Starting Fresh

OK, in the next week I will be getting my new system:

HP Pavilion HDX customizable Notebook PC

• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
• Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme Processor X9000 (2.80GHz)
• 20.1" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
• 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS
• HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Microphone + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam
• Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
• 320GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (160GB x 2)
• LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
• Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner and 4 Altec Lansing speakers +the HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer

What I want to know is this, I know its gonna come with all the HP crapware on it, and I plan to blow it away and install a fresh copy of VistaUltimate 64.

What other steps could/can I take to make this a great running/stable system with a great performance score

Thanks

Cooling pad will help keep the temperatures down so you notebook won't reduce power vs temperature. Make sure you can get all the Vista x64 patches for a non-HP OS install. They slipstream all the drivers into the OS for your notebook.

there are a few little fixes to vista you can do. Ill post the links to shawns tutorials i have found useful

CPU L2 Cache Memory setting in Vista

Transient Multimon Manager (TMM)

Shutdown

Step 2 here is really useful, havent tried others:
Hard drive speed boosts

Internet Explorer - Maximum Download Sessions

also in msconfig go to boot tab advanced options, check the number of processors box & set to two in the drop down box below it.