It’s got decent enough video performance for Aero, which I like, but the standard HD is anemic, so:

1.  Computer Management -> Disable the Windows Search service.

2.  Control Panel/Programs & Features/Turn Off Windows Features -> Disable the Gadget Platform.

3.  Control Panel/User Accounts/User Accounts -> Disable UAC (only do this if you are computer savvy).

4.  Control Panel/Sound -> Set sounds to No Sound (because computers should be seen and not heard).

With those tweaks on a fresh Windows 7 x64 install with SP1, and using Microsoft Security Essentials for anti-virus, basic browsing/Office performance is pretty decent on this cheapo laptop, and the display is pretty nice at 1280×800.   Happy camper.