try raid 0 if your motherboard supports it. you remind me of myself... i actually notice that all my applications and games (including windows) loads a lot faster than without raid 0 configuration and i keep all my files (downloaded, ripped, etc..) on my 250gb hard drive.
RAID = redundant array of inexpensive disks.
i chose raid 0 for my system disk because it can crash without me losing anything that isnt on a CD or DVD. i can reformat it whenever i want and still keep all my files organized neatly in folders where i want them on my storage drive. reinstalling windows and getting everything configured the way i want normally takes a day or two but i only do it about once a year now.
read up on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redunda...ependent_disks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID_0#RAID_0
btw, its suggested you use two identical drives for doing a raid 0 array.. that way you dont lose any performance or memory.
oh.. and keep a floppy drive around just in case your raid drivers need to be installed before windows. mine did.