Windows 7 Premium or Professional?

I'm just looking for a new PC (Dell Vostro Minitower, i7 http://www.dell.com/ca/business/p/vostro-460/fs) and comparing the 2 mentioned above.

Can the Professional version do a complete image of the HD in Professional and back it up to an external HD?

I know that there are free software, such as Macrium Reflect out there, but need to know if the Win Prof is worth it just for that feature. ($70.99 extra compared to Premium) I will have only 1 machine when/if I decide to get the Win 7. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-CA/windows7/products/compare

Also looked at the XP mode in Professional but as far as I understand it's only for XP compatible programs? Not like having a full XP version installed?

If not worth it I may go for the Premium version of Win 7.

TIA

 

Both versions can back up hard drives to an attached drive(internal or external) but the Pro version allows backups over a network also.

No, it is a full virtual machine.

 

Regarding the XP mode in Windows Professional, it isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Successfully running legacy XP programs in it is about a 50/50 shot. If you have critical software (such as accounting, inventory, etc.) that isn't specifically compatible with Windows 7, it's best to keep it on a PC running a true copy of XP.

 

Thanks guys!

My current PC is a an an ancient (2004) 32 bit XP Home desktop and don't have the room to have 2 desktops and don't have a network. Not interested in a laptop because I'm not going anywhere anyways. (Current HD will be 4 years old in Feb 2012 and perhaps on its last legs)

If running XP mode in the Pro version isn't all cracked up to be I will forget about it and go for the Premium when one can create an image with all versions of Win 7.

Since I'm a hardware noob I'll need an IT tech to transfer lots of stuff from XP to Win 7 and that's gonna cost me a lot of dough on top of a new machine. Good to know one's limitations eh? :-D

BTW: I checked out how many GB's XP mode in Win 7 in virtual mode would need and the #'s are frightening!