Re-install Windows or not?
 

My workstation was bought new in 2013.
It is still running Windows 7 64 Pro it came with in 2013.
I just upgraded the CPU today to a Xeon E1680v2
Earlier I upgraded the GPU to a Titan.
I was planning on doing a fresh install of Windows 7 64 Pro on a new SSD because after this many years I expect it has slowed down. In 2013 it had a 240GB SSD system drive. Over time I hardware cloned it to a 500GB and later to a 1GB SSD but I had to use Acronis Disk director to adjust the partition. I've always wondered if that adversely effects performance.

The system is working pretty good and a fresh windows install means re-intalling an incredible amount of software and dealing with all the license activations again so I really don't want to do it. But I do want the old workhorse to run as good as it can for a few more years.
Thoughts?

Re: Re-install Windows or not?
 

First. Do a backup of the whole drive.

Second, use this backup to migrate to a new SSD, which in turn gives you a working proof that your backup is truly a useful one. (There are stories of people who never tested that they could do a restore from what they thought was a backup. Only then it was too late.)

Andrew