UNetbootin allows for the installation of various Linux/BSD distributions to a partition or USB drive, so it's no different from a standard install, only it doesn't need a CD. It can create a dual-boot install, or replace the existing OS entirely.
Skipping audio, slower servers, everyone knows the symptoms of latency. But to know what's going on in the system, what's causing the latency, how to fix it... that's a hard question without good answers right now