ReadyBoost can help older machines
I run two desktops and one laptop, all Win7 64. Laptop has 6GB DDR2 with T9400 processor, one desktop has 4GB DDR3 with i5 (750) processor, both of these have 7200 rpm HD (two each) and ReadyBoost does nothing for them. HOWEVER, the other desktop is older and has 2 GB ram and a single core processor with two 5400 rpm HD. The improvement is very visible and when the flash drive was accidentally removed I thought the unit had a virus or was otherwise losing function. Point is ReadyBoost benefit is machine specific so if in doubt and with an older computer you may gain a year of acceptable operation at little cost.
BTW I have been running XP, then Vista and now Win7 since each came out. I do moderate system maintenance and have never had any problems with any of them. Sorry to hear others don't share my experiences. Last blue screen of death was likely more than ten years ago and two iterations prior to XP. Never had a virus or any of the other problems I hear about and we are all heavy users, download just about everything we see and play games daily.
