i think it loads a lot faster, so if ur hard drive isnt the greatest it's good. I don't care about the price, because I got a copy of it free from my dad's friend.
Not really, it doesn't run faster. It just has better networking capabilities. If you want your computer to run faster you should get Media Center. But if I were you I would just install pro because I like to have the best.
I've spent some time with both, stability and speed between the two are the same. Most people go with Pro so their clients can login to a domain controller.