Preferred method of image backup?

I had Acronis True Image on my old XP computer, and it did a good job, saved my skin
several times. Now I have Win 7 64 bit Home Premium and I also bought a new Seagate USB 3 hdd with the usual recovery software. Not only that, but my Gigabyte mobo has a utility for image restoration. With all these options, I don't want to spend 60 dollars for the latest Acronis. I need to go with one, obviously. I would appreciate an informed opinion as to
my choice of backup/recovery methods. I've already made boot discs from Windows and from the mobo utility.

Thanks

Use Seagate Disk Wizard, it's free and is identical to Acronis for Image backups. i've used it for a long time and it's absolutely reliable. It works with Win 7 64 bit.

Use Windows own built-in imaging utility - it works very well. Go to Control Panel>Backup and Restore, and then select "Create a system image" from the left hand pane. If you haven't already done so, create a System Repair disk when it asks too (you only need one, so decline the offer if you've already done it).

FWIW--Acronis charges only $30 for an Update to the latest version.