Dont know what chipset you have.
You can force intel inf to install with the parameters -overall -overide on setup.exe
Other chipset .exe you can try running in vista mode to make installer running.
For HD performance there are some settings in device manager and choose your HD and enable the write caching(?) that is disabled by default.
From what i heard this is the fastest OS for benching and i can belive that.
Bookmarks