Vista is supposed to be new and fast. Sometimes though, it can seem a bit sluggish in my opinion. There are a few simple things that can be done to perk up and boost Vista. This could be as simple too many programs and not enough resources.

Vista itself is a resource hog, Vista Aero in particular can eat up a ton of resources. Aero is a group of features installed as default in Vista when Vista is installed. This group of features includes visual effects, helpful animations, transparent menu bars and thumbnail previews.

Aero is setup as the default theme for Vista. Disabling it frees up allot of resources and you should notice a difference in the system after you disable it. You will still have the Vista look, but not the resource hogging effects.

You will not have the 3-D flip option for your desktop if you disable the Aero theme, but you will have the general Vista look still. You either like the 3-D flip option or you dont, its not a necessity to have.