High performance/reformat

[Raptor]

I plan on reformatting my Hard Disk Drive soon and dedicate the computer I am now using entirely to high performance for applications such as games.

Are there perhaps certain steps I should take before or whilst reformatting the HDD and installing Windows XP that will give me an edge over a normal installation?

Speaking of performance, would an onboard soundcard and/or Network card drain more or less system resources than expansion cards?

Would it be adviseable to disable my onboard network card and install a NIC?

The soundcard is allready disabeled.

Also, I have heard of slip-streaming, how exactly is this done and what are the pro's? Can I do this when I have SP 2 on a seperate CD?

Any information is very much obliged.

[Raptor]

Also, to still my curiousity, which (perhaps only in theory) would produce the better results? A PS/2 mouse with a PS/2 connector, or an USB mouse with a PS/2 converter (Or vice versa) or an USB mouse connected directly to the USB port?

[Fed]

I think I'd delete and recreate the partition/s & do a full format as opposed to the quickie one. ntfs.
I'd use discrete cards as opposed to onboard stuff.
Slipstreaming  
I'd install the minimum xp +sp2 and then disable all the stupid default services, who needs a fax anyway?
http://www.blackviper.com/WIN2K/servicecfg.htm
I'm assuming you won't run W2K  
The mouse is a performance matter for you to try.
My usb mouse running through a usb to ps2 adaptor work faultlessly. The ps2 port was designed for a mouse whereas usb was designed for anything that fits in the hole.
I heard talk of a gay site newsletter, Flame has a gay computer.  

[Raptor]

I have never used the quick format before.

And I was allready planning on disabeling services. Is there nothing else to do before Windows XP installs? I have heard of installations where people take out certain things.. Merlin used to post links to these websites quite a while ago.

usb was designed for anything that fits in the hole.

I suddenly have this strange hunch as to who signed me up to the newsletter....  

[easyrider66]

I used autostreamer to make my slipstreamed xp/sp2 cd, it makes it very easy.

http://www.softpedia.com/public/cat/12/2/12-2-183.shtml

[Raptor]

No burner present at the moment. I will just do it the old fashioned way and spent 2-3 hours updating.

By the way, would it better, seen from the eye of performance to have a Master and a Slave on one channel or a master and a master on both IDE drives?