which helps process things faster and more efficient. It is like you have two centrino chips in your computer.

 

If your computer mainly for office applications, I think you should choose Win XP Pro over MCE.

 

Well, DVDs and BF2 aren't really office applications, but the bigger determinants are:

If you have to connect as part of a domain (lots of colleges and universities), you need Pro, unless there is a registry tweak from that other thread.

Otherwise, you need to look at what MCE comes with and decide if there is any benefit to it. Again, see the comparison thread and the Wiki articles linked from it.