OS X :: Windows XP Faster Than Leopard?

Okay I know this is about Windows, but I think I'll post it under the Mac OS X forum as the trouble I have is that I think my Leopard side of things is slower than my Windows side.

I recently had XP installed via Boot Camp on my MBP, and it seems to me that XP just does things pretty quickly. Firefox and MSN messenger launches very quickly and are very snappy. It also takes little to no time for XP to be responsive as it enters the desktop.

On the other hand, it takes quite a bit of time for Leopard to be usable as the desktop loads. The dock comes up, the toolbar takes a while to load, and the Airport, Volume, Date/Time etc icons take some more time to completely load. Then, when I launch OS X's equivalent of IM and browser apps (Adium and Firefox), they take some time to open, especially Firefox which can bounce for more than 8 times before launching.

I'm just wondering if XP is just snappier because it is more lightweight than Leopard? Or is it an anomaly and there are ways for me to speed up Leopard? Of course, I think that the fact that my Leopard partition dates back to about 3 years ago compared to a relatively fresh install of Windows will affect things, but the speed difference is very significant.

Also, OS X is set to the wrong time when I return to it from Windows, and it takes a good minute before it automatically adjusts itself, while Windows is always the right time. My Apple Wireless Keyboard is also usable from the get go in Windows, while it takes very long for OS X to start to use it.