New HDD - clean install OR restore old settings?

[philrunclimb]

I have a Macbook white, two years old and still amazing.

I've just bought a new Seagate 500Gb hybrid HDD (the hybrid has 4Gb of SSD attached ) . So the question is:

OPTION ONE - back up my old drive and then restore it onto the new one, and save all my settings

OPTION TWO - reinstall all OS and programmes from OS discs and have a fresh start

On my old desktop Windows PC (sorry!) it was always worth starting from a clean install when Windows died, to get rid of any bugs ..BUT WITH A MAC???

What do people think is best..are there REAL advantages to a clean start? (Given that it involves the hassle of re-installing lots of programmes and updates)

Phil

 

[GfulDedFan]

In my opinion, if you're comfortable with how your system is running, it's not worth the extra hassles. On the other hand, if it seems sluggish or peculiar (like windows gets), go for the fresh install. My current system began with Tiger in May '06 on a previous MacBook and now 10.6.4 runs great with no problems on my current one. I've always cloned and migrated but never started fresh.