I've had a different experience. I have a 64-bit system that's beefed up for video editing. So I picked up the W7 Ultimate for a bit over $200.
I am absolutely thrilled with it!
While I already booted up faster and multi-tasked well (I have an AMD quad core chip with 4GB of ram), I didn't notice that much difference.
But when I render my video projects, my computer kicks into hyperdrive!
This new 64-bit OS takes full advantage of the chipset
. Plus, my 64-bit version of Photoshop is lovin' life in the fast lane!
This version of W7 also comes with a 64-bit IE browser, and there's is no comparison in speed. It's almost like the 'net is already on my computer -- blazing!
So far, so good, no crashes, no bugs.